Coaches going to the mats to strengthen Section 1
Coaches going to the mats to strengthen Section 1
By Tony Pinciaro
The Journal News
(Original publication: March 20, 2007)
CROSS RIVER - Bill Swertfager returned from the New York State Wrestling Championships earlier this month in a foul mood.
The former Horace Greeley state champion and current John Jay wrestling coach witnessed another disappointing showing by Section 1 wrestlers.
Section 1 had one state finalist - Nanuet's Rich Berkowitz - and three other state place finishers - Mahopac's Dominick Oddo and Justis Flamio and Arlington's Noel Clark.
Four top-six state finishers among 38 Section 1 wrestlers is not a good percentage.
"That exposed the weaknesses, especially with the wild cards," Swertfager said.
Based on Section 1's trend of few place finishers and state champions, Swertfager was emphatic that something had to be done to improve Section 1 wrestling overall.
Swertfager and his colleagues took the first step with a meeting at John Jay High School last night.
Swertfager was joined by Section 1 coordinator Eric Romanino, Section 1 Wrestling Coaches Association president and Ardsley coach Pete Vulpone, along with other coaches, and parents, to discuss what steps should be taken.
"We will do everything we can to improve wrestling in Section 1," Swertfager said. "We will do this so every team will get better and will have to be better.
"This is not going to be quick. It's going to take time, even if we take it one place at a time each year. We have to start working our way up the ladder. There's no reason why our kids can't compete with the other kids in the state. We have to change the level of involvement and commitment."
Other than finishing above the Catholic High Schools and Public School Athletic League, Section 1 is consistently last or next to last among the 11 sections. Section 1 has also gone the longest without a state champion among the other sections. Former Mahopac standout Joe Mazzurco was Section 1's last state champion, in 2000.
In fact, since Mazzurco was crowned champion, Section 1 has had only six finalists - Mazzurco (2001), Mahopac's Joe Srednicki (2003), Nanuet's Rich Berkowitz (2005, 2006), Pearl River's Shawn Logue (2006), Horace Greeley's Greg Einfrank (2006) and Mahopac's David Colagiovanni (2006).
Mazzurco was also Section 1's last three-time state place finisher and Berkowitz became the section's first two-time state place finisher since Mazzurco.
The availability of open mats and quality coaches to supervise was one of the topics addressed. Other subjects touched on were youth wrestling programs, modified and junior varsity teams, wrestling clinics, camps and competition, both in season and offseason.
While in the meeting, Swertfager was pleased to know what was going on in the John Jay wrestling room. John Jay has open mats on Mondays and on this night, 80 wrestlers were in the room with assistant coach Pat Spirelli.
"We had 55 kids from other schools," Swertfager said. "We love wrestling and we're passionate about it. You want your wrestlers to enjoy wrestling and have a good experience with it."
Romanino said what Swertfager is doing is a step in the right direction. However, this is going to take cooperation.
"We have to get everyone on the same page, from the parents to the coaches," Romanino said. "Everyone has to check their egos at the door and be on the same page."
This is just the beginning, Swertfager said. He received numerous e-mails from coaches who were unable to attend due to school or a family commitment. He is planning another meeting next month.
"I will take the feedback from tonight and from the coaches who could not attend and put together an action plan," he said. "At the next meeting I will get some new people to take on some responsibility."
Reach Tony Pinciaro at apinciar@lohud.com or 914-696-8234.