Family of Sachem East football player who died in 2017 training accident calls hiring of former coach 'emotionally devastating'
Sayyida Lynn Mileto, the mother of a 16-year-old football player who was killed during a summer training camp exercise at Sachem East High School in 2017, said she still has nightmares about her son’s death.
So when she heard that the Sachem School District earlier this week was bringing back one of the coaches from that team, Mileto was in shock.
“It is emotionally devastating for our family,” Mileto said in an interview with Newsday on Wednesday. “My 20-year-old said it triggered all those awful feelings of eight years ago. There is unresolved trauma. And this decision brings new trauma."
Joshua Mileto died from his injuries after the 400-pound log he was carrying with four other teammates fell on his head during a team training exercise on school grounds on Aug. 10, 2017.
Anthony Gambino, one of the assistant coaches at the time, was named Sachem East's head football coach on Monday, according to a statement provided to Newsday from the school's superintendent, Patti Trombetta.
Trombetta's statement read, in part, that, "The Board of Education and District administration fully support Coach Gambino. We are fully confident that he will lead the program with integrity and will make a positive impact on our student-athletes. Coach Gambino is a character-driven leader who cares deeply about our Sachem students."
Gambino, who did not return calls for comment, was appointed after Ray Pickersgill stepped down days before the season after serving as the head coach for the past three seasons.
"It was decided with complete disregard for the feelings of our family members, former players and friends in the community," Mileto said. "They told me none of those coaches would ever coach again in the Sachem district.
“When they told me who was hired, I was overcome with anxiety. The news put me right back in 2017 when my son Joshua died on the football field. It triggered my PTSD. I ended up right back at that day reliving a parent’s worst nightmare. I kept flashing back to me pulling up to the field, running over to the ambulance — all of it. I haven’t slept and I’m barely eating.”
Mileto's father, Angelo Mileto, said he wished the school would have reached out to explain the decision.
"It’s a slap in the face to our family," Angelo Mileto said by phone. "We’ve always supported the community and our football program. We want Sachem football to succeed for years to come. But we want the right people leading the program with a safety first-always mentality — that’s really it.”
Days after Mileto's death, the school removed the team's coach, Mark Wojciechowski, and replaced him with Gambino. Gambino was offered the head coaching position again the next season but declined. Gambino hasn't coached since then.
Ryan Coope, who was the captain of the team in 2017, said Gambino was instrumental in helping the team deal with Mileto's death.
“We would have never been able to get through the season without the leadership of Coach Gambino,” said Coope, 25, who played offensive tackle. “He guided us through the darkest of times with a lot of compassion. We met with grief counselors at Stony Brook and Sachem East and some guys got through it better than others. It was a tragic accident — the worst thing ever in a training drill. We lost a teammate.”
Coope said he reached out to Gambino to congratulate him on the job.
"He's ready to lead the program," Coope said.
Joshua Mileto was one of four brothers to play in the Sachem East football program, joining 30-year-old Nick, 20-year-old Andrew and 14-year-old Jacob, who plays on the school’s junior varsity. Jacob Mileto wears No. 5 in memory of his brother.
“He takes pride in that jersey,” Angelo Mileto said. “We need closure to heal and not just for our family but for former players, friends, family and the community," Angelo Mileto said. "It’s an open wound again.”
Correction: Sachem East football coach Anthony Gambino was misidentified in a photo in an earlier version of this story.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
