L.B. coach Palacio honored

A longtime Long Beach wrestling coach has been honored on a state and national level.

Long Beach assistant varsity coach Leo Palacio, who has been linked to the Marine program for the past 35 years, was voted the New York State National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Assistant Coach of the Year following the 2014 season. He then received Regional Coach of the Year honors from the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

“Leo Palacio is a great coach and a wonderful person,” said 18th-year Long Beach varsity wrestling head coach Ray Adams. “He has had a huge impact on countless young men in the Long Beach community over the last 30 years.”

Palacio’s roots in Long Beach wrestling go back to the early 1980s when he was a three-time All-County selection and along with his brothers Aland and Luis helped lead the Marines to a 1982 state championship. After wrestling at the University of North Carolina, Palacio began coaching his high school alma mater and has helped the program win 18 Nassau County championships and two state titles.

“The program means a lot because it’s where I came from,” Palacio said. “The greatest thing for me is to give back to the program and the athletes.”

Palacio, who was also voted the 2010 Nassau County Assistant Coach of the Year, has a son, Dylan, who also excelled on the mat at Long Beach with a 2012 state title and now wrestles at Cornell. His other son, Michael, was a standout soccer player at Stony Brook and was drafted by the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer in 2008.

“Coach Palacio is a tremendous role model for our kids,” Long Beach Athletic Director Arnie Epstein said. “He is a credit to the whole profession.” 

Palacio, who is also the head coach of Long Beach varsity boys’ soccer and middle school softball, credits his family and coaching colleagues for the success he has achieved over the years with the wrestling program.

“You can’t achieve anything without support,” he said. “The amount of time spent in wrestling is unlike any other sport.”