Hall of Fame wrestling coach Vic Stanley retires   By TOM WARING Courier Times E-mail Vic Stanley always asked a lot of his wrestlers. The veteran high school coach expected his wrestlers to give a full commitment to the sport. In return, he would give the same level of commitment. That's the only way to run a successful program, he thought. In the last few weeks, Stanley thought a lot about his future as coach at Neshaminy, where he's been since the 1997-98 season. He came to a tough decision: He didn't have the proverbial fire in his belly to coach another year. "I don't believe I have whatever you want to call it to keep the program at the high level I want to keep it at," he said. On Friday, Stanley handed in his resignation to Neshaminy athletic director Sheila Murphy. Murphy asked Stanley to take the weekend to think about the decision. Stanley agreed, but knew he wasn't going to change his mind. He officially resigned on Monday, then told the Neshaminy wrestlers in an emotional meeting yesterday afternoon. "I feel it's time for me to leave," said Stanley, 59. "It's been a good three years." In fact, it's been a lot more than a good three years for Stanley. He took over a rock-bottom Council Rock program in 1967-68. The Indians went 1-10-1 that season, but wouldn't have another losing season under Stanley again. That's saying something, because he stayed until health problems forced him off the mat in 1992. Stanley went 263-82-5 at Council Rock, with five unbeaten seasons. He won 13 league crowns and was named Courier Times Coach of the Year seven times. His retirement was brief. In the 1994-95 season, Stanley took over an Archbishop Wood program that was going a bit downhill. After a poor first year, Stanley produced a winning second season. He guided Wood to the 1997 Philadelphia Catholic League championship match and an apparent victory against North Catholic. The Vikings lifted Stanley onto their shoulders as he clutched the championship trophy. But, after the referee realized that he had botched the 189-pound bout, wrestling moderator Chuck Knowles, the athletic director at Conwell-Egan, had to take the trophy away from Stanley. A week later, the league athletic directors voted to give the trophy to North, handing Stanley perhaps his most bitter defeat. That would be Stanley's final match at Wood, where he went 33-31 and was named Courier Times Coach of the Year in 1997. The Neshaminy job opened up, and Stanley was eager to return to the PIAA wrestling circles. Stanley, a member of the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame, went 32-9 at Neshaminy, giving him a career record of 328-122-5. At Neshaminy, he won two Section One, one District One North and one Southeast Regional titles. Redskins Jesse Oberto and Mike O'Neill won scholar-athlete awards from the local wrestling officials, and Neshaminy won the sportsmanship award from the Suburban One League. In three years, Stanley took eight Redskins to Hershey for the PIAA Class AAA championships. He was in the corner as Michael Pirozzola won back-to-back state titles. Stanley believes Pirozzola is the best wrestler to come out of southeastern Pennsylvania. Stanley said he enjoyed his years at Neshaminy. He said Murphy is the "best athletic director around." He had kind words for Mark Collins, who is not only Neshaminy's principal but a big wrestling fan. Stanley thinks Neshaminy has the best wrestling facilities in the state. He praised Frank Atkinson and the rest of the program's boosters, and credited Jack Fleming Sr., with developing a Neshaminy wrestling Web site. Neshaminy did not win an SOL Patriot Division title under Stanley, losing to Council Rock in 1999 after an upset at 189 pounds and getting whipped by Rock in a battle of unbeatens at the end of the 2000 season. As for his successor, Stanley hopes it will be Steve Herceg, a Neshaminy assistant. In the last month or so, three of Stanley's closest colleagues have resigned. C.D. Mock, whom he coached to a state title at Council Rock, left Rock to become an assistant at the University of North Carolina. Stanley's best friend in coaching, Hatboro-Horsham's Ralph Wetzel, recently retired after a long career. And Steve Peters, who assisted Stanley at Wood before succeeding him, is returning to the assistant ranks. A Doylestown resident, Stanley retired two years ago as a science teacher at Council Rock. He expects to spend much of his free time attending football card shows. Stanley said he loved his years coaching at three area high schools, but believes it's time to move on. "I've been doing this since 1967," he said. "That's quite a long time. I just think it's time for me to get out."     Wednesday, April 19, 2000