Eddie Torres proudly wore red when he was in high school.
Now that he’s been out for a few decades, he still proudly wears red.
But now it’s a different school.
Torres was an elite wrestler at North Catholic High School before graduating in 1992. Like most guys who went to North, he was passionate about the school, and proud to represent the Falcons.
But now he’s also a Ryan guy after a chance reunion that happened while he was being honored by his alma mater.
“When I got inducted into North Catholic’s Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017, fellow teammates John Swift and Joe McGuigan, they’re class of 1994, they were running the high school and junior wrestling programs at Ryan,” Torres said. “They asked me to come to a practice and show a few of my favorite moves.
“It had probably been 15 years since I had stepped on a mat, but I went to a practice, showed a few moves and wrestled a little. I almost died. And I never left. I’ve been an assistant coach at Ryan ever since.”
Torres has been a huge help to the Raiders wrestling program, a program that seems to make strides every year.
But when good people walk the halls of Ryan, the school does its best to keep them there, and that’s exactly what happened with Torres.
On top of being a wrestler, he’s gotten into another sport as he’s gotten older. It just so happens that his other favorite sport was one Ryan administrators were hoping to bring back.
“I got into golf when a couple of older gentlemen from my previous job challenged a few of us younger guys, who were pretty good athletes in high school, but never played golf, to a friendly round,” Torres said. “That was 10 years ago. I’ve been addicted ever since.”
Now he’s bringing the fever to Ryan.
Torres is working with the school to bring the golf program back. The plan is to play in the fall with Torres as the head coach.
Since word the program was coming back has gotten around, it’s been nothing but excitement.
“I was first approached last season by Ryan’s principal Joe McFadden and Linda Rehfuss (who works in Admissions at Ryan and is involved with the wrestling team) if I was interested in coaching golf,” Torres said. “Linda knows I am an avid golfer and mentioned my name.”
In April, it became official.
Now Torres is the head coach and he’s looking at building a program.
It might not be North, but it’s home.
“The school, alumni and the community all look out for each other as a whole,” Torres said about his adopted school. “It’s a great support group. Everyone has the same goal, to get our students to the next level in life. To prepare them for the new challenges they will face. I came from a place where it takes a village, Ryan has a strong village and I am proud to be part of it.”
Torres knows starting the program will be a challenge.
He doesn’t have any stud golfers that he knows of in the program, but he’s optimistic there will be plenty of good athletes looking to join in.
Athletic director Joe Zeglinski had his high school jersey number retired in both football and basketball. He’s certainly not the only one at Ryan who encourages athletes to sign up for multiple sports. Golf is just another one offered and Torres believes he’ll see some familiar faces.
“As of now I don’t have any wrestlers trying out for the golf team but I expect that to change,” Torres said. “I like to keep our wrestlers active and for the most part they all play multiple sports. We encourage our wrestlers to play other sports. Any wrestler not playing a fall sport will be encouraged to come out for golf and any golfer not playing a winter sport will be encouraged to come out for the wrestling team.
“Unfortunately I did not play golf at North. I wish I had. I was young and after football and wrestling seasons I just wanted to have fun and hang around the neighborhood with my friends. All my neighborhood friends went to public schools.”
Starting a program is tough, but it’s a challenge Torres is ready to take down.
“I myself don’t have any kids but I treat my wrestlers like they’re my kids,” Torres said, adding Joe McFadden, school president Joe Sanginiti, Zeglinski and lacrosse coach Shane Taylor have all had a huge hand in getting things started. “We have fun, we have serious times, we laugh, I yell, we go out to eat, they get pissed then we laugh again. I love what I do. We have 25-30 different personalities to deal with. They all make me laugh in their own way. No 2 kids are the same. It’s pretty entertaining throughout the season. I expect the same from the golf team. Put in the work and have fun.
“They’re all great kids and some just need a little direction. I’m an average golfer but I believe I am a good coach that can relate to today’s kids and point them in the right direction.”
