JohnA Passaro's Blog, page 16
March 11, 2020
The You Flu – Spread It
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For one of the first times in history, we are tracing the contagious characteristics of a virus.
We are seeing where something comes from and how something spreads.
Imagine if we could also see where goodness, kindness, belief, and optimism comes from and where it spreads.
It is time that this world gets the You Flu.
Spread the best of you.
Infect everyone whom you come into contact with –
with belief, optimism, hope, and love.
Now that we have seen how fast the smallest of things spread, let’s make the biggest of things spread faster.
Spread kindness.
Spread caring.
Spread love.
Spread humanity.
Spread the best of you.
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March 3, 2020
Control the Controllable
Control the controllable.
Everyone has controllable and uncontrollable parts to their life.
Everyone thinks it is the uncontrollable parts of their life that need the most attention.
I beg to differ.
The uncontrollable parts cannot be controlled.
The controllable parts can.
Concentrate on controlling the controllable.
For, it’s when what we can control is uncontrolled that our lives spin out of control.
JohnA Passaro
Wristband or Handstamp?
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February 2014
Wrestling tournaments are physically and emotionally draining.
Especially for parents.
Hours and hours of waiting and anxiety exchanged for a few minutes of a burst of energy from your son.
For me it is not the actual mat time that is so stressful, it is calming my mind to neutral between matches that sap my energy.
During this time, my mind is like a charger left in an outlet, unattached from its phone.
The constant flow of useless energy.
It takes a lot of experience to realize that once you are at the tournament, all preparation work is done.
There is nothing, other than being over-bearing, that can be done on tournament day.
“Just let him be,” I keep telling myself.
“Let him figure it out; it is part of the process.”
It took a long time to come to this means, and a lot of trust in coaches, but for me as a parent, this is also part of the process.
“I also had to figure it out.”
So now as I enter each tournament and pay my admission, I either receive a wristband or a hand stamp.
If given a choice, I prefer the wristband.
And after all, is said and done and every match has been wrestled, and I find myself recapping the last few days in my mind, I suddenly realize what this is all about.
It is about lasting memories and relationships you build through sport.
If you asked the normal person how many moments in their life they vividly remember, I mean vividly remember, I would bet that no more than a few will come to mind.
The sport of wrestling has created so many vivid memories for me;
I feel blessed.
Memories that I would like to hold on to for my lifetime.
Memories that I know I will draw upon when I need them the most.
And that may be very soon.
So in the shower, while recapping this weekend’s competition, I look down at my right hand and I see the hand stamp from the New York State Tournament and I realize that it will be the last one I will attend as a parent of a wrestler.
And one thought goes through my mind, “I wish this handstamp was a wristband instead.”
You see, the wristband lasts just a little longer.
So, for as long as my hand stamp is still visible to me, my right hand will not be washed below my wrist so the memory of this weekend can last just a little longer.
Wristband or Handstamp
Is a chapter excerpt from
Again: The Ability to Muster up a Little More When the Whole World Would Understand If You Quit
February 27, 2020
What Does Wearing the Section XI Singlet Mean to You?
Nick Piccininni – Ward Melville 2015, Oklahoma State 2020
Wearing the Section XI Singlet is one of the best feelings that a High School Wrestler can experience.
Now Instead of having my High School team behind me, I now have all of Section XI behind me.
Brandon Escobar – Rocky Point 3rd NYS, 2012 Olympian
Wearing the Section XI singlet will forever be my highest honor.
It’s my home, my family, friends and my first real accomplishment.
I was young when I earned that singlet and I realized then that anything was possible with hard work.
Suffolk County is a diamond mine of talented wrestlers and great coaches and if you make it out of Suffolk County you are one of the best athletes in the world.
So to be a part of that is an honor on its own.
The Section XI singlet is so special to me that I carry it with me everywhere I go, its been to every competition I’ve ever competed in.
I wore it to the Olympic weigh-ins.
And the best part was that the weigh-in judge looked at my singlet and said “Suffolk County….that’s on Long Island” and I just smiled and said ” “Yeah, Strong Island.”
We are known all over.
Billy Coggins – Rocky Point 2010, Virginia 2015
Competing in the Section XI singlet is the dream of all youth wrestlers in Suffolk county.
When you put on that singlet it gives you a mental edge that cannot be replicated.
It is a chance to cement your legacy and inspire the next generation.
Anthony Volpe – Rocky Point Academy 2010 Rutgers University/UMD
At a very young age, it was a goal to wrestle in the state tournament with that blue & white section XI singlet. It is the pinnacle of being a wrestler in Suffolk County.
That singlet was the reason for every extra work out, weight cut, national tournament, and sacrifices beyond belief. At the end of the day, it was worth every second.
Tyler Grimaldi – Half Hollow Hills West 2013, Harvard 2017
As my dad always said the Section XI singlet is the “holy grail” of New York Wrestling.
Only the best of the best get to compete in it, and it was more than an honor to do so on two occasions.
People hold Section XI to such a high standard.
When you see somebody in the Section XI singlet it automatically demands respect and attention.
Being able to represent Suffolk County at States was one of the many blessings this sport has allowed me.
Vin Miceli – Port Jefferson 2018 Bloomsburg University 2022
Wearing the Section XI singlet is something I’ve strived for since the day I put on a pair of wrestling shoes.
It’s a youth wrestler’s dream.
It represents power, tradition and relentless determination.
Jackie Gold – Rocky Point 2016 Edinboro 2021
Getting to wear the blue and white Section XI singlet up in Albany is something extremely special.
You’re representing Suffolk County.
The Yankees of New York State wrestling.
It’s a legacy and tradition of greatness.
Tommy Dutton – Rocky Point 2015, Harvard 2019
Wearing the Section XI singlet is like wearing history, I feel like a part of something amazing when I put that singlet on and walk out on the mat.
Chris Mauriello – Hauppauge 2016, Hofstra
The section XI singlet means a lot, I used to watch all of the great wrestlers wearing that singlet and dreamed about it for years.
Alex Gomez – Brentwood 2011, Ithaca 2015
Wearing the Section XI singlet meant representing Brentwood, Strong Island, and the best section in New York State (my opinion).
It meant that all the hard work I put into the sport was paying off.
Jacob Restrepo – Sachem East 2013, Maryland
That navy blue Section XI Singlet was a symbol of motivation.
Growing up I watched some of the greatest wrestlers to ever come out of Long Island.
Guys like Alex/Ricardo Gomez, Corey/Malik Rasheed, Patrick Jennings, Nicky Hall, and Carlos Toribio all make that singlet seem larger than life.
Wearing that singlet meant carrying on the legacy of Section 11 wrestling.
When times got tough, I’d think back on the guys who did it before me and gain confidence in myself that I can do anything just as they did.
When times got tough, I’d think back on the guys who did it before me and gain confidence in myself that I can do anything just as they did.
When times got tough, I’d think back on the guys who did it before me and gain confidence in myself that I can do anything just as they did.
Having role models like that gave me the mental edge and held me to a higher standard in every facet of life.
This cycle of inspiration to motivation, to action, is what it means to wear that singlet.
Rafael Lievano -Ward Melville 2018
Wearing the Section XI singlet is a dream come true for any kid growing up in Suffolk county.
Once you walk out onto the mat in the Blue and White you feel invincible.
Kris Ketchum – Rocky Point 2019, Ohio State 2023
This singlet made me feel like I was part of something greater.
Like I was on a different level.
The first time wearing it is indescribable.
Nick Munsch – Commack 2017, JWU
Wearing the Section XI singlet for me was a dream of mine since I started the sport of wrestling as a little kid.
There has always been an aura that surrounded any Section XI wrestler at the state tournament.
No one cared about any other singlet except that special navy blue and white singlet.
Anyone wearing that singlet had the potential to walk out of the state tournament a champion because of how tough it was to even make it the tournament from Section XI.
As a kid, it was like seeing the Yankees in their pinstripes.
It became my dream as a little boy to wear that singlet and when it became true it was the proudest moment of my life.
Years and years of blood, sweat, and tears just to wear a singlet for one tournament.
To represent decades and decades of legends before me in that singlet.
Truly a miracle to have been able to wear that singlet and it was only possible because of the hard work and dedication.
For such a long time in my life, I kept visualizing myself being at that state tournament wearing those colors and the fact that it actually happened, in reality, is a feeling that I can’t use words to describe.
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Maverick Passaro – ESM 2012
The Section XI singlet was a symbol of family, confidence and belief in yourself.
Once you put that singlet on you were backed up by the greatest section in wrestling.
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Wearing a section XI singlet to me was something that I admired since I was a youth wrestler.
Being a young kid, I would idolize the top dogs in Suffolk County that represented Section XI by wearing that singlet.
My brother Christian and I would talk about how our favorite studs from Suffolk County were the most dangerous people on the planet and they were official, bad-ass men representing Section XI.
Coming from Eastport South Manor, I was able to grow up watching the total stud wrestlers compete who I looked up to.
The Passaro brothers, Busiello’s, Nick Garone and Jimmy Leach were the guys who represented not only ESM but all of Section XI to me being that they were not only beast, but from my town.
My time finally came and I will never forget getting my own Section XI singlet to pack in my bag for the weekend heading to Albany.
Leaving my house that morning for the state tournament, my dad told me,
“This is it kid, you worked for this, now it’s time to represent Strong Island.”
I went up to the state tournament and wore that singlet proudly – all the way to the state finals.
To me, wearing a Section XI singlet was worth more than any designer brand.
Section XI is my pride and wearing that singlet meant everything to me.
Joe Gannone – ESM 2019, JWU 2024
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Wearing the Section XI meant to me that I had a chance to beat anyone in my bracket.
It meant that I belonged to be in the state tournament.
It meant that I was part of history and at the time I was writing it.
Adam Busiello – ESM 2019, PSU
From the Basement to the Jumbotron
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March 1st, 2014, 6:00 pm
I am one of approximately six thousand fans that simultaneously stand.
I remove my cap; I find the flag to the right of me up in the rafters of the Times Union Arena in Albany, New York, and I ever so lightly start to sing:
“Oh say can you see.”
The words to the National Anthem remind me that the finals of the 2014 New York State Wrestling Championships will begin in about five minutes.
A total feeling of inner peace and harmony comes over me; it always does during the National Anthem, especially one that precedes a major athletic championship event.
This time is a little different; my feelings amplified.
I look around, and I take a panoramic picture of the magnificence of this moment.
My mind wonders for a few seconds.
A thought comes to my mind of how much work and effort was needed, most of which occurred with no one watching, to get to this moment.
As I finish my thought, I look up, slightly to my left, and on the Arena’s Jumbotron, I see a gigantic picture of Nick, Travis, and Chris, now being seen by all six thousand wrestling fans in attendance.
They are each rocking back and forth, anxiously shifting their weight from their right side to their left side.
Every once in a while, they give a good leg shake, to kick the pins and needles out of their legs.
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So much time has been put in by each young man in the basement of a secluded wrestling room, with no one watching.
Now, together, a giant size image of each of them is on the Jumbotron a few minutes before the State Finals.
From the basement to the Jumbotron.
Hard work, while no one is watching, wins.
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From the Basement to the Jumbotron is a chapter excerpt from
February 20, 2020
It Has To Hurt
Wisdom
Is nothing more than
Healed pain.
Robert Gary-Lee
You set out to achieve greatness, and you have come up short.
You met your match.
You now realize that you gave it your all, and your all just wasn’t enough.
And it hurts.
It hurts badly.
Worse than anything you have ever felt before.
There is only one thing left to do –
Trust in the process.
It has to hurt.
For the hurt that festers in your soul gets converted to drive, hard work, and ambition.
All vital ingredients needed to propel you to the next level.
There are only 15 wrestlers per year that win their last four matches of the season.
All the rest will end their season with a loss.
But don’t let a loss defeat you.
Especially twice.
You will learn more from your losses than you ever will from your wins.
Let the loss hurt.
When it hurts, it means you care.
When you care, you will figure it out.
Rededicate yourself.
I needn’t remind you that you didn’t set out to achieve something ordinary.
You set out to accomplish something extraordinary.
Therefore, it is going to require an extraordinary effort.
One, which separates yourself from others.
And those others, are hungry wrestlers who are willing and able to go through physical and mental torture.
So stand back up.
First, look back, and see how far you’ve come.
Then look ahead, and see how much further there is to go.
I guarantee the shorter distance is the one ahead of you.
Discouragement is a dream chaser.
Shelve the feelings of discouragement and just focus on the work.
Wrestling is the greatest sport on earth for the sole reason that the people who are willing to work will see success.
It is not a matter of if –
But when.
Be relentless in the pursuit of your goal.
Make your will the strongest part of your makeup.
There is a reason why you are going through what you are.
Believe that.
Everything happens for a reason; else it would have happened differently.
There is something that you need to learn to prepare you for what is to come.
Inspect what that reason may be.
Embrace it.
Understand there is still more to be learned.
Concentrate on progress and not perfection.
Count the times you gave 100% for 6 minutes this year.
Then top that effort next year.
That’s it.
It’s that simple.
You will get there.
Hurt is an indispensable part of the formula for greatness.
A loss is not where the journey ends.
It is where the initiation of greatness begins.
It Has To Hurt
Is a chapter from
Which can be purchased at
February 19, 2020
Figure It Out
To struggle and to understand.
Never the last without the first.
George Mallory
We have all been in that hallway before.
We have all lost that tough match.
We have all put everything into this sport,
and then suddenly it doesn’t work out, and it just breaks your heart.
What do we do?
What does a wrestler do?
They don’t quit.
They don’t stop.
They get back to work.
They work harder.
They throw themselves deeper into the sport.
They figure it out.
They revise their plan.
That is exactly what wrestling is about.
That is exactly what life is about.
Whenever you face a situation in life where you find yourself in that proverbial hallway, don’t feel sorry for yourself.
Don’t quit.
Don’t stop.
Get back to work.
Work harder.
Figure it out.
Figure It Out
Is a chapter from
Which can be purchased at
February 17, 2020
February 10, 2020
Angels on a Train Inspirational Wall Decor
Inspirational Wall Decor
Your Choice of size, 8×10, 11×14, 12×18, 16×20, 20×30
Your Choice of Framed (Black) or Unframed
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5-7 Day Delivery
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Angels on a Train
People will come in and out of your life like passengers traveling on a train.
And it always seems like everyone is traveling to the same destination as you are.
Until you realize they are not.
Everyone is on his or her own journey.
People can and will get off the train at any stop.
There will be a few people in your life that will make the whole trip with you, who believe in you, accept that you are human and understand that mistakes will be made along the way and that you will get to your desired destination together – no matter what.
Be very grateful for these people, for they are rare.
When you find one, don’t ever let go.
Be very wary of people sneaking on at certain stops when things are going well and acting like they have been there for the whole ride.
For they will be the first to depart.
There will be people who secretly try to get off the ride, and there will be those that very publicly will jump off.
Don’t pay any heed to the defectors.
Just know where and how people get off is more of a reflection on them, than it is on you.
Be blessed for the ones who get on at the worst stops when everyone else is departing.
For they are special.
Always hold them dear to your heart.
For they are the important ones.
Embrace them.
Welcome them.
Pay close attention to them.
They are there to make sure you complete your journey and arrive at your destination.
And when you do, you will look up to smile at them, to thank them…
And they will be gone.
For their job will have been done.
For they are not defectors – they are angels.
Just know a piece of them will remain with you forever.
If you ever have the opportunity to be that person who has a chance to walk into someone’s life when everyone else is walking out, embrace it, relish it.
For it is one of the most important roles you can have in someone else’s life – to be their angel.
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JohnA Passaro
A Good Man
February 9, 2020
You Don’t Get What You Deserve You Get What You Earn
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Do, or do not.
There is no try.
Star Wars
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Being able to execute in the big spot is a sign of a champion.
Imagine going undefeated all season, 50-0 and then losing in the state finals to a wrestler with a record of 40-10.
On paper, it would have seemed that you had deserved to win.
But championships aren’t won on paper.
They’re won in the circle.
And every time you step into the circle, the past is wiped clean, and the only thing that matters is the next six minutes.
There is one thing that I don’t agree with.
All coaches give a similar rally speech which goes something like this,
“Nobody deserves it more than us,”
“Nobody worked harder than us,”
“Nobody wants it more than us.”
That is simply not true.
At the elite level, if you didn’t work hard, you wouldn’t be there, and everybody wants it.
The truth is what differentiates the champions from 2nd place finishers is being able to execute in the big spot.
To be able to have your best performance at the right moment.
There are many deserving people in this world.
The people who achieve are the ones who execute in a big spot.
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Wrestling Rules for Life
bit.ly/Buy_Wrestling_Rules_For_Life
