BLOOMFIELD, NJ – When a coach has a true passion for the sport he or she directs, it figures that the players will, too. And in most cases, that will lead to good results in the athletic arena.
Since the early 1990s, Bloomfield High School has had one of the most successful wrestling programs in the state. The man behind that success, Sam Fusaro, has decided to retire after a distinguished career.
“I just thought the time was right,” said Fusaro, who graduated from Belleville in 1978. “To be honest, I think the program needs a new direction. In the last few years, our program has been down a bit.”
Taking over the Bloomfield mat helm will be Ryan Smircich, a graduate of Hopatcong High School. Smircich, who competed in football as well as wrestling at Hopatcong in the late 1990s, has served for several years as an assistant at BHS.
“Ryan will do a great job,” said Fusaro, who competed in football and rowing at Belleville. “He has a passion for the sport, and I know our kids will work hard to get good results.”
This past season, Bloomfield started off slow, but was respectable in the second half of the campaign. The two standouts for Bloomfield were seniors Adam Lutick at 220 pounds and Barak Pipkins at 170 pounds. In the District 9 championships at Phillipsburg, Pipkins won the title with a pin late in third period.
“Adam was probably our most consistent kid,” said Fusaro, who enjoyed great rivalries with schools like Nutley and Belleville.
For Fusaro, who is a big football fan of the University of Florida, winning was not the most important thing. He just wanted his kids to keep on improving on the mats. And he wanted his kids to succeed in the classroom and in other areas in life.
An avid fisherman who particularly enjoys going to Lake Hopatcong, Fusaro never coached a state champion. But at 189 pounds, Joe Chiaravallo placed second one year.
“We had good team and individual results in competitions like the ECT, Districts and Regions,” remarked Fusaro. “In the sport, you have to work awfully hard if you want to succeed. And that starts in the practice room. In this sport, you have to do things like train properly, and even eat the proper foods to maintain your health.”
Fusaro, who will continue as a Phys Ed and Health teacher at Bloomfield Middle School, has enjoyed the friendships he’s had over the years with his kids and their families.
“Hey, I think I’ve been invited to around 45 weddings of guys who wrestled for me,” cracked Fusaro. “So I guess I gained their respect when I served as their coach. That factor was really so important to me.”
Fusaro, who attended Seton Hall University, has always had the respect of his peers.
“Sam just did a great job with our wrestling program,” said Bloomfield athletic director Steve Jenkins. “People respect him so much because of the kind of person he is.”
Fusaro, who says he’s been fortunate to have great assistant coaches over the years, feels that the Bengal mat program will continue to flourish.
“We have a great tradition in wrestling at our school,” said Fusaro. “I know basketball has always been the big winter sport at Bloomfield, but wrestling is right up there, too.”
MAT NOTES – Along with Lutick and Pipkins, kids like Angel Mercado at 113 pounds and David Broderick at 145 also did well for BHS this past season… Smircich is an English teacher at the high school… Fusaro had great respect for former athletic director George Middleton.
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