Posted by By Josh Quinn, Staff Writer
Annually, 10,849 people are born on December 9, and assistant wrestling at New Paltz High School coach Frank Ciliberto is no different. On his 74th birthday, he spent it with 15 wrestlers, 12 mats, and head coach Ryan Pullman.
Sporting sweatpants and a t-shirt with the words “New Paltz Wrestling” emblazoned on it, Ciliberto is dressed casually, even on his birthday. Since he was a child, Ciliberto was raised in a household focused on wrestling and athletics, competing for the same high bschool his father did. Before he began coaching wrestling however, Ciliberto had another passion: teaching highschoolers.
After graduating from Westchester College, Ciliberto began looking for teaching jobs. Although his first job as a catholic teacher may have been easy to acquire, he felt uninspired to stay, describing it as “a circle trying to fit in a square hole”. After leaving, he found himself at the crux of the most meaningful job of his life, New Paltz High School.
“I originally taught for three years at a Catholic school. It was great. It was a great job, it was the best job anyone could have, as far as I was concerned.”
Frank Ciliberto
Ciliberto entered New Paltz still wet behind the ears from his first job. From 1974 up until 2008, Frank Ciliberto was New Paltz’s only health teacher, and because of this, he taught every single student who graduated. Although this workload may have been difficult for a new teacher, Ciliberto worked hard and adapted to his environment. This hardworking attitude was not something he was born with, but something that he learned through wrestling.
“Never give up. If you stick with something long enough, you’ll succeed.”
Frank Ciliberto
Ever since his youth in Arlington, Pennsylvania, Ciliberto has been wrestling and learning. He began his wrestling career as a child and ended it his senior year of high school. He was inspired by his father, who was also a wrestler, to pursue the craft. Unfortunately, college wrestling is fairly small, with only 500 teams nationwide, compared to college football’s 834 teams, making a future in wrestling nearly impossible to pursue. However, Ciliberto never gave up, and instead of competing went straight to coaching.
“Best season? 2019 was by far our most successful but ‘78, ‘83, ‘85, ‘92, were all great too.”
Frank Ciliberto
In 2019, graduated senior Aidan Cuppet helped carry the team from victory to victory, garnering a total of 101 wins, all thanks to the coaching of Ciliberto. This year, Aidan’s younger brother Cole is graduating, likely following the path of his older brother.
Ciliberto knows how important training athletes from a young age is, coaching both Cole and Aidan, “since they were in diapers”. Up until recently, Ciliberto was able to get on the mat and defeat any student who attempted to wrestle him, and although he’s stopped wrestling, his physical strength is still evident. “I lift weights 3-4 days a week,” Ciliberto said with a slight smile.
“What helps me keep mentally young is working with people who are young. I can’t stand dealing with people my age, because they’re so old-minded.”
Frank Ciliberto
Ciliberto is dedicated, part of an elite 15% of people who work out after the age of 65. To him, physical fitness is key to staying mentally and physically well. Although at the age of 74, he has another trick to staying young.
“What helps me keep mentally young is working with people who are young. I can’t stand dealing with people my age, because they’re so old-minded.”
As a teacher, Ciliberto has been working with high schoolers his whole life, describing them as his “favorite” age to teach. Because he is consistently surrounded by those who are younger than him, he finds himself fulfilled in many ways. Not only that, it helps him enrich his life in retirement.
To Ciliberto, New Paltz wrestling is extremely important. In the sweat, blood, and tears he finds the meaning he found in teaching. Being athletically strong, to him, is the same as academic strength. Although Ciliberto is the assistant coach, many athletes on the wrestling team look up to him and enjoy his company. Even though he gives grueling workouts, many students still joke around with him. One of the most prominent examples of his good humor is shown through how he spoke with his athletes. When asked how he’s managed to look the same since he began coaching at New Paltz, he responded in an instant with a lighthearted chuckle and: “Are you saying that I looked this bad when I was in my 20’s?”
Although Frank Ciliberto taught thousands of students and coached hundreds more throughout his life, he remains humble. When asked to be interviewed, he seemed shocked.
“Oh me?” He said whilst looking himself up and down, “I’m a nobody.”
The Maroon 