The passion in John Passarini's voice is still an inspirational, life-affirming one that wrestlers he coached at Waltham High from 1970 to 1983 have never forgotten.
``Be passionate, be passionate about what you do,'' was one message Steve Oliveri (Class of '79) remembers hearing at meets, practices, or during car rides home in Passarini's Volkswagen. ``He taught us dedication, perseverance, sportsmanship, integrity - things we could transfer to our own lives and careers.''
On Saturday at the Sons of Italy Hall of Waltham, Passarini and his wrestlers will reflect upon those lessons and continue their dialogue at a special event celebrating the ``Coach Pass Years'' at Waltham High.
``It's the reunion of the 13 teams I coached rolled up into one,'' said Passarini, whose voice remains enthusiastic and vibrant at age 60. ``When I was coaching, we always talked about our wrestling team as a family. At this event, we have the wrestlers from my first family, the original team from 1971, connecting with the next generation, the 1983 team, the last team I coached, and all the teams in between.''
To those who have an idea of what goes on between members of a wrestling team, it might seem unlikely for former sparring partners in the practice room to want to ever see each other again, let alone choose to meet up for dinner and conversation. But that is part of what makes wrestlers, especially the way in which Passarini coached his Waltham wrestlers, a remarkable group.
``I don't think we fully realized what was happening while it was happening,'' said Paul Carney, a member of Passarini's 1978 team. ``He is one of the greatest influences a young person could ever have, a true coach, a refreshing personality, with a genuine interest in you and how you are doing.''
Carney and Paul Brady, a Hawk senior co-captain with Carney in 1978, are among the principal organizers of the Coach Pass reunion, along with brothers Nick and Jim Mirabile, class of 1973 and 1981, respectively.
``Coach can be sentimental. It will be hard for him to keep everyone from tearing up (at the reunion),'' said Jim Mirabile, who recalled Passarini's steady, positive leadership style as so important in the emotional roller coaster ride that all wrestlers experience. ``The way (Passarini) ran Waltham's wrestling program, everyone in your family was involved. All of your brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, everyone.''
Mirabile recalled how he first joined Passarini's wrestling family by coming to meets to watch his older brother wrestle. Later, as a fourth grader, Mirabile decided to enroll in the youth wrestling program Passarini started in the basement gym of the former School Street Elementary. From that point forward, Jim Mirabile was a wrestler as well as a Coach Pass wrestling family member.
Thanks to Carney's sister, Patricia, a Web site is available for the Coach Pass celebration (www.coachpass33.com). The site includes team rosters and many historic photos taken by Al Solomon, father of Keith Solomon, member of the 1974 Hawks varsity.
``Parents of wrestlers will come up to me years later and they'll say, `Coach, you have no idea how much you and wrestling have meant to my family,' our eyes locking in a shared feeling,'' Passarini said.
``These are (the things) I need to hear, that every coach, teacher and parent should want to hear,'' said Passarini, who earned a Ph.D. in Education at Boston University in 2001.
``(We always need to ask) why are we doing this, why are we teaching what we do in the way that we do? What positive impact did we have?'' he theorized. ``It's really this question: Why are we in education?''
Among those answering these questions are two former New England wrestling champs, Fred Smerlas (1975) and Gregg Schoener (1977). Smerlas went on to a storied NFL career and is now involved in sports media, while Schoener has, among other things, volunteered his time to help his younger brother, Brian Schoener (1983), work with youth wrestlers at the Waltham Boys and Girls Club in the program Coach Pass started for grade-school kids in the 1970s.
``The wrestlers he coached liked him and wanted to help out the next generation of Waltham wrestlers. Guys would come back years later to talk with us, work out with us, and help us improve our wrestling skills,'' said Ken O'Connor, a captain on the 1983 team, who later coached Waltham's freshman team. ``A couple of guys that I remember (doing that) were Bob Pratt and Phil Riccio. I also remember that in 1983, Fred Smerlas came to the Central Sectional Championships, and before we went on the mat to wrestle, he wished us luck.''
O'Connor and Brian Schoener are two of many Coach Pass alumni who have entered the coaching ranks. Riccio (1975), an assistant coach for Passarini in the early 1980s, succeeded him as Hawks head coach in 1984. Kevin Russo, a member of the Hawks varsity in 1983, has almost 300 wins as a high school coach, and is currently directing the program at Watertown High.
Passarini, then as now, devotes much time to assessing the role of a coach.
``As I reflect later in life, I realize that the way I approached coaching wrestling was not much different from how I taught physical education to children with intellectual and other disabilities,'' said Passarini, who recently completed a lengthy bike ride for Best Buddies, a charitable organization that connects with Passarini's work in the area of adapted physical education.
``As great as Freddy Smerlas was, and he was great, probably the best heavyweight wrestler in U.S. high school wrestling history before going on to an all-pro professional football career, Freddy had things he had to work on, things that needed attention.
``In my adaptive phys-ed classes, some of these kids couldn't communicate beyond non-verbal sounds, or making a look with their eyes,'' Passarini continued.
``But my goals for them were the same ones I had for Freddy: evaluate the athlete, identify strengths, then build on those strengths. Then the weaknesses can be worked on.''
There is a special bond among wrestlers that Passarini understands very well. Passarini was a New England champ for Newton South in 1966 before starting the Hawks wrestling program in 1970. Over the years, his former wrestlers expressed these feelings to him at the most unexpected of times and in the most unexpected ways.
``Freddy took over at heavyweight from (former state treasurer) Joe Malone,'' Passarini recalled. ``And I'll never forget the time I saw him in Boston. I was in a crowd and he spotted me. Joe said, `Coach!' and ran over and gave me a big hug. Joe's handlers tried to rush him along. Joe shook them off. `This is my coach,' he said.''
On Saturday, wrestlers from the Coach Pass years will have time to be with their coach, and each other, again.
``For me, this is a great opportunity to observe what my friend has done for so many people in their lives,'' said Russo, whose relationship has transformed over the years from coach and wrestler to friend and colleague.
``It's been said that if you help one person, you help 10 others. I know that there is a part of Dr. John Passarini in me whenever I coach my wrestlers. I want to know how other people he coached have influenced the people in their lives.''
