By Ron Bracken
The man they call “Caz “has called it a career.
Dave Caslow, the wrestling coach at Philipsburg-Osceola High School for the past 34 years, handed in his letter of resignation on July 5. It was presented at the school board’s regular meeting Tuesday night and accepted unanimously with no discussion. He had earlier resigned as the head cross country coach and as a social studies teacher but had delayed his decision on what to do about the wrestling position until last week.
“This is certainly not a celebration for me, “he said Friday. “It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I did not want to let go of that letter when I put it in the mailbox. I just didn’t.”
But a vocal group of critics undermined the support of the man who has been in charge of P-O wrestling for 34 years, causing him to walk away from the program that he loved.
“I just think I have lost the confidence of the common people, “an emotional Caslow said. “I’m just not sure there is an atmosphere that will allow me to coach here successfully anymore. If the P-O program is going to get well, I have to go.”
The Mounties, beset by key injuries and depleted depth, were 8-11 last year and 7-12 the year before. That provided plenty of fodder for Caslow’s detractors, who attacked him on the various Internet chat rooms and forums as well as in the community.
Caslow’s plan was to coach one more year while grooming a successor. He had hoped to serve as a substitute teacher but in the past two weeks he decided to cut his ties to the program.
“It just wasn’t going to get any better, “he decided.
Caslow took over the reins at P-O in the fall of 1971 following the death of Chuck Goldthorp. During his years at the helm, Caslow produced 55 District 6 champions, 22 regional champs and a pair of PIAA champions — Mark Sidorick at 165 pounds in 1984 and Jon Condo at heavyweight in 2000.
At P-O, Caslow’s dual meet record was 378-156-4. He also coached three years at Warrior Run, where he put together a record of 27-15, giving him a career mark of 405-171-4.
He was a three-time winner of the District 6 Coach of the Year award and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1997.
“I’ve coached for 39 years at three different schools (he was an assistant at Tyrone before taking over at P-O) and many of my dreams have come true, “he said. “I’ve had quality people around me from top to bottom, many of whom aren’t with us anymore.”
At the heart of that corps of supporters were five men who were legendary figures not only on the P-O wrestling scene but in District 6. There was Dr. Patrick Gianopoulos, long-time team physician, and a quartet of men — the late Tubby Adams, Murray Darke, Jim “Rags “McCall and Jere McCamley — who were known as the Rounders.
“How many coaches are fortunate enough to have a guy like Doc Pat around, “Caslow wondered. “And Tubby, Murray, Rags and Jere, I loved every one of those guys. They supported me.”
Caslow also pointed to the men who were instrumental in building the wrestling room at P-O — Wayne Knepp, Jack Frank, Jack Milsom and Teddy Forbes.
“That room is a testimony to those guys’ love for P-O wrestling, “Caslow said. “I had all of that behind me when I started my career. I had good administrators and I’ve been blessed with good athletic directors, starting with Murray and now with Lee Fisher.”
He’s also had a loyal and stable staff of assistant coaches in Dick Condo, Jim and Tim Rupp, Charlie Butler, Greg Minarchick as well as two long-time junior high coaches in Tim McCamley and Tracy Minarchick.
“They were all major contributors in my coaching career, “added Caslow. “We had one of the most stable staffs in all of Pennsylvania. They all put a lot of years in. I was fortunate to have a staff that complemented each other. And they had a strong sense of loyalty.”
And until recently, the Mounties had a fan base that was matchless in its loyalty.
“We had beautiful fans, “Caslow said. “Anyone who knows anything about wrestling knows that once you got to the district tournament the P-O fans would be there in heart and in numbers. They made it fun to coach at P-O.”
But ultimately, at the epicenter of the program, were the wrestlers.
“It’s the ultimate dream of every coach to find wrestlers who love the sport. I wasn’t ever sure I could find the kids who loved the sport as much as I did but I found them here at P-O, “Caslow said, his voice breaking. “I had kids like James Yonushonis, Jon Condo, the Wellers (Jeremy and Jared), Mark and Nick Sidorick, Earl Snyder, the Ellis brothers (Tom and Jim). You don’t have enough space in the paper for me to go on (and name them all).
“And it was not just the headliners. I found it even more of a joy to work with the kids who had lesser talent but stuck with the sport and poured themselves into it in order to grasp at their dreams of being a P-O wrestler.”
Caslow also cited the support he received from his wife, Grace, and his six children as being critical to his career.
“It’s impossible to coach without the support of your wife and family, “he said. “When coaches resign the number one reason is often so that they can spend more time with their wife and family. I’ve always had support at home.
“Sometimes you question spending a lot of time with other people’s kids instead of spending time with your own. I’ve had some guilt feelings about that.”
During his time at P-O, in spite of the great teams he produced, the Mounties never posted an unbeaten season. That was never the yardstick Caslow used to measure the quality of his teams.
“My goal was to get the kids ready for the postseason by facing good competition, “he explained. “I never had goals like winning so many meets or coaching for this many years. I just wanted a chance to share the sport with other people, to pass on the things that wrestling has done for me.”
And maybe, if things work out for him, his days of coaching are not finished.
“I’d be willing to coach for nothing, “he said. “I’d even move. I just can’t coach here anymore. I don’t know that I can go from all to nothing (coaching) but as far as P-O, my time here is over.”
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