Standing O: Steve DeAugustino has been a mentor and coach to generations of students

When Flagler Palm Coast athletic director Steve DeAugustino was asked about some of the school’s wrestling achievements, he decided to take the reporter down to the wrestling room to look over photos, plaques and clippings on the walls.

DeAugustino wound up taking a stroll down memory lane, looking at photos of state champs and medalists, stopping in front of some, repeating their names, recounting their feats and where they are now.

DeAugustino has been a teacher and administrator at FPC for 40 years. He was the head wrestling coach for 27 years. During that time FPC won three state championships (1993-95), was a state runner-up twice (1989, 1996) and finished among the top four 15 times.

He comes from a wrestling family. He is a member of the Florida State Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. His father, Steve, uncle Gus and cousin Mark are also Hall of Fame state chapter members.

“Coach D. is a legend,” said Bobby Bossardet, Flagler Schools’ assistant superintendent. Bossardet wrestled for DeAugustino and won an individual state championship. After graduating from college, Bossardet joined DeAugustino’s staff and replaced him as head coach when DeAugustino became AD in 2007.

“Coach D. takes a lot of pride in FPC athletics. He was determined to have a top-notch program that put kids first. Through sports, he’s provided a lot of opportunities for students in our county. He’s a hometown hero.”

BOBBY BOSSARDET

DeAugustino later returned to the wrestling mat for five more seasons as an assistant coach. He was also the head softball coach for four years and an assistant football coach for 10 years.

“Coach D. takes a lot of pride in FPC athletics," Bossardet said. "He was determined to have a top-notch program that put kids first. Through sports, he’s provided a lot of opportunities for students in our county. He’s a hometown hero.”

Not a week goes by that DeAugustino doesn’t hear from a former student at FPC.

“There are grandchildren of kids I coached who are (students) here now,” he says. “That’s part of the reason you stay here. When you grow up with a community, you get attached.”

Then and now

There were 320 students at FPC when he was hired as a PE teacher and coach in 1981. Now, there are over 2,500 students at the school. DeAugustino said the only teacher who has worked in the school district longer than he has is his wife, Renee, who teaches at Wadsworth Elementary School. On Jan. 18, they will celebrate their 37th anniversary.

Steve and Renee have three grown children, who all attended FPC. Stephen, a producer for NBC sports in New York, and Jaclyn, a traffic reporter and weekend anchor for WESH news, both work in TV. Michael is a wrestler at Northwestern University. He was named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-American team in 2020. Both of DeAugustino’s sons wrestled at FPC.

DeAugustino wrestled at the University of Maryland. After graduation, he taught at a junior high in Hyattsville, Maryland, and heard about a head coaching job at small school in Florida.

“There are grandchildren of kids I coached who are (students) here now. That’s part of the reason you stay here. When you grow up with a community, you get attached.”

STEVE DEAUGUSTINO

“I stayed at the Bunnell Motor Lodge, and I was prepared to go back the next day,” he said. “But they hired me on the spot, and I ended up staying at the motor lodge for a year.”

Bossardet said DeAugustino was a father figure to many of his wrestlers.

“Wrestlers have a tendency to be a little rough around the edges,” Bossardet said. “He always treated us like we were one of his own. Our grades always needed to be on point. There were times I would call him just to chat. One time me and a friend got into a fender bender, and the first person we called was Coach D. He was more than a wrestling coach to us.”

Overcoming challenges

As athletic director, DeAugustino said he is able to help every athlete at FPC.

“To me there’s not a difference between football or tennis. The passion is the same,” he said. “You try your best to get them all everything they need. When the money is tight, you still got to make that effort.”

DeAugustino has dealt with many challenges over the years. Since August, he has had to replace the football scoreboard, and after basketball season, workers will sand down the main gym floor after a valve broke on a hot water tank and water leaked into the gym in November. Workers wasted little time in drying the floor, DeAugustino said.

“Fortunately, we have a good team here, a supportive administration and a supportive superintendent,” he said

His biggest challenge, he said, has been negotiating the myriad changes caused by the pandemic.

“Times are moved, teams can’t come, you don’t have bus drivers. You pretty much had to stay on top of it every day,” he said. “But the kids are back on the field, and it’s nice to see the stadium and gym full again.”