Back in the 1980s, the wrestlers of North Miami High School squeezed into Joseph Gicobbe?s office at lunchtime. They didn?t visit for drills or discipline from their coach, but wanted to spend time with a man who never put them down.
?He had nicknames for half the guys on the team,? said Juan Reyneri, Gicobbe?s assistant coach in the 1994-95 season. ?All the guys just loved coming to practice. They loved wrestling for him. I?ve seen coaches, who have yelled and cursed and berated and belittled their wrestlers. Joe was not like that. Joe expected a lot from his wrestlers, demanded a lot from his wrestlers, and he was able to get the very best out of of them.?
Gicobbe passed away in the final days of June at age 58, leaving behind a long legacy of wrestling excellence.
He wrestled at North Miami and UCF and then returned to coach at his Miami alma mater from the early 1980s through 1998. He then moved to North Miami Beach High School until he put down the clipboard in 2007. Gicobbe became an official until a heart attack in 2010 forced him to stop.
He was inducted into the Florida Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005.
Gicobbe loved to read novels, had a great laugh and was always telling jokes. They weren?t always funny Reyneri said, but that never stopped Gicobee.
Rick Tucci, head of officials for USA Wrestling, knew Gicobbe for more than 30 years. Tucci said they went for chicken wings after matches and Gicobbe was always telling him about new Italian restaurants he found since they shared the heritage.
?If you didn?t know him you?d think he was tough,? Tucci said. ?He was always bam, bam, bam, let?s go, let?s go. Once he started he wanted to finish it. That?s the way he was.?
Tucci added that even while Gicobbe was in hospice, he held strong to optimism. He never acknowledged his sickness.
?At the funeral so many of his former wrestlers were there,? Reyneri said. ?A number of them spoke and there was this recurring theme that this was a great guy who inspired me and made a positive difference in my life, helped to shape me into the man that I am today.?
Steven Montero
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/14/2894853/late-wrestling-coach-joseph-gicobbe.html
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