Connect with us

Wrestling

Hertzog: Tough love lessons a part of Petrucelli’s rise

Hertzog: Tough love lessons a part of Petrucelli’s rise

It was two years ago to the day. So much different, so much the same.

I attend a lot of sporting events, as you might imagine. Increasingly so in recent years in an era where a sports editor finds himself as his staff’s lead photographer, too.

There have been countless winning moments, clutch moments, nervous moments, heartbreaking moments.

Many are forgotten. But one has stuck in the forefront of my mind above any other.

Two years ago, I was covering the Southeast AAA Regional at Souderton, sitting matside with a camera and a notebook, working up a piece on the high stakes of the fifth-place matches, where a wrestler either makes states or his season’s over. It’s the epitome of “thrill of victory, agony of defeat.”

The third Mercury-area wrestler to take the mat, an Owen J. Roberts rookie, had compiled a commendable 32-win season to that point, but the physicality had taken its toll. He entered the 132-pound fifth-place

With Owen J. Roberts teammate Cole Meredith wrestling for a PIAA berth in the foreground, Owen J. Roberts’ Antonio Petrucelli receives treatment on his knee after losing his fifth-place match via injury default at the South East AAA Regional in 2017 at Souderton.

match ailing and early in the first period he needed an injury timeout.

Antonio Petrucelli was in tears, his body calling ‘no mas’ at the summit of his season.

It was an emotional scene, though that wasn’t evident on the face of the assistant coach coming out to check on Petrucelli. The assistant coach was his father, Marc.

Viewed in isolation, the stoicism was unsettling, especially for the guy behind the camera a few feet away who would become a first-time father three months later. It was difficult to envision seeing my child in distress and wanting them to press on.

But now, two years later, context unveils the truth of that moment: inside, Marc Petrucelli was grappling himself.

“He wanted to get to states so bad that it was about getting him back up after he screwed his knee up,” Marc Petrucelli recalled about Antonio’s freshman finale. “It was ‘go back out there’ even though it was locking up. The only shot he had was to be on the mat.

“(Matside), I try to be a parent second and a coach first. But in that particular situation, and it’s obviously my kid, I wanted to get him back on the mat because that’s what he wanted to do. At the end of the day it’s all about him.”

The stern look wasn’t some kind of anomaly, as anyone who has been around the Owen J. Roberts wrestling team can attest. On head coach Steve DeRafelo’s staff, Marc Petrucelli comes across like the tough dad you don’t want to test.

But in that match, the line between push and protect was tested.

“I had a torn meniscus in my knee,” Antonio Petrucelli remembers. “It locked up during my 5-6 match with Nick Lilley (a Downingtown West junior). It wouldn’t unlock really. I think I was down 6-3 at the time. I got up and I tried to wrestle and they stopped it again. I said ‘No, I want to wrestle,’ even though I could barely stand.”

“My dad and my brother kind of pulled me from the match. (The frustration) was a combination of me not being able to finish a match the way I wanted to and knowing my season was over, which was heartbreaking.”

Two years later almost to the day, on the same floor as that past pain, Petrucelli’s progress was apparent: having already qualified for the PIAA 3A Championships for the second straight year, he was wrestling in the 138-pound final against host Souderton’s Tyler Williams, a match moved to marquee status as the evening’s finale.

Owen J. Roberts’ Antonio Petrucelli, left, faces off with Souderton’s Tyler Williams in the 138-pound final at the Southeast AAA Regional last weekend at Souderton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)

The end of his first season wasn’t a defining moment, instead extra fuel for a wrestler with passion and pedigree for the sport the Petrucellis call their own.

Brother Dominick (Class of 2015) was a 100-win wrestler at Owen J. Roberts, following the path of Marc (OJR Class of 1978), who went on to wrestle at Wilkes University.

Antonio already passed 100 career wins (two weekends ago at the District 1-3A North tournament) as a junior and is 40-8 entering this weekend’s PIAA 3A Championships in Hershey.

It backs up last summer when he placed fourth at the Marines Cadet & Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D., to earn freestyle All-American status.

“He’s a really driven kid. He wants to be successful. He wants to wrestle Division I, which is as tough as it gets,” Marc Petrucelli said. “His brother (Dominick) motivated him. He always wanted to do better than his older brother.

“They really cheer for each other and pull for each other.”

That ‘tough love’ that Marc Petrucelli considers himself a believer in is an ingredient of his youngest son’s success.

Owen J. Roberts head coach Steve DeRafelo, left, assistant Marc Petrucelli, center, and junior Antonio Petrucelli watch during a dual match at OJR earlier this season. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)

“The world’s easy today. Everybody wants the best for their kids and so do I,” Marc said. “But I want them to earn it every single day. And the greatest thing about wrestling is, all these kids that participate – I don’t care if they’re successful or not successful – earn every single thing they get.”

There are few competitors you’ll see with more passion for wrestling than Antonio Petrucelli: “Tote” as he’s known around the OJR wrestling room, was also known for giving his teammates scouting reports on the opposition during the dual season.

He brings an intensity onto the mat that is part nature, part nurture.

“I’ve always been passionate in everything I’ve done. I put so much into this sport and I hate losing,” Antonio Petrucelli said. “It runs in my family. We’re a competitive family.

“My dad, on the side, he’s very intense. He’s in every match, whether it’s me, Ricky (McCutchen), Dan (Mancini), any of them, he’s always in every match. He brings another level of intensity that’s pushed me to become more intense.”

That intensity can be a blessing. It can be something of a curse, too.

It’s why for all the poetic progress between his two trips to Souderton – from unfortunate exit as a freshman to main event status as a junior – Antonio Petrucelli’s Saturday night ended the same on both occasions: with him devastated.

In Antonio Petrucelli’s mind, the results are only black and white. And the 9-3 defeat to Souderton’s Williams that forced him to settle for second place at the regional tournament for a second straight year meant he failed to meet his goal.

“I put so much time into the sport and when it doesn’t go your way, it’s not a good feeling,” he said.

This time though, Petrucelli has another chance to change that lingering feeling while carrying the lessons of distant and recent past.

“Even though I don’t feel I wrestled to my capability,” Antonio said, “it was a good learning experience especially with states coming up this weekend and hopefully I can make those changes with Dan (Mancini) in the room and get a gold medal next weekend.

“But I have a lot of work to do.”

OJR’s Antonio Petrucelli (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)

No sport is as absolute as wrestling: the highs are higher, the lows are lower. That’s a big reason why I find myself drawn to it.

Two years ago, I was instinctually uncomfortable with what I thought was Marc Petrucelli exhibiting too tough of love while his son struggled to put one foot in front of the other.

But with time, and seeing Antonio’s progress, someone who can feel like a helicopter parent in the making started seeing the merits of tough love even in tough situations.

With the real story in one hand, and my nearly 2-year-old daughter in the other, the lesson has changed but it’s no less valuable: parenting isn’t about how you can interject your own style, it’s about doing your best to support your child’s dreams, even when it’s a tough thing to do.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in Wrestling

situs slot gacor provider terbaik agen toto slot terpercaya 2023 agen toto togel terpercaya 2023 situs toto togel pasaran resmi terbaik bandar toto macau pasaran resmi toto togel bandar toto slot gacor 4d 2023 bo togel online pasaran terlengkap sepanjang masa bo toto slot terlengkap sepanjang masa situs toto togel 2023 bet 100 perak daftar toto slot dan toto togel 2023 bermain toto togel dengan bet hanya 100 perak daftar toto slot bonus new member terpercaya bermain toto slot pelayanan 24 jam nonstop situs toto togel terpercaya situs toto togel online terbaik winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto unsurtoto unsurtoto unsurtoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto rasa4d rasa4d rasa4d gampangtoto gampangtoto gampangtoto winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto rasa4d bungtoto bandar toto togel terbesar hadiah 4d 10 juta daftar winsortoto situs toto terbaik winsortoto situs toto slot gacor dengan toto togel terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bet 100 perak winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto slot 4d winsortoto situs toto togel online deposit 10rb winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta winsortoto agen toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto agen toto slot dan situs toto togel resmi winsortoto situs toto togel 4d terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi terbesar winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto terpercaya beragam bonus winsortoto situs toto terpercaya toto togel dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs togel online dan slot online terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online hadiah terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel bonus harian terbesar winsortoto agen togel online terlengkap bet 100 perak winsortoto situs toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d terbaik winsortoto situs toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel online terpercaya 2023 winsortoto agen toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d winsortoto agen toto togel online banyak bonus terbesar winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus new member winsortoto situs togel online resmi terpercaya pasaran terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel online 4d terpercaya situs toto togel deposit pulsa tanpa potongan winsortoto situs toto slot pasti slot gacor winsortoto situs toto slot dan toto togel hadiah terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan resmi dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto resmi bonus new member 100rb tanpa potongan winsortoto toto slot gacor dan togel online resmi terpercaya winsortoto situs toto toge online terpercaya di Indonesia winsortoto toto togel online bonus new member terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta terpercaya winsortoto toto togel online hadiah 4d 10 juta bet 100 winsortoto situs togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online resmi dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel permainan toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus menarik winsortoto situs toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online winsortoto situs toto terpercaya togel online dan slot online resmi winsortoto situs toto dengan permainan togel 4d dan slot 4d winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan togel online terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel terpercaya permainan resmi winsortoto situs toto togel resmi bet 100 perak tanpa potongan winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto resmi winsortoto toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya dan terbaik winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto bungtoto rasa4d titi4d ltdtoto bobatoto bobatoto situs toto togel slot situs bandar toto togel slot terpercaya titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d slot titi4d togel situs titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d titi4d togel titi4d slot situs titi4d agen titi4d bandar titi4d