Published December 16, 2020
By DAN TOMASELLO
Cross-country head coach
LYNNFIELD — It’s the end of an era.
Lynnfield High School math teacher Joe DiBiase is stepping down as head coach of the cross-country teams after leading the Pioneers for the past 27 years. He will also be retiring from LHS this June.
“I have mixed feelings honestly,” said DiBiase in an interview with the Villager. “On one hand, I have had a great 32 years as a teacher and coach, and feel it’s time for younger people to take over. But I also know that I will really miss working with kids whether it is in the classroom or cross-country and track. I have had a great run and have been able to teach, coach and mentor so many fantastic young adults.”
DiBiase began working as a volunteer for the cross-country teams in 1992 under former coach and long-time LHS business teacher Deems Hatch. He took over the program in 1993.
“When I started coaching in 1992, we had six boys on the team and zero girls,” said DiBiase. “Now, we routinely average 25 to 35 kids on each team. It has been very rewarding to build the cross-country program up to a level where we have had success in the Cape Ann League and at the state level. I have tried to have a program where everyone is included and welcome to learn how to become a runner. My goal was to treat the sport as a lifelong endeavor and a great experience in high school, but also a way to help kids stay healthy for their entire lives.”
DiBiase noted that the Pioneers have had a number of accomplishments over the course of his tenure. He recalled that the boys’ team won the CAL championship in 1998 and he was named as the league’s boys’ coach of the year.
“I have won it a few times since then, but that year was very special because the team had worked very hard to rise up from the bottom of the league to CAL champs,” said DiBiase. “I truly believe that all coach of the year awards are really the team of the year awards, but that year was a special one. That same year, I took the varsity team and a group of parents down to New York City to run in the National Foot Locker Cross-Country Meet in Van Cortlandt Park, which is a legendary cross-country course. That group of runners and parents remain very special to me due to their love of the sport and loyalty to their teammates.”
DiBiase also recalled that the MIAA presented the Pioneers with a sportsmanship award in 2003.
“The captains organized a great deal of fundraising and charity benefits, and the MIAA took notice,” said DiBiase.
One of DiBiase’s favorite memories was running in his fifth Boston Marathon in 1995.
“I had trained really well that year, and a few of the kids on the cross-country team met me around Kenmore Square and ran with me,” said DiBiase. “That meant a lot.”
DiBiase said that he and assistant coach Bill Wallace met with former captains Amy Devanay, Amanda Wormstead, Brian Enger, Kevin O’Brien, and Andrew Schenkel in order to discuss whether practice should be canceled on Sept. 11, 2001.
“They were resolute in moving forward and dedicating our workouts to the victims,” said DiBiase. “Their strength, patriotism and maturity remains with me as a bright spot on a very dark day.”
DiBiase recalled that the girls’ cross-country teams averaged seven CAL wins a year from 2009-2013, and qualified for the All-State Meet three times.
“Sammi Albanese, Lexi Buonfiglio, Angelica Kartsounis, Mia DeLuccia and Tia Patterson went on to have great college track and cross-country careers,” said DiBiase. “Those young women were tough and dedicated runners who trained extremely hard in the offseason, worked very hard at practice and hated to lose. To have so much talent for those four years was a really enjoyable and satisfying experience for me as a coach.”
DiBiase also recalled that the 2019 boys’ team qualified for the All-State Meet even though captain John Astrofsky’s season ended abruptly due to an injury.
“Our boys’ team pulled together, hung tough and still qualified for the All-State Cross-Country Meet,” said DiBiase. “That team is a testament to never giving up and working together. They remained true to themselves and the team, took on the challenge and learned to race as a pack. They were such a long shot to make states, but they were very hard working and very coachable. That was real fun to be a part of.”
While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 season to be abbreviated, DiBiase said he enjoyed working with both teams this fall. He was also named as the CAL’s girls’ cross-country coach of the year.
“I give all the credit to captains John Astrofsky, Mike Madden, Mike Dreher, Jen Miller and Megan Chann,” said DiBiase. “They kept the team training when school started remote and pulled the team together during this shortened season. It was great to end my career with a group of young adults such as these.”
In addition to coaching cross-country since 1992, DiBiase has been the boys’ spring track team’s assistant coach since 1994. He served as the JV boys’ basketball head coach from 1993-2000 and was the varsity basketball head coach from 2001-2005.
While DiBiase has been an avid runner for a number of years, he noted that he did not play sports or run in high school.
“I was very involved with music,” said DiBiase. “I played tympani and all of the percussion instruments in the orchestra and concert band, and drums in the jazz ensemble. My brother and I, along with our best friends, actually had a wedding band, where we played at local bars, high school dances and weddings. When I graduated from Siena College in Upstate New York, I was a computer science major, moved to Boston and started a career as a computer programmer. I was your typical computer geek, stuck in a cubicle, wearing a suit, sitting and working all day. Every day that I got home, I was itching to do anything physical. I bought a pair of running shoes and promptly caught the running bug. I worked at it, got my mileage up, ran many road races, 10Ks and even completed the Boston Marathon six times. I had back surgery four years ago that really slowed me up, but I still get out and run three to four days a week.”
DiBiase said coaching the cross-country teams have been incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. He said coach Hatch was a “wonderful mentor.” He has enjoyed coaching with Bill Wallace for the past 20 years even though Wallace is a Boston Red Sox fan while DiBiase cheers for the rival New York Yankees. He has enjoyed working with assistant coach Dylan Rizzo as well.
“The kids respect and admire both coaches so much,” said DiBiase. “I think we make a great team of coaches.”
DiBiase also thanked the community for the support they have given him over the years.
“The people of Lynnfield have been very good to me,” said DiBiase. “I am very lucky to have started my career in a town that supports education and athletics so much. I have met so many wonderful colleagues, students and families. The most important thing is I met my wife Jennifer in Lynnfield. When we first met, we realized we were both from New York and had attended the same college although we were 10 years apart. We became friends immediately. We have had 22 wonderful years together, and have two awesome sons. Anyone who has met her knows she is an outstanding educator and an even better person.”
