Sports
Viewfinder: Fort Lee Junior Wrestling Program
Welcome to View Finder. We'll post a photo gallery weekly that takes a look at the community through the camera lens. This week, we have images from a recent junior wrestling event.
The Fort Lee Wrestling Alumni Association is comprised of former Fort Lee wrestlers, coaches, parents and managers. The aim of the junior wrestling program is to help promote the sport to the youth of Fort Lee and possibly produce some future high school wrestling stars.
Program leader Alex Almeyda, who is also head coach of the Fort Lee High School wrestling team, said he started the program “to feed the high school program. It can only help us in the future.”
Many of the young coaches are former wrestlers Almeyda had on his high school team: Shadey Auda, Kyle Senift and head junior coach Mark Macaluso—now in his second year as head coach of the recreation program. They say they dedicate their time to teaching wrestling because of the great experience they had wrestling for their high school coach.
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There are also three parent coaches for the junior program: Lucy Casale, who is at every practice and match and takes care of all administrative duties, John Casale and Will Mattei Sr.
The following junior wrestlers placed in the recent Twin Counties District meet and will go on to the regionals at Hackensack High School on Feb. 27:
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First place:
- William Mattei Jr.
- Sebastian Delasoudas
- Alex Almeyda Jr.
Coach Mattei has dubbed Almeyda Jr. “the franchise.”
“This child is amazing,” Mattei said of the younger Almeyda. “He was the only wrestler I saw practicing moves prior to his matches. He was focused and determined. He is a very special wrestler to watch."
Almeyda Jr.'s father is amazed himself at his son’s “ability to focus and go through the entire match in his head.”
Second place (and also wrestling in the regionals):
- Daniel Murtag
- Austin Yalowitz
Sebastian Delasoudas’s mother, Susan, said the reason she wants her son to participate is “the truth is to keep in shape,” adding, “it’s a very nerve racking sport for me.”
No stranger to the sport her husband has been coaching for years and her son is now taking up, Donna Almeyda said wrestling “boosts self-confidence."
“[Wrestling] allows the child to become competitive,” she said. “But it’s still a very nerve racking sport for us.”
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