- November 21, 2024
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Steve DeAugustino has loved being Flagler Palm Coast High School’s athletic director throughout the past 16 years.
But he’d prefer to devote his last couple of years before his retirement to helping the wrestling program get back to where it was when he was the head coach.
He said he will step down as AD when his annual contract expires in three weeks to become an assistant wrestling coach under one of his former wrestlers, David Bossardet.
DeAugustino will also teach advanced physical education classes, said FPC Principal Bobby Bossardet, who also wrestled for DeAugustino and won a state championship.
“I’m excited for him,” Bobby Bossardet said. “He’s like a father to me, and he’s one of the best high school coaches I’ve ever been involved with. For him to want to spend the last few years of his career the way he came in and pursue his true passion is admirable.”
DeAugustino has been a legend during his 42 years at FPC. He has been the school's athletic director since 2007, and during that time the Bulldogs have won multiple team and individual state championships.
He coached wrestling for 27 years, establishing one of the state's elite programs. His teams won state championships in 1993, 1994 and 1995, and finished second in 1989 and 1996.
He also coached football and softball at the school. But wrestling has always been his passion. He said he has been thinking about returning to the mat for the past few years.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the AD job, but not as much as I enjoyed coaching,” he said. “I just wanted to do that again before I retired. I have a couple of years left, so I said, ‘Why don’t you just do it.’”
David Bossardet took over the program a year ago and was still looking for a full-time assistant.
“I knew the type of person I wanted, and I wasn’t going to settle,” he said.
Both Bobby and David Bossardet are excited to see the man they affectionately know as “Coach D.” help guide a new generation of wrestlers.
“I think Coach D. is the best wrestling coach out there. He’s second to none,” David Bossardet said. ”This is a big step forward for our program. I’ve known Coach D. since I was in sixth grade. He’s been a mentor to me my whole life. He still has a lot to teach me, and I’m going to soak up as much knowledge as I can.”
DeAugustino comes from a Hall of Fame wrestling family. He is one of four family members who have been inducted as coaches into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, joining his dad, Steve Sr., his uncle Gus and his cousin Mark. DeAugustino’s son, Michael, is also in the Hall of Fame as a college All-American.
DeAugustino said the Bulldogs might not win another state wrestling title before he retires but he'd like to see them “at least be on the path for one," he said, adding, “It’s a process.”
Bobby Bossardet said the school will post the athletic director job opening next week. Whoever they hire will have big shoes to fill, he said.
“He built up one of the best athletic programs in the state,” Bobby Bossardet said. “Everyone who was fortunate to have Coach D. as their coach or teacher still talks about him to this day.”
