Kids first for Natick coach
Anniballi thrives on youngsters’ success
Natick coach Bob Anniballi knew it was a matter of time before he reached the 500-win plateau. He also let it be known that he wanted no additional fanfare.
NO HOLDS BARRED
“When I was stuck at 499, I absolutely threatened my assistant coaches that I wanted no balloons, no cakes or anything like that because that’s not my style,” Anniballi said with a chuckle. “I’ve always been about the kids first and that’s the way it will always be.” Anniballi did win his 500th at the Natick Redhawk Dual Tournament last weekend, defeating Cranston East, 5116. Legendary Franklin coach Carmine Colace, whose team won the event, has long been an admirer of Anniballi. “Bobby is a fantastic coach,” Colace said. “He runs great practices, he’s great at teaching technique and you can see that by the way his teams improve throughout the course of the season.” Anniballi wrestled at Natick High School in 1983, but it was during his time at Framingham State that the coaching bug first bit him. It came from an unlikely source, longtime Natick baseball coaching great and athletic director John Carroll. “I returned to the school to visit one day and I asked John how the team was doing,” Anniballi recalled. “He told me they were going through a rough time and asked if I could help out with the program. I did and liked it right away.” Anniballi spent four seasons as an assistant before taking over the head job in 1990. He spent one year at Natick, left for a two-year run at Keefe Tech before returning for good in 1993. Current athletic director Tim Collins is amazed at the passion Anniballi still brings to the table after 25 years on the job. “Bob is a total pro from the start of the school day all the way to the end,” Collins said. “He’s a very passionate guy, he’s built up a cult interest in the wrestling program in a very positive away and that’s remarkable. The kids believe in the program, become a part of it and remain connected to the program even after they graduate from here.” While every coach loves having wrestlers who go on to win state, All-State and New England titles, Anniballi find an equal amount of satisfaction with an untested wrestler sampling success for the first time. “I still get very excited every time a wrestler wins his first match,” Anniballi said. “It’s very rewarding as a coach to take someone, work with him and see him have success. We’ve always tried to help kids become better wrestlers, but we also want them to become better kids as well.” Anniballi is going through a stretch where the program is loaded with younger wrestlers. That number will rise next year when a solid group of eighth-graders, one of them being his son Michael, will become the next wave of Natick wrestlers looking to make an impact on the mat and in the community. “It’s a really good group of kids,” Annibali said. “I’d like to be able to stay around and teach them.” They will certainly reap the benefits as have countless other wrestlers who have gone through the Natick program can attest.
Burlington two good
Burlington has had no shortage of talented twins in its program in recent years. Matt and Jake Sherman helped guide the Red Devils to the Div. 3 state team title in 2009, while Nick and Jon Cappello were standouts in the mid-2000s. While they were in the their heyday, another group of twins were watching from afar. The Soda brothers, Zack and Cam, were constant presences in practices and matches from an early age, soaking in the wrestling climate. “We’ve known about them for a long time,” Burlington coach Paul Shvartsman said. “They were always around watching and learning from the Shermans and Kevin (Barrucci).” Now sophomores, Zack Soda is 24-2 and ranked fifth in the state at 106 pounds, while Cam Soda is 22-2 and fourth at 113 pounds. The rapid success doesn’t come as a surprise to Shvartsman. “They may have been frustrated by a lack of success last year, but I know it was more a matter of size,” Shvartsman said. “In some matches, they were giving away as much as 15 pounds, but you can see they have the talent and the technique. Now that they’ve gotten bigger and are the lineup regularly, you can see the results.”
Mansfield gears up
Mark DiSanto knew he had the best team in his six years at Mansfield and decided to push the envelope and schedule some of the heavy iron. While the Hornets (10-3) came up short against top-10 competition such as St. John’s Prep, Haverhill and Melrose, their performance opened some eyes. It was precisely the test DiSanto wanted to put his talented team through. “I feel really good that we competed well for the most part against them,” DiSanto said. “Some of the younger guys that didn’t have the experience wrestled well and that will help us.” Mansfield is the highest ranked team in Division 1 South at No. 15 according to masswrestling.com. The Hornets have some serious talent in the middle weights as Will Stratton (145), C.J. Glaropoulos (152), George Glaropoulous (160) and Jayden Curley (170) comprise a new foursome. Add in Antonios Savastos (120) and Ethan Nirenberg (182) and one can see why DiSanto is optimistic. “We’re really solid in the middle classes,” he said. “I think we’re the kind of team who is going to keep getting better toward the end of the year.”