| Wrestling Program Begins at Savio By Jim Correale (Published in the East Boston Sun Transcript on May 11, 2001.) Ask most residents of East Boston a question about wrestling and you'll more than likely hear a discussion of Smackdown, the Rock and the WWF. Ask Mike Odiotti and you'll hear a different tale, one of a sport that demands self-control and builds character. The wrestling that Odiotti is interested in isn't about championship belts or ring theatrics. This is real wrestling and it has come to Eastie. Odiotti began a wrestling program this year at Savio High School, where he is a history teacher. Though the team had only one member with any experience in the sport, their season exceeded expectations. Two of the standouts were East Boston residents Jeff DeModena, a junior who took first in the Ashland Holiday Tournament, and Tim Sarro, a senior who placed second in the same meet. DeModena, a transfer from BC High, was the only one on the squad who had wrestled previously. Sarro "did very well considering he had never wrestled before," said Odiotti. For next season, Odiotti hopes to increase the number of wrestlers and to improve on their 2-4 mark. "We'll still face challenges as a young team," he said, "but hopefully we'll get some kids to the state tournament." According to Odiotti, wrestling is growing rapidly in Massachusetts. In addition to Savio, both Chelsea and Revere have added programs at the high school level in the past two years. Currently, 152 schools in Massachusetts have wrestling teams. "[Wrestling is a] great sport for a blue-collar community," he said. "It takes very little money or equipment to get started. Basically, all that you need is a pair of wrestling shoes. Although I think it is the most demanding sport around, I think it is probably one of the most rewarding." With 14 different weight classes, wrestling is open to athletes of all sizes. The lowest division is for those under 103 pounds, while the heavyweights weigh up to 275 pounds. Odiotti grew up in the Midwest, where wrestling is a much more popular sport. In his home state of Illinois, the state wrestling tournament sells out 10,000 seat arenas. He came east to attend Boston College on a wrestling scholarship. At BC, Odiotti was a four-year varsity letter-winner and a two-year captain. In 1998 he received his master's degree in education and that fall landed at Savio. In his first year teaching at the East Boston school, Odiotti took a spot as an assistant coach for the Malden Catholic wrestling team, but it was always his hope to bring the sport to Savio. This year he drove two hours north to pick up a donated wrestling mat and a few days later tryouts began. Now, Odiotti hopes to broaden the wrestling program. When the high school season ended, he started a youth clinic at the Savio gym, run through the Salesian Boys & Girls Club. On a recent evening, the red mat was rolled out on the gym floor and a number of athletes and coaches were running through moves. "Massachusetts doesn't have a lot of feeder programs," said Jeff Gibbons, a wrestling coach at BC High. He added that "programs like this [clinic] produce a lot of sectional champions," especially because the wrestlers receive a good deal of individual attention. Buddy Bower, the coach at Malden High School, said that the clinic provides a learning atmosphere with no pressure and no competition. He said that students often use the excuse that they don't know how to wrestle as a reason not to try the sport. "That's the coach's job," Bower said, "to teach them." The clinic, which is open to all junior high and high school students, has run on Tuesday evenings and will expand to include Wednesdays throughout May. |