Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
December 5, 2001
Former parochial league coach honored
Coach Carabello recognized as `best' by players, opposition
By John Hartley
Former parochial league coach Julius Carabello, 86, was honored at a Nov. 14 luncheon at Park Hill Golf Course by 27 men from Regis High School's graduating classes of 1954 and 1955 whose lives he favorably touched when they were in grade school.
The gathering included several priests — over 10 percent of the classes entered the priesthood — medical doctors, teachers, business executives and two U.S. Naval Academy graduates.
Although their lives took different paths, all agreed that Carabello exerted tremendous influence over them — even the ones who didn't have him as their own coach.
Fifty-five years ago, Carabello, then a 31-year-old letter carrier, accepted a part-time job coaching football, basketball and baseball at St. John's Grade School in east Denver. At the time, Denver's population was less than 500,000, ice skating on City Park Lake seemed to go on for months, and older brothers and a few older sisters were returning from the war and applying for the GI Bill to pay for the very nominal cost of attending college.
To the fifth- through eighth-graders in the Junior Parochial League, priorities revolved around the likes of Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and a whole host of sports heroes too numerous to recall. To duplicate the feats of the heroes was the objective of every schoolboy. The ability to do so, however, was for the most part out of reach.
The lads of St. John's under "the coach" were inspired to believe that they could beat stronger, faster boys by being better prepared, supportive of teammates regardless of shortfalls, and disciplined to play by the rules. Carabello had the statistics, the tendencies, strengths and weaknesses of the opposition — not on a laptop or even his desktop — but in the personal computer that rested on his shoulders. His influence went beyond his team to the opposition, who took notice and hung on his every word.
Prior to his arrival, St. John's teams were mediocre. Carabello taught them how to hold a bat, how to dribble, and how to throw a cross-body block. Suddenly with those new-found skills, St. John's started winning games.
Carabello's ability to position players to maximize their talents resulted in a winning habit that led to several championships in a four-year span. His lightweight teams were so good that they won a heavyweight football championship — 125 pounds — with only two boys over 100 pounds.
The lessons Carabello taught to the impressionable boys were lessons learned for life. They included teamwork and conflict management (never lose your cool); enthusiasm, but with respect for a defeated opponent; and an emphasis on preparation that included discipline. The result was a blend of sportsmanship, spirituality and respect for others, especially for parents and teachers.
Still aware of Carabello's influence more than a half century later, a trophy was finally awarded to the beloved coach the boys of the `50s call "the best coach ever."
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