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Scaduto Earns Falcons' Respect In First
Year at August Martin
BY MATT GAGNE
Tuesday, October 23rd 2007, 3:38 PM
First-year head coach Michael Scaduto, a product of Susan
Wagner and Hofstra, has turned program around.
The seniors are taking advantage of a freshman coach, yet
another guy pacing the sideline and calling the shots at August
Martin.
Unlike the past few years, the new sheriff is actually laying down
the law. And the seniors - there are 24 on a roster totaling 30
players - are embracing the new leadership.
"The kids were really looking for discipline - they needed
boundaries, limits, structure, organization," first-year coach
Michael Scaduto said. "I sort of have that strong personality. I tell
them this is the way it is, this is the way it's going to be done.
They've taken to it pretty well. At times there might have been a
backlash, but I stayed firm and never backed down."
On Saturday, the Falcons fell to visiting Fort Hamilton, 26-21, but
they are 4-3 and a victory away from matching their win total of
the past three seasons - a span in which they went 5-21 under
two head coaches.
They nearly picked it up Saturday, holding a lead over the
two-time defending city champions until the Tigers scored with
1:35 left to play.
"I tell them they've come a real long way for a team that's picked
to lose most weeks," Scaduto added. "To be able to play with a
team like Fort Hamilton is remarkable, and we were right in it until
the end."
The new coach gets much of the credit. Just ask the old assistant
coaches, who sound off like movie critics extolling the latest
blockbuster:
"Last year's team was just as talented, but the difference this
year goes to show you what kind of job the new head coach has
done," said Marcus Louison, a second-year assistant.
"His no-nonsense attitude and his emotional fire are the reasons
for our success this year," added Keith Brown, an assistant the
past 11 years.
"The kids have a set of rules, and consequences if they don't
follow them," fifth-year assistant Herman Jones said. "We didn't
have that here for years."
Among the rules: Players must wear dress shirts and ties every
Friday; it's an old tradition that's now enforced. And players must
have teachers fill out daily reports apprising Scaduto of their
attendance, behavior and academic standing. Lapses translate
into laps.
"He's instilled discipline and makes them accountable for their
actions. He doesn't accept any nonsense - he'll bench you in a
heartbeat," said August Martin athletic director Fred Golub, who
over the summer talked Scaduto, a gym teacher at the school,
into coaching.
"Other guys were more experienced, but I loved his young
enthusiasm and the way he could relate to the kids," Golub
added. "Kids are believing in themselves, and that's because
they believe in the coaching staff."
Scaduto may not have much experience - at least in years - but
he has the right pedigree, having won a PSAL city championship
as a sophomore at Susan Wagner in 1995, and having played
college ball at Hofstra.
"We took him serious; he knew what he was talking about," said
quarterback Mustafa Young. "And that's what we needed: a
coach who was respected."
| August Martin High School 156-10 Baisley Boulevard, Jamaica, New York 11434 Phone: (718) 528-2920 Anthony Cromer, Principal © 2007 August Martin. All rights reserved. |