Port Wrestling Discovers Fountain Of Youth

The future of Port Washington wrestling recently played opening act for the big boys.

Schreiber High School hosted the fourth annual Alumni and Youth Wrestling Night on Friday night, Jan. 8, featuring mat stars from season's past and a group of jovial youngsters from the Port Youth Activities (PYA) who showed off their skills prior to the varsity match against Planview JFK.

"I always loved wrestling when I was in high school and I think it brings a lot of character, shows that you have to work hard to get something done," said Art Dover, a 1984 Schreiber graduate who, along with Alex Moschos, runs the youth wrestling program. "I wanted to pass that on."

Dover said one of the main goals of the program, for Port students in grades 1-7, is to teach the them not only the fundamentals of wrestling, but personal character as well.

"The kids range from skilled to unskilled and athletic to non-athletic," Dover said. "We're trying to get some discipline out of them and to work hard. We want them to come out of the program with respect. At the end of the day, they're going to know how to fall, how to roll and not get hurt."

Dover's son, Tommy, who has been wrestling for five years, was among the participants in Alumni and Youth Wrestling Night. "It was good," Tommy Dover said. "I like wrestling." George Moschos, Alex's son, said he enjoyed the experience as well. "I felt good," he said. "I just love to have fun with wrestling."

The young athletes began the afternoon by performing various warmup exercises and practice moves before being grouped into pairs for exhibition matches that were judged by actual referees. When the kids were done rolling around the mat, they headed back into the bleachers to watch the Schreiber varsity wrestling team rally for a 42-25 victory over the Plainview Hawks.

The Vikings quickly fell behind 12-0 after being pinned in the first two matches, but slowly cut the deficit before finally taking the lead for good after Cody White defeated Planview's Brendan Giambalvo 7-3 in their 152-pound battle. Josh Bell, who substituted for Wayne Baker in the 189-pound weight class, and Mike O'Brien (215) followed with first-round pins to put the meet out of reach.

Legendary Port Washington coach and Hall of Famer Bob Busby, who guided the varsity to three division titles during his tenure from 1965-2001, founded the youth wrestling club. A four-team tournament in his name will take place on Jan. 18 at Schreiber High School which will include host Port Washington as well as Great Neck North, Manhasset and North Shore.

"I think it's wonderful that the program is so viable as it is," Busby said. "The little kids are great. That program has grown since I started it maybe 25 years ago. And the people who are running it now are people that wrestled for me, which is really nice."

One of Busby's protégés also in attendance was Henry Duarte, who during his senior year was a member of the 1997 championship team. He currently assists the varsity squad. 

"That was a great year," said Duarte recalling the legendary season from season 13 years ago. "We took the Glen Cove Cup and we broke all of the records from the past. It was a phenomenal year. Busby's the best coach I've ever had."

Other alumni that were on hand included Rich Frankel ('82), Nick Castillo ('92), Anthony Coccarelli ('94), Bryan Goode ('04), Larry Baglio ('08), John Flaccarro ('08) and John Steadman ('09). Coccarelli is also a varsity assistant coach.

Port Washington coach and 1990 Schreiber graduate Anthony Schettino said he feels events like this are good for the wrestling program, but most importantly for its future — the youth. "We to do this for the kids," Schettino said. "It's good for the sport. You don't see crowds like this for wrestling, you see them for basketball, so this is a real big thing for us."

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