Robert Goldberg
Bob Goldberg has been involved in wrestling since his school days at Lynbrook High School. While at Lynbrook he participated in football, wrestling, and baseball. He achieved all-section status both in wrestling and baseball. Upon graduation he attended Marietta College in Ohio and played varsity baseball for 4 seasons. He then obtained a Master's degree at Ithaca College. He later received a School Administrators Certification from St. John's University.
Beginning a teaching career at Levittown’s MacArthur High School in 1967, Bob served as JV wrestling coach for one season, and in 1968 he began his tenure as head wrestling coach. He served in this capacity until 1979. During his time at MacArthur he built his wrestling program into a strong force in Long Island wrestling. He and his wife Karen launched one of the original holiday tournaments on Long Island and took his team on trips to West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to wrestle local schools. For many of the team members, it was their first trip outside of New York State. At MacArthur, Bob coached many league and Nassau County champions. In addition, he coached a New York Champion, a two-time New York State runner up, and a third place finisher. In 1973 his New York State Champion also received High School All American honors.
Bob left MacArthur High School in 1979 to assume the position as Athletic Director at neighboring Levittown Memorial High School, while also coaching wrestling. In 1981 his team won the league championship. Bob later returned to MacArthur High School as the Director of Athletics for several years before he assumed the position of District Director of Health, Physical Education, and Athletics in the Herricks School District in New Hyde Park, New York until his retirement in 2000.
In addition to his coaching and athletic director responsibilities, Bob served as president of the Nassau County Wrestling Coaches Association; he was the Section 8 New York State wrestling coordinator and president of the Nassau County Athletic Council. Upon his retirement from Herricks in 2000 Bob was an adjunct professor at Hofstra University in a Master’s degree program for physical education. He established a consulting company, MLC Staff Development, which provided consulting services to over 30 school districts throughout New York State. He still remains active in Nassau County wrestling, serving as an officer in the Nassau County wrestling tournaments.
His efforts have earned him many awards and honors. In 1999 he received the Ellis B Chapman Award, the highest award presented to an administrator of physical education, health, and athletics in New York State for dedication and contributions made to his profession. 2005 saw him receive the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Award of Merit in New York State. The most prestigious award given to a Director of Athletics in New York State. In 2017 Robert B. Goldberg was inducted into the New York State Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame.
Bob Goldberg’s entire career has been spent educating and developing young men and women for their roles as future members of our adult society. He found the sport of wrestling to be a most effective tool in accomplishing this task. He taught his teams that in a wrestling match there could only be one winner; that’s why we keep score! However, coach Goldberg defined success in wrestling by those who met their individual goals, giving all they could give on the mat. Some of his most enduring lessons were about treating your opponent with respect, win or lose. He taught his wrestlers always to learn from your losses and be humble with your success. One of his most successful wrestlers said this about him, “We were taught how to succeed on the mat and more importantly we learned the value of being held accountable for our actions outside the wrestling arena. Bob Goldberg was and remains today the most valued influence in my life.”
Bob Goldberg has successfully used the sport of wrestling to achieve the greater goal of developing the complete individual in the students he has coached. We feel he is a worthy inductee into the Hall of Fame.
Awards:
Year
2007
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Award
Lifetime Service to Wrestling
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Chapter/Region
New York - Downstate
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