Mickler

Later that day during gym class, Coach Mickler called me into his office.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005

Coach Mickler verbally brutalized a lot of players, including my friend Scott Marie.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005

The man who ran our program was Coach Mickler, and he ran it with an iron fist.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005

Our school had a freshman team, so in ninth grade I played on that team and escaped the wrath of Coach Mickler, who concentrated his time on the varsity squad.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005

Stealing the sign was just good fun, but Coach Mickler had called me a vandal, a hood, white trash.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005

I ended up wrestling in only one tournament because when Coach Mickler found out I was wrestling, he ordered me to quit immediately.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005

Coach Mickler looked straight out of central casting.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005

Coach Mickler was in there with the principal, and they asked us if we had stolen the sign.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005

Suffice it to say, my relationship with Coach Mickler changed that day.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005

“Now you get that jacket, and you get it now and give it back to my son,” he told Mickler.

heartbreak &triumph Trisia Tomanelli 2005