A Matter of Timing With Tigers Wrestling Coach Selletti

NEWTOWN SQUARE–Mike Selletti ran a highly successful wrestling program at . In two years, he turned the wrestling program around. Last week, his contract was not renewed but not for any mysterious reason or parental complaints.

It was a simple matter of logistics, according to Marple Newtown Athletic Director Dennis Reardon. Selletti, a teacher in Philadelphia, made the arduous task each weekend afternoon of traveling from Philadelphia to Newtown Square.

Selletti would routinely arrive at the school at around 4:15 p.m., when practice would begin at 2:45, right after school was over, according to Reardon.

When Selletti was contacted by Patch, he chose not to respond.

But Reardion responded. The Marple Newtown athletic director told Patch that he liked the job that Selletti did in turning a dormant program around into a legitimate contender for the Central League title next year.

“I need to evaluate what the options are to get someone in the room all of the time,” said Reardon, who recently wrote a letter of recommendation for Selletti for a wrestling position and teaching job at another school.

He continued, “Mike is a good guy and he’s done a nice job with the program. It was a matter of logistics and time commitment. This guy busted his hump to make it every day from Philadelphia to get here, and that’s a tough commute. But there are a lot of liability issues in high school sports. I can’t have one guy in the room when you have 35 to 40 kids in there.”

Reardon pointed out that the team went 14-1 and 10-1 in the Central League under Selletti last year. That Selletti brought strong ideals to the wrestlers on the team, but just imagine if someone was there with Selletti’s expertise all of the time.

“Based on the success we had, I’d say, yes, Mike’s a good coach,” Reardon said. “We had a great working relationship. We’re on very good terms. This was strictly a timing issue, quite honestly. If Mike was able to make it on time every day, and believe me, he tried, there wouldn’t have been an issue.”

The Tigers will return a solid nucleus of Ken Smith, Tom Antista, Matt Wilkinson and Jason Rinaldi next year.

Reardon will post the varsity wrestling coach position as being open and will begin collating resumes later this week. The interview process will begin in a few weeks.

Reardon is looking for someone with expertise that can be “in the room all of the time. I want to see what comes through the door who are qualified and be able to fulfill the time commitment.”