Coach Rooney named District 14 Coach of the Year

Head Coach Ryan Rooney

Not only did RP wrestlers bring back four championships and a half-dozen total Region qualifiers from the District 14 tournament, but Head Coach Ryan Rooney was named the district’s Head Coach of the Year.

“Coach Rooney turns our team into a family,” said junior 132-pounder Mayson Harms. “He cares about us all and pushes us to our highest potential. He holds us accountable and we are lucky to have him.”

Senior Julian Colon said: “Congratulations Roons on your award. Your hard work and dedication led our team to a successful year, and I am so glad I got to be apart of this team.”

“Coach always pushes us and inspires the team to achieve greatness,” said senior Ryan Leiva. “We are very lucky to have him as our coach.”

In congratulating his coach, 175-pounder John James Ranieri added: “His leadership all year has given us the opportunity to win a state sectional championship while he and his staff has put us in a position to accomplish our individual goals. Congratulations and thank you for your commitment to us on and off the mat.”

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Rooney posted the following statement to social media:

I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone for congratulating me on receiving the District 14 head coach of the year award as the Roselle Park HS Head Wrestling Coach.

In truth, it never feels like you deserve the award when you’re lucky enough to receive one. My job is easy because of the people I’m fortunate enough to surround myself with. Roselle Park has a coaching staff that cares for our kids and invests their heart and soul into their craft all year long. When you have coaches like Craig Frost, Gabriel Connor, Steve Margolin, Shawn Rooney, and Sean Matthews, you can’t go wrong. Every single one of them bring something to the table that made our program successful this season and I can’t thank them enough for what they do.

It takes a village to make seasons like we had successful. That said, we couldn’t do all we do without the help from the Harms family, Jamie Fuzo and Bobby Harms, who do so much for the team behind the scene that frees the coaching staff up to do other things for the program. Jamie Amato will provide us with any gear we may be short on at the drop of a hat so our team can all look and feel confident. Our administration, starting with our AD James Foy, seems to help us overcome any obstacle that stands in our way to ensure our young men have the best opportunities to be successful. We also received so much aid from the Dads Club this year to make our trip to WV possible.

Also, and can’t forget this one, as my old coach Ed Sadloch used to say at every football dinner, behind every good man is a great woman so thank you to my amazing wife Alexis Rooney for putting up with me through the wrestling season (which never ends). There are way too many people that have a hand in the award and I just wanted to thank you all for your part in bringing that award to Roselle Park.

Additionally, you can’t be a coach without the athletes and we have one of the most talented teams I have ever worked with. I’m so proud of how far these young men have come over the years and I look forward to seeing the ones still alive in the individual aspect of the season to battle it out for the cardinal and white! For now, it’s on to the best part of the season! Regions and States in AC!