He was born on September 4, 1938, and has left a legacy of how to live a beautiful life. “Coach Joseph Bena died on February 17th, surrounded by loving family, after a five-year battle with cardiac amyloidosis. Through Frank Popolizio, Bena’s family released the following statement reinforcing the impact the coach had beyond the wrestling mat: Popolizio wrestled for Bena, along with his brother, North Carolina State coach Pat Popolizio, who was one of Bena’s state champions. “He was not a master technician, he was a master at getting you to believe in yourself. “When he sat down with you, he wouldn’t talk technique,” Frank Popolizio said. People need to think about that …, we’re all dying.” “Everybody’s sad about his dying, but what I feel is 100 percent of the story is what a great human being he was, and what he meant to everyone else. “He had two Olympians, Andy Seras and Jeff Blatnick. world teams and whose sons wrestled for Bena at Niskayuna. “He was the greatest coach in everything,” said long-time coach Joe DeMeo, who guided multiple U.S. Thanks Coach for the many years of jokes, lessons, stories, wrestling technique, sitting in my corner and friendship. Especially during years where I was most impressionable, his impact was tremendous. I learned so much from this man I consider myself lucky to have known him for half of my life. The way he taught you, treated you, coached you, listened to you was all the same. ![]() Didn’t matter if you didn’t wrestle, didn’t win, got cradled, won championships or was someone he just met. He truly treated people the way he would want to be treated. ![]() He knew wrestling but more than anything he knew how to treat people and be a great friend. Joe Bena was a good coach and great man and friend. I received a call and few texts early this morning to tell me about the passing of my one of my first coaches in wrestling.
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