By GEORGE FJELD
BRANDON–Wrestling great Ray Miro has returned to Otter Valley Union High School (OVUHS), the place where he started the wrestling program in 1977.
“I love practice, I love helping the kids,” says Miro. “I’m giving back to a sport that did so much more for me than I could ever give back.”
Presently, he’s the number 5 coach in the hierarchy at Otter Valley. He’s working with the middle school wrestlers primarily.
“I had 14 wrestlers this year and hope to have more next year,” he said. “I’ve always been a teacher, I really want the kids to learn.” He’d like to give more kids a chance to wrestle and really try it.
Miro goes on to say, “Humility is the number one thing you learn from sports. Wrestling is very humbling. You are out there by yourself. It teaches you how to compose yourself. There are no excuses in wrestling, only the opportunity to get better. Athletics teaches you how to deal with failure.”
He attributes his successes to great coaching. “You’re going to be okay no matter what the result” was the guiding thought he took away from his time as an athlete. “You owe it to your opponent to shake hands and say ‘good job’ regardless of the result.”
A few of his former wrestlers, including Rich Kepner and Chuck Charbarneau, have gotten together to form an OV wrestling alumni group. They are planning to start a scholarship in Ray Miro’s name and to raise money through a golf tournament at Neshobe on May 5th. Miro comments jokingly, “I’m glad it’s not a memorial event or to raise bail money!”
At Otter Valley, starting as a club sport for 1 year in 1977 and becoming a varsity sport the following year, the program rapidly developed into a state powerhouse. With seven league titles, he coached the team to a state championship in 1986. He also had several wrestlers win individual state championships and place in the New England tournament. In 1986 and 1987, Sue and Arden Hayden’s son, William Santiago, won the New England championship in the 138- and 145-pound weight classes under Ray’s astute coaching.
Miro was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013 for Lifetime Service to Wrestling after coaching at Otter Valley for 10 years and Mt. Greylock HS in Massachusetts for 25 years. In typical self-deprecating fashion, he says, “It’s better to be inducted than indicted.” His Mt. Greylock teams won 17 league titles and 8 sectional titles while he coached. He amassed 652 career wins. Miro is pleased his teams were known for good sportsmanship and a friendly rapport with their competitors.
Ray grew up in Brentwood, Long Island in New York State, where he was a 3-sport athlete in football, wrestling, and track. He followed that with a junior-college stint at SUNY Farmingdale where he was an All-American. He transferred to the University of Rhode Island, where he set the school record for falls, won a Yankee Conference title, and was runner-up in the collegiate New Englands.
Ray remembers, “When I first came to Otter Valley, I was going to change the world.” OV teachers Bob Ripley and John Brutkowski let him know that he may not do that but he was going to make a difference. Otter Valley student athletes now have the opportunity to get coached by a Hall of Fame coach!
