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Peabody names Wlasuk new football coach

-Former Tanner star and long time assistant eager to tackle job

?Scott Wlasuk: Takes the Tanners’ helm

By Bob Albright

The ultra-exuberant reaction from Scott Wlasuk told both Peabody Athletic Director Phil Sheridan and the school’s principal Ed Sapienza all they needed to know about their selection.

“You see someone react like that and it makes you feel pretty good about your decision,” said Sheridan Tuesday morning after formally announcing the decision to name the 47-year-old Peabody police officer as the new Peabody High football coach.

“Just watching it gave both Ed and I the biggest smiles.”

Sheridan and the other six members of the search committee hope the decision, which was about five months in the making after the sudden resignation of first-year coach Dick Woodbury, will finally bring some stability to a football program that has been in flux for the last four years.

“I think I’m still walking on air,” said Wlasuk. “I can remember my dad taking me to my first Peabody High football game when I was seven and for the next 40 years it has been such a big part of my life.”

After serving for 20 falls in one capacity or another on the Tanners sidelines, Wlasuk, who starred at Peabody in both lacrosse and football in the late 70s, brings the kind of experience and commitment to the football program that the search committee had put a premium on.

“One of the main things was his commitment to Peabody football,” said Sheridan. “He had no interest in coaching anywhere else but Peabody.”

Sheridan was quick to note that that sentiment was shared by the other two finalists for the job: Peabody baseball coach Mark Bettencourt and Peabody winter and spring track assistant coach Ruben Reynoso, who is also the offensive coordinator at Wakefield High.

“We were really in a win-win-win position,” said Sheridan. “All three were great candidates with great character and leadership skills. The one big tilting factor in Scott’s favor though was the 20 years of experience.”

As a long-time assistant to coach Ed Nizwantowski, Wlasuk was on the sidelines for the bulk of a golden period in Tanner football that saw Peabody rack up a 179-64-6 mark in the GBL, five trips to the Super Bowl and two state titles. He plans to draw on many of the lessons that he learned over that span as well as those from his playing days as a two-way starter at cornerback and spit end for coach Arthur Adamopoulos.

“I felt very fortunate to get the chance to play for a coaching legend in Arthur Adamopoulos,” said Wlasuk who would go on to star in both football and lacrosse at Wesleyan, “then I got to coach with a second legend in Nizwantowski. Much of what I do will come directly from those two guys.”

After two years away from the program Wlasuk returned to the sidelines last season as an assistant to Woodbury and endured a season which saw Peabody post a 1-10 mark in its first season in the NEC. Despite the record, Wlasuk views the season as a valuable first step towards restoring the program to its former glory.

“The No. 1 thing we have to do is get some stability for the kids who have gone through a lot of changes over the last four years,” he said. “It all starts with character and that’s what I see when I look back on last season, not the record. Our captains – Luke Moran, Scott Diefenbach and Joe Maroney – set a great example and taught me a lot about myself and what type of coach I want to be. I expect to build off that in the future.”

Wlasuk inherits a strong nucleus of returning players led by new captains Nick Hiou, Tommy Ciulla and Kevin Bettencourt. He planned to meet with all three and the rest of the returnees on Tuesday and will likely be counting down the minutes until the first double session in August.

“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am,” Wlasuk reiterated. “I’ll let you know when my feet touch the ground.”