Rebel 5ive
Rebel 5ive
Rebel 5ive with Paul Corsaro
This week’s Rebel 5ive podcast interview is with Paul Corsaro R’07. Following in the footsteps of his athletic parents, Greg R’83 and Susan (Kuntz) Corsaro, R’83, Paul entered Roncalli as a decorated athlete and student his freshman year. He would not disappoint, leaving four years later as a football state champion, a football state runner-up and the all-time leading scorer for the basketball team, among many of his accolades. All this was accomplished while overcoming a serious bout with cancer early in his high school career. Paul was recently named the new head men’s basketball coach at the University of Indianapolis.
Read the full transcript
You're listening to Rebel 5ive, an interactive interview p odcasts with alumni past and current parents and friends of Roncalli high school. I'm your host, Gary Ar mbruster D irector of Alumni and Corporate Relations at Ro ncalli. And each week I will ask our guests five questions regarding how their lives have evolved and how key connections of ex perienced o pportunity and alumni networking have p ropelled them to where they are today. We'll talk challenges, how to overcome challenges and what they've learned along the way. Stay tuned. Paul Corsaro is our guest this week on the Rebel 5ive podcast. Paul, thank you so much for being here. I know you're terribly busy, starting off in a program at UIndy, and I just want to thank you for being here today.
Paul:Well, thanks for having me Gary. It's an honor.
Gary:Speaking of UIndy, You are the new head men's basketball coach at UIndy. You attended UIndy. You coached at UIndy before when they offered you the job. How quick did you say yes?
Paul:The blink of an eye, something that I've always wanted. Um, you know, from my time playing there and coach, and I was like, man, it'd be awesome. And be the head coach here. And I thought, I, in my heart, I believe that at some point they, they would ultimately offer the job. I just didn't know what would come this early in life. So I was, I was ecstatic to get back in Indianapolis at school that I love you back from South side.
Gary:Talk a little bit more about it, but off the top, what's your biggest challenge?
Paul:Right now? Probably just, you know, the issue with pandemic. And I understand that's not just with my program, but with any line of work. So, you know, so much of any, any business or especially athletics, it's all about relationships and not being able to see, um, the guys I'm going to lead face to face. That's tough, you know, cause you know, you're supposed to be a father figure. I'm not old enough to be their father figure, but I'll be their big brother, you know? Um, I can't wait to meet them in person. I know a lot of them cause I recruited them before I left for Purdue Fort Wayne. But some of the guys that came in over the last couple of years, it's gonna be really critical for us to hit the ground running in terms of our face to face i nteraction. So utilizing zoom, utilizing phone calls and then recruiting remotely is, u m, is a challenge as well. But like I said, every, every line of work, every p erson's dealing with it,
Gary:If you're a longtime coach, you're, you're using new media. So everybody's in some way a new coach using zoom and all that kind of stuff. So maybe it kind of levels the playing field a little bit.
Paul:I think it does. Um, you know, the nice thing about me, um, in terms of this program is I am not allowed to do on campus visits. But since I lived it as a student athlete and assistant coach for 10 years, um, you know, no one really knows the program or the university like I do in that sense. So I, I'm kind of like an encyclopedia of knowledge about it so I can sell, sell, sell, and answer any questions cause I already know it which is nice.
Gary:We'll come back to that. But um, the Rebel 5ive podcast, um, if you're familiar with it, we've talked a lot about history. That's why we started it to talk about the 50 years of Roncalli. And what I love about so many of our families is it's so generational. And if you look at the Corsaro family, the Corsaro/ Kuntz family, you are it, I mean, now the Kuntz' didn't go to Sacred Heart, but your grandparents did, uh, Paul graduated in 61, your grandma graduated in 62, uh, Fran Dunn talk a little bit about your grandparents. They raised a house full of kids, successful kids. And then we'll kind of tie that into where you maybe got your motivation for success.
Paul:Yeah, they're very hard working people. Obviously from Indianapolis and they dated in high school. I believe my grandfather was a year older than my grandma, but even when he went off to, they went to Sacred Heart, they graduated from there. And when my grandfather went off to st Joe's where he went to, um, college. He was, U m, football and baseball player t here, u m, you know, they w ere, they remained in a, u h, in a relationship a nd dated even when my grandmother was a senior in high school, he had gone off to college and um, t hey, u h, t hey got married and had children while they were in college. That was more common back then. And yo u k n ow, my grandmother lived in, u h, l ived in Rensselaer. Um, t hey had, u h, m y uncle Danny and my dad, Greg, u h, t hey're only a year apart. An d, u m, y ou know, grandfather finished finished school at st. Joseph's. Um, went on to law school, had a real successful career as a lawyer, um, grandmother ended up having four more children total. They had six total. And, you know, they all grew up to be very successful. You know, you got three lawyers, a doctor, a pharmacist, a teacher, you know, sort of, they've had very, very successful kids of their own in terms of the career aspect. And you know, that doesn't happen without, you know, the, you know, priorities and qualities of hard work, dedication, perseverance. They instill that. Um, I think something that, uh, I've noticed, uh, from my parents and them, I know that their kids probably got this from them as you know, there's nothing wrong with having high expectations for yourself because if you don't, we're going to sell yourself short. You know, and I think that's really evident, you know, from the career standpoint achievements that, you know, my grandfather had, uh, that his children has had. And then, you know, my grandmother was the one, uh, you know, holding it all together. And she was like that the All- American Housewife that, you know, uh, you know, raised six kids, you know, took everybody where they need to go and knew everybody's schedule. Uh, she's still a great cook to this day. Um, and, and, you know, she actually ended up going back to school, uh, when her kids got older, cause she wanted to get a degree and she was like, you know, well, I need to finish my degree. And she, she earned her degree, which is kind of funny from the university of Indianapolis where I'm at. So, um, you know, I think that says a lot later in life, you know, and the funny thing is, I, I don't remember it, but I was at her college graduation. I was two years old. So that's kind of funny how things come full circle, but they're still really active in Southside community. Um, you know, five or six or four, their six kids went to Roncalli high school. Um, you know, obviously they had really good experience there. Um, all their grandkids went to Catholic or have gone to Catholic school, some on the North side, some of the South side and that their kids and all those grandkids have typically ended up at Roncalli, um, or Cathedral, Brebeuf, you know, those types of Catholic schools. So they really did a great job of instilling the values of, you know, raising your kids and, you know, the Catholic school system, Catholic faith, um, you know, and they're still parishioners at Saint Barnabas and uh, just great people, good role models. And they've actually, they should still a lot me that's for sure.
Gary:Your name is Paul. Your grandpa's name is Paul. Is that a coincidence?
Paul:It's not a coincidence. My, my cousin, I'm the oldest grandchild on that side. And m y, the second oldest grandchild, my cousin, Paul h e's only seven weeks. M e, it's kind of a, a, an Italian heritage thing where if you're the oldest son of a son is typically named after the grandfather. So, u h, i t's, it's, it's a, it's a good thing that Danny and my dad, and then, you know, we g et t o P aul's, it's a good thing that there was an Andy and he had his, his first, he has t wo daughters. So he hasn't had a name o f anybody Paul, a nd just get c onfusing. So we already have three and that's kind of, t hat's not a q uestion t hat my grandfather always has reminded me from the time I was a boy that, u h, don't embarrass him.
Gary:Those are big shoes to fill. Your grandpa is a great guy. I've known him a long, long, long time. U m, and to be named after him, that, that puts the onus on you in a big, big, huge way. How excited were your grandparents to learn that you were going to be back on the South side?
Paul:They were thrilled. The funny thing is, you know, the night I, I remember I got called at, uh, about 9:30 at night. It was a Tuesday and it was officially offered the job I accepted. Uh, but it wasn't going to be released until Friday. So we kind of had to keep it a secret and, uh, full disclosure, you know, I just moved from Fort Wayne, just closed on my home. So I was trying to figure things out was at my parents' house. And my sister Lindsay's home from UCLA. So the four of us were there. And obviously I told them we had a fun moment together. And, you know, I called my sister Casey and I told her about, okay, we got to keep this in house until Friday. I've been told I don't have a contract yet. So I don't want to, I don't want to get this out there, then the think I'm not trustworthy. And then wasn't getting that for another day or so. And then, uh, um, I did call my grandparents that night because I wanted to tell them, and they were exact now that they were so excited, I was sure they're going to tell somebody. I made them promise to me they wouldn't.
Gary:They are rule followers as well. Um, so moving on to your mom and dad, um, a lot of our listeners will know this, but many won't. Um, they are the unique, uh, winners, I guess, of the, uh, Star's city athlete of the year. So when you're, when you're both, your parents are good athletes and you're the oldest child talk a little bit about that growing up, cause I'm sure there were some expectations on you from the very get go.
Paul:Um, you know, I wouldn't call it expectations. Um, I'd like to rewind, obviously I, I, that's not, my I've always thought was really neat. The fact that they were the inaugural city athletes of the year. Um, and I don't know Gary, I mean, some of the younger listeners probably don't realize I know the history of this just because I've shared with them that you know, that we're in the County, they used to be the County, you know, it's kind of flipped obviously now with the Warren centrals and the North Central's that the County is a little bit more dominant, but back then it was the city that was the dominant thing, cathedral. And then like the inner city schools like Attucks and Marshall and Northwest, they were just dominant. So it was, it was more dominant in the city that year. So the fact that you have a parochial school suburban a city athlete, of the year, the first time a nd both in the same class together the same year on both sides. And the fact, that they're dating too. It was just, it was so such a unique situation, which was, which was really cool. I still I've read that article probably a hundrred times in my life, which has been, but no, I, I wouldn't call it expectations. One thing that I would say about it is that there wer'e sports family. We love sports and that's kind of what it was. It kind of fueled my passion for competition, uh, for sports. Uh, they never really set expectations for me. Other than that, I work hard and, you know, and give, give my very best and, you know, uh, bring forth a good attitude and effort in everything you do and everything will take care of itself. But I would say the, the love for it was infectious.
Gary:Anybody can want to do it. Everybody wants to do it, but I've seen you on campus. You're the one who gets up early in the morning and runs the stairs in the stadium or lifts weights. So where does that come from?
Paul:The hard work aspect. And I think, you know, that comes from my parents. It comes from, you know, we talk about, um, my dad's parents and so met him, you know, my mother's parents, she comes from a very South Southside family and the Kuntz', um, you know, that's one thing it's not anything in life, obviously, you know, you gotta be able to work for and you know, anything that you want, someone else wants it too, so you gotta do whatever it takes outwork them. Um, yeah, I, I've always one thing I've always prided and pride myself on whether it was as an athlete or even now as a coach that I might not be the most gifted or talented in what I'm doing, but no one going to outwork me. And I can honestly say that, uh, I think I've lived up to that.
Gary:I've seen it firsthand. And I don't think, uh, I don't think you're wrong there at all. You're surrounded with some pretty good athletes in high school. I would assume the same was at st. Jude. Talk a little bit about that. Some team success maybe that you had.
Paul:Yeah. So Eric Duncan was a classmate of mine. Who'was a really good Roncalli athlete, basketball and football player has a really good football career at Marian university was kind of on that as Marian kind of started their football program was kind of part of that. And, um, you know, he had a good career. Eric was really good buddy of mine. He was kinda my running mate and, uh, great, uh, st. Jude, you know, um, actually our eighth grade year, um, you know, we're pretty good at football. Like I think we made the final, the city championship game, my seventh grade year and the final four, my eighth grade year, I had pretty good teams, uh, basketball our eighth grade year. They do that state term, which is really neat. We, we, we lost in the state finals to, um, uh, the school down in new Albany. I forget the name of it, but at the school down there, Providence maybe. And, uh, they, um, you know, we, we lost to them, but that was really fun. But the cool thing about that actually was our head coach was Chuck Weisenbach and Chuck, Chuck didn't have a, you know, Max Max was a year older, Chuck Chuck coach, the cadet team when I was a seventh grader, um, and Sam was younger and wasn't, wasn't on the Cadet A team, but Chuck decided just to coach the team because he loved coaching so much. And, you know, I know his history of, you know, winning the city championship as a coach and how impressive a feat that was. I will say this people don't realize how good of a basketball coach he was. Um, he, to this day, you know, everybody knows, you know, Michael Wantz changed the culture of Roncalli basketball in terms of like the longevity of success. Um, my, my college coach, Stan Gerard, you know what, I'm succeeding now really close with me, had a great run there, but, uh, Chuck deserves in terms of my development, every bit, the credit those guys did, he was, he was unbelievable in terms of, you know, making challenge in new ways. I have been challenged because up until that point, things were kind of coming to come easy for me. And to the point where, you know, it could have been easy for me to get complacent, especially at an adolescent where, you know, it's like, Oh, I'm the best, one of the best ones on the floor. And he wasn't having that. And he really challenged me and made me better and prepared me. And he was a really good coach if he wanted to stay in the coaching side of the profession and make that a longer career, he definitely could have. He was awesome. So that was a, the st. Jude. Um, and then once we got to Roncalli yeah. You know, in our class, you know, you had Joe Britner and he was one of my best friends to this day. Um, you know, uh, there and Joe and Eric and I had played AAU even starting back in sixth grade. So there was already that relationship, you know, and, you know Joe with my class, and then two years ahead of me, you got the class, you know, Jason Warner Pat Kuntz. And, um, you know, but behind me, as I developed, you know, later in years, you know, Tyler Peterman comes in and the guy that can compete with some, there was a really good four or five year runs of some, some great athletes to come through there. And, you know, I was a member of the state title team and, uh, in 2005, which was probably the most talented group of athletes in terms of a senior junior, sophomore class, arguably, probably ever. And, you know, I didn't play much on that team. They were too good. I was a sophomore and the junior and senior class, but being on that and winning the ring was nice. And then, um, you know, that same year, one of my fondest memories was, uh, we won the first sectional title ever in basketball. And that was cool. Um, and that was that's something where I did have more of a role on, I had developed a relationship with those guys kind of, you know, just being a practice player form and football that year. But I was a starter on, on that, on that as a sophomore on that team that won the first sectional title. And then we go to new castle in front of 10,000 fans, the largest crowd ever since Steve Alford had played there. And we won two games and beat New Castle in the final. It's like, is this really happening? And then we go to Seymour in the third biggest gym in the, in the nation, you know, Newcastle being the biggest, uh, 9,500 people there and people hanging over the rafters. II still see pictures, the crowd was incredible. I remember walking into that game thinking like we're Hinkle Fieldhouse in the movie Hoosiers. Like, that's kinda what I like going to that game and, you know, loose by five points to eventual mr. Basketball, Luke Zeller in Washington. But like that, that was cool that, that that's, that's, you know, in a basketball state, you know, Roncalli high school never having won a sectional title and making that run with a bunch of really good guys. The neat thing about that is, you know, really didn't have a, again, that senior class who was not a great team like that, you would think of senior class, we have, you know, a guy going off to play college basketball. And then I have, this has a bunch of guys that were tough competitive guys that wanted to win. They were mostly football players that just were tough kids. And they were great with me. Um, you know, uh, in terms of, you know, the young sophomore, they never made me feel like I wasn't worthy. Cause I was a young guy that they made me feel like they needed me, you know, to, to get what they wanted to do. And that was really neat. You know, they taught me a lot of leadership qualities and, uh, that was, that was cool. Um, my junior year, we, um, football for me my junior year and football was the most special because you graduate those seniors and, you know, no one expected anything out of us that next year. And, you know, we, we make a run to the state title a nd lose that. I think about that loss, probably every day cause we lose by one. I think there's a lot of people that do, Oh man, that's still stinks. But, uh, but again, like no one expected anything out of us. And we in the sectional sectional, opening sectional game we play Zionsville. We win on a touchdown in overtime. Um, two games later in the sectional championship game, winning touchdown against Cathedral. We're supposed to win that game. Junior year. We have a kind of a game winning play to on fourth and like eight just to keep the game going it with Greenwood at home, they were loaded. They had a kid g oing to Iowa and it kept the chains going. And it was k ind o f like, okay, now we're g oing t o w in. Then w e go down to Jasper. I m ean, everybody knows the Jasper R oncalli history, going back to early coach Scifres career a nd u h, all the great games. And we go down there and kind of a ruckus environment. They probably had 10,000 people at the game, fourth and two, and they'd go for that. They go for it. They're if they get it, they're gonna win the game. Cause it's on our own 20. And we're only up three, 10-7 and there's like a minute left on the clock. They'll probably score. They got Luke Schmidt, who's 6'4" 230 pounds and fourth and two, when he's going to Notre Dame, there's no way he's not getting this and little Brandon Axum, 5'10", 175 sticks him and then stops him. It's like, Oh my gosh. And then, uh, then we go to state, um, you know, um, you know, we're up 21-7 and half, 27-14 up that going into the fourth and we lose 28- 27, which stinks, but that run was pretty cool. And at the time, you know, you asked me 10 years ago, like, Oh, I don't want to talk about it. Like we should have won that game, but looking back now. Yeah, that was a, that was a really special run. That was fun, you know, and you realize how hard it is to even make a state title game. You know, how hard that is, especially the teams we had to beat. And then, you know, my, my senior year in basketball, uh, senior in football, we had kind of a down here, but, um, in basketsball we had some cool moments. You know, we beat cathedral on a regular season game on a comeback win there was a rain delay for the next day, two days. Yeah. It was a two day game. And, uh, and we came back and beat them the next day we were down. That was neat. Had a little bit of a down year in terms of overall in terms of th e e xpectations, but my senior basketball, u m, I I'm biased. I still, I tell Wantz all the time. I think it's the best team. Uh, we didn't lose a regular season game. We were, uh, our only, our only losses we lost. We got upset in a game that, and in the game, um, in the, in the County tournament against Perry Meridian. We had no business l osing and I'll take full responsibility for that. I was a bad teammate t hat g ame and w e're a lso, we w ould h ave won the game and, u h, a nd, a nd, and that, that loss was on me. U m, and then, u m, we lose t o Howe in the sectional, in t he, i n the sectional championship, u m, they, they, they got hot, they h it everything. U m, but the fact that we were 20-2 and don't lose a regular season game. And I, I don't know, we beat the number one team in, 4A cathedral that y ear at home. And i t just, I d on't k now. I w ould put just man for man, and going 20-2 up against a nything p ersonally. B ut s o I know t hat was a lot, but yet I h ave a lot of great memories as an athlete a t, at St. Jude a nd Roncalli.
Gary:Well, I'm just going to butt in here for just a second on this, your senior year in basketball. I was there the night at Whiteland against Howe. We'll, we'll talk about that in just a second. We've done about 40 episodes of the rebel five podcasts. And about half of those episodes, I've asked the guest your favorite woodshed moment. And so I'm guessing a dozen, maybe more people have said, Oh, Paul Corsaro/ Cathedral senior year, that game, you scored 38 points. You were 12/ 12 from the line. And you shot this three point dagger at the end of the game. Talk a little bit about that, because that is such a special moment for so many of our Roncalli fans. And you were the reason why, talk about that.
Paul:It was a fun night. It was crazy. It was fun. The, you know, that was just a big game. They were the number that's obviously everybody knows the Roncalli/ Cathedral rivalry, you know, they were, they were the number one team in the state. If you look at that team, they had ended up having six guys go play division one basketball from that team, they had another one go play division, two basketball, and then they had, um, a division one football player. And then in NAIA football players, like the team that they had, you know, loaded in terms of basketball, talent and athletic talent. I'm a little, maybe too competitive at times, but, um, you know, that was just a game we needed to win, for a program. Number one, you know, we were knocking on the door in terms of being recognized at a state championship level. Um, I thought we had a special team. Um, we had beaten them in football in my time there. And I remember my sophomore year, my junior year, we played at home my sophomore year and on the road, my junior. And we had like three and four point losses. I I'd never beaten and we had never beaten them. And so I wanted that one real bad. And you know, we're down at, I think we're down. I don't know. I can't remember exactly how much we're down, but we called time out with like a 1:49 left in the game, or maybe 2:15 left in the game. And, you know, we had a really group of hardworking guys and we hadn't lost a regular season game to that point. And we all knew how much we wanted that game. And I do remember telling everybody that, Hey, like, you know, we're not losing this game, you know, we're, we're not, you know, and that was a, it was, it was a great environment. It was sold out crowd, you know, to beat your arch rival and, um, have a big part in that. And that was, that was special. Something I'll never forget. And it was a fun time.
Gary:I just remember all the time outs at the anti-regulation and every time we'd come back out of a timeout, Jason Green, the PA announcer of the rebels for years, he would just, he would go nuts on your feet rebels. And just, it was just crazy. Maybe the top one or two moments of all time in that gym. And, well, it is.
Paul:The other thing that night was to beat Cathedral, that tie, which was the great team accomplishment. And that meant the most, you know, just, you know, that was so fun. And then, uh, and then to tie the, at the time it's since been broken by Jimmy King, but to tie Jeff Manley in terms of the single game scoring record in that win. And then also that night, um, I also broke Jeff Manley's career scoring record all on the same night. So that was kind of a trifecta,
Gary:But the three point dagger. Talk about that.
Paul:So got a seal. We were coming back. I'd hit a couple of threes, uh, you know, we sent it we sent it into overtime and then they kind of made their run in overtime. And I think they had tied it up. And as I kinda, and we were losing gas and, you know, they were trying to stall and kind of gambled and got to steel and kinda was on a one on 0 brake and was driving up the left side and just felt it and just said, I'm going to let it fly. And I hit it and something, my dad always told me just from his, like growing up, he always encouraged me. Like, maybe not one on 0 that was a little gutsy, but he was like, Hey, a transition fast break three, when you're bringing it. No one's expecting you to just pull it. That's like the most deflating thing to beat. Exactly. They're getting set. And now that I've gotten older, you know, do it for a living, I realized he was right, but he was probably talking more about like a two on one break or when you have the layup, I took his advice that it worked out. It was fun.
Gary:That was something else. Uh, going back to the Howe game, there were some extenuating circumstances with that whole game. And, and I don't want to spend a whole lot of time on it, but Howe brought in a player that hadn't played on their team the whole year and
Paul:What's that? Oh yeah. And they were a good team to begin with and they got to play division one scholarship to play division two, but it wasn't like, they were just normal guys. Exactly.
Gary:I mean, silly rule. And so, yeah, I just remember being out in the hallway after that game and Oh my gosh, I just, the, the long faces and, and I wouldn't, I would not argue with you that's um, one of Roncalli's, well, probably the best team we've ever had.
Paul:Everybody forgets how good Joe was, you know, the six that we've never had a big man like that, that you could just throw the ball to. And then, you know, you got Aaron Evans was a sophomore on that team who ended up Marian and Peterman was a really good player. Eric Duncan, Chris Mislan on how to Chris Mislan, maybe talk about the guy who never really played till his senior year and has a great senior year. He goes on, has a really good career for a Trine at the division three level and a really good team.
Gary:Yeah. Those were, uh, some, some great, great memories. Um, we've talked about all the sports, all the accolades and, and what have you, but academics, you come from a long line of smart people. So where does that come in that I'm sure that you are a hard worker, um, athletically, but academics, did that come easy for you or did you have to work just as hard?
Paul:Um, you know, luckily enough, you know, I come from a family that, um, you know, obviously makes academics a priority. So growing up, it was always something that was important, you know, um, I'll be completely honest that it came easy enough to where, um, you know, I did it probably at a young age in grade school and high school. I got good grades. Uh, I didn't probably work at it as hard as I should have in terms of, you know, my love for sports and that kind of stuff, but good enough to get a high GPA. And that was fine with me. Um, my parents necessarily necessarily probably didn't like that as much. Uh, but, um, well everybody matures and grows and, you know, the light bulb goes off and, um, it really, um, you know, the college level, you know, played two sports at UIndy. Um, I realized that, you know, obviously I wasn't going to be a professional athlete, so I needed to not just do good in school, but try to Excel at school. And, um, I was able to, um, uh, while playing two sports and not have a lot of time, you know, be on the Dean's list every year, you know, graduate with honors, um, getting to grad school, get an MBA. Um, so was able to, um, take the next level once I got to college and yeah, the, you know, obviously it takes hard work, especially when you have other things you got going on in your life. But, um, again, that all comes from what's instilled in you from, you know, your parents, um, on both sides, both my parents were really good in the classroom and, you know, um, yeah, that's, that's something that is equally important. That's for sure. And something that I probably developed in terms of my, um, understand understanding of how important that is as I've gotten older. For sure.
Gary:Paul, we're going to take a break and we'll be back in just a moment on the Rebel 5ive podcast.
Break:Rebel five is sponsored by Steve's flowers and gifts for the best and freshest flowers in Indianapolis and surrounding areas. Steve's flowers and gifts have exactly what you're looking for for your next special occasion call Steve's flowers at(800) 742-9359
Gary:We're back on the Rebel 5ive podcast with Paul Corsaro. Paul, thank you so much for being here today. I know you're trying to recruit and build your program at UIndy. And so I know taking some time is something that we really, really appreciate. You left Roncalli, a very well decorated athlete in football and basketball. And I could spend a whole segment on all the things that you won. I want to know why Youngstown state, not many of our students graduate from Roncalli and go to Youngstown state.
Paul:Yeah. So out of high school, I was being recruited from both sports love both at the time. I didn't know what I wanted to necessarily do, whether it was in basketball, football, and I was fortunate enough, I had about five or six lower, mid major division one basketball opportunities. And, you know, I had a couple, 1A opportunities, whether it be MAC or, um, in that kind of stuff. And then some, 1 AA opportunities and I want to play at the highest level. Um, and you know, one thing, uh, most people would agree. I'm definitely stubborn. And, um, I, and my more of my, my MAC opportunities was as, as an athlete, they're going to bring me in and maybe move me to safety, maybe move me to you know, slot receiver, that of stuff. I want to be a quarterback. And, um, you know, some basketball opportunities. And my position was what was in basketball. Um, you know, I, I made the decision with, you know, at the time Roncalli was still, you know, the football was key King and I kind of wanted to do what everybody else had been doing. And, um, probably in all honesty, I was probably a little bit better of a basketball player and that doesn't normally go play quarterback. I won't be a quarterback. I'm always going to be college football quarterback and Youngstown state was giving me that opportunity. So I passed on some really good basketball opportunities. Some, some, maybe even some higher level opportunities to be just go play and go out there. I had a really true riches history, Jim Tressel, that's where he had been, they'd won four national titles, you know, 15 year period at his former assistant was their head coach. And they were really good, really good program. High level high level went out there. It was, it was good to be a part of that. And, um, you know, things didn't work out in terms of, uh, you know, sort of from a playing perspective, the way I would have liked. And I was, I was, it wasn't the right fit for me for a number of reasons. And I was home sick and I missed, I missed basketball and that ended up why I was leaving, but originally it was, uh, it was, um, you know, I want the ball in my hands. I want to be a college quarterback and gave up some of those other opportunities. But when I, uh, after about a year, I had made the decision that, you know, I want to play basketball again. I don't want to not play football. I want to play basketball again. University Indianapolis gave me that opportunity to come play both sports. And I got to come back home, which was
Gary:How did that conversation, go that phone call to U of I? say, were they after you? Or did you reach out to them?
Paul:Uh, you know, typically when someone transfers, you kind of have a heads up and they were able to reach out to me, which was good. Um, you know, like they had recruited me for both at of high school, um, and, and offered me a full ride scholarship split to come play both, both sports. And they kind of let me know that, Hey, this is, you know, this still stands. If you want to come and do it, then I took that up.
Gary:Moving back to your sophomore year in high school, your freshman year, I'm sure you had lots of success, both academically and athletically, the fall of your sophomore year. You get some information that is pretty unusual for a sophomore kid to have to deal with. And so I asked you to give me a setback overcome, and I want you to talk about that.
Paul:Yeah. So I was fall of my sophomore year. Um, you know, just make a long story short. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer and, um, you know, had no idea that I had cancer. I, I knew that there was a growth and I'd go get an ultra set. Your parents send you in for an ultrasound. You're thinking, Oh, it's a cyst. 15 years old that never even crossed my mind. And then I remember during fall break of my sophomore year, uh, again, I'm so dumb and naive 15, I should've known something was up. Like I was going to the doctor. Um, I miss missing practice when I was like, Hey, I gotta go see the doctors and all the time I can get you in and you get there. And my dad's there he'd come from work. And my doctors appointments, they had known, they had gotten a phone call from the doctor. Like, I think a couple nights prior that, you know, this is, this is serious and go in there. And they telling me that, yeah, you have testicular cancer. That was a shock to say the least not, not what I was expecting to hear that day on a Monday, fall break at age 15. Um, but you know, such as life. And that was a shocking to me. Um, many people know that, um, my mom's parents passed it, you know, too young of an age when she was 19 and 20, uh, for cancer. So that's something that's very sensitive to my family. And I know it was very worrisome to her. Um, cause I was her oldest child and something that she had gone through. And yeah, so, um, it was one of those things that was tough. Um, you know, first initial instinct, when you hear the word cancer, um, in any capacity for anybody at any age or any type, it's like, you wonder if you're gonna live. And that was something that was going from my mind. Um, you know, the doctors were great. They put me a lot of ease. Family was real supportive. Um, went home that day. Um, I told my sisters, I want to be the ones to tell them that was tough. Um, you know, they were young, Casey was 11, Lindsey was seven and yeah, it was scary time. Uh, fortunately for me, um, you know, and there's a lot of uncertainty you go through that, you go, you have the surgery to remove what you need to remove and, um, cat scans and chest X rays and tests after that, and, you know, ended up being fine, like in terms of like, you know, the next place that would've spread would have been bad news cause we've gone into my lymph nodes and who knows where, but luckily they were able to get it out, uh, the tumor out before spread. So that was, um, I was very fortunate that we caught it early enough. Um, the, the scary time it was about, you know, a three to four week period in terms of when you find out and you have surgery and then you have to, you know, test to make sure it's spread anywhere before you realize, okay, like not necessarily clean bill of health, but you know, things were looking up. Um, and the stressful thing about that, well, is that if it would've spread, I remember the doctor saying, okay, like the type of testing for cancer, you have like the, you know, there's six types of cells that metastasize into testicle cancer tumors, like one being the least deadly and six being the most deadly and you're at a 4. So I'm like, Oh, that's, that's kinda up there. Like, yeah, I was hoping, you'd say one, but, uh, yeah. So that was stressful. It's real painful surgery like that, that, that was the hard part. Like I remember they go through your and down to give you a visual and you've got through all that muscle, hurt to laugh. I couldn't walk. Um, I remember I was on bed couch written. I wanted to be on the couch, not my bed because we had a big screen TV in the basement. But I remember like it was a big goal. Like my mom would get me up and hold my hand and we'd do a lap around the pool table walking. And that was just a big deal to be able to walk. And that was during the middle of football season. And that was like the beginning of my rehab. I knew that we were going to have a real, I knew that I was just going to be back up on that football team in 2005. I knew that I knew I probably was gonna be a starter on the basketball team. And I knew her in a really good and the team ended up winning the first section championship. And I, you know, once I realized I was going to be okay, health wise or, you know, you never know, really know you're okay. Cause you have, you know, you go through periods where you have checkups every four months and then after three years go checkups every two months. So it was always that possibility, but it goes down drastically over time. But when it was things were looking up, you know, it was like, okay, how do I get back to basketball? It's kind of bigger than my rehab. I remember like it was a big then, you know, to get up the stairs next week. Cause like, yes, you can do this. Like that was such a painful surgery. And uh, you know, I was able to get back and, you know, accomplish my goal in terms of, you know, uh, contribute on that basketball team. That's something that I had been looking forward to and I was actually able to get back a little early and um, I dressed into semi-state state football game. Next. We took a snap when we were beating up on Wawasee in the state title when the other guys had sealed the deal, get out there and take a snap. So got back a little earlier than expected, but that was a challenging time. Something that, uh, I'll never forget. It's a taught me a lesson that a lot of times, I think everybody goes through times of uncertainty, like where they're like, they have the challenge, whether it's a personal challenge or professional challenge. And that's helped me throughout my life several times I've thought like, okay, you know, whatever is put in front of me. It's not going to be the toughest thing I've dealt with. You know, that's kind of m y m ind going forward. So t hat's a real valuable lesson and it's an experience and y ou k now, uncertain time and a scary time that I'd never wish upon someone else, but i t's something I never want taken away from my life experience. H aving overcome it.
Gary:Sports and athletics have been such a huge, huge part of your life, your parents life, uh, your grandpa played at sacred heart, played football and baseball. You overcome this cancer, but what's the scenario look like if after that cancer, you're fine, but you can't play sports anymore. What's what's Paul Corsaro look like today.
Paul:I don't know. But you know, you talk about my parents and my grandfather. I mean, let's not forget my Uncle Bill, the head coach of the first state championship in football over there. You know, my Uncle Joe was his quarterback. My grandfather, um, on the Kuntz side was the executive director of the CYO for a number of years, you know, in the Butler athletics hall of fame for their football program. Like, you know, that it comes from both sides. So I don't know, I don't have an answer for that question. It's Gary to kind of go back to that, like just, I would have worked hard and figured it out, but I it's kind of become an identity of mine and I, and that's, that's why I don't have an answer. That's a great question. I've never thought of it.
Gary:And we've talked About your career at Roncalli and on into college, uh, moving back to R oncalli favorite teacher or coach, who would that be?
Paul:It's a for teacher it's it's Mark's Stratton Mr. Stratton was hilarious. I had one of those art classes, but he was always out in the hallway singing between every period. Um, you know, just a really good guy. Um, someone I formed a relationship with my locker was right next to his classroom when they did the renovation during my junior year. Um, so I got to know him and then you don't have those guys that, you know, he was supportive. He was like every football, every basketball game, just a really supportive individual. And then I got to know him when I was at UIndy, took his daughter, went to UIndy and they can go to the basketball games and I was a coach at that point. I'd see him a lot of games talk to them and he's just a really good guy. Favorite coach. I can't really say one favorite. Uh, I have a lot of, uh, favorite moments with each of them, like blogging had a really big roles in my life, uh, start with, uh, Mike Wantz in terms of, you know, um, he, he just completely changed the culture of Roncalli basketball. You know, they had some really good years here and there, you know, coach, Coach Weisenbach and I'm sure Coach Weisenback Chuck Weisenbach would have done the same thing if you would have chosen to stay with a us, but there's no doubt in my mind. So I told you how good of a coach I thought he was, but it consistency over time. Well, it wasn't developed until Mike got there and he was a young fiery guy. That, again, it's funny how things will come full circle. He was a graduate assistant at the university of Indianapolis where I'm at now and now he comes in there from college experience and just kind of set a new expectation. And, uh, um, you know, we went on a great, uh, you know, his, his, his first year was my eighth grade year and I remember being so excited about the new direction of the program. And then, you know, he, he lived up to that, you know, freshman year we were okay. We had a really good three year run my sophomore through senior year. And I think he's continued that because he and I still keep in contact. We, we talk probably, uh, at least via text once every couple of weeks, um, you know, some periods in the year along, uh, more often than others, but we still were very close, uh, Coach Scifres. Um, you know, everybody looks at Friday night, Friday night games and they were growing up on the South side. He was the coach when I was a kid. So I always grew up wanting to play in his program for winning state championships. Um, you know, got to play for him and be on a state title team, quarterback the team on a state runner up team. And, you know, thinking about is just for how successful he was in terms of accomplishment. Just that I try to take the day is just really humble. And, uh, he was good. He's a really good person. And I remember one takeaway from him, um, football, as opposed to basketball, um, you know, basketball, the coach has kind of coach every position in football. You know, you have a position coach. So my position coach was Tim Puntarelli was my quarterback coach. And he and I formed a tremendous relationship. One of my, uh, one of the closest people to me in those, you know, in those years and even in the college, cause I played Aaron, his son Aaron played with kicker at UIndy when I played. So I built that relationship then, and then Bob Tully And, uh, he was, he was just always, um, Bob Tully was just really, really good to me. I'll use my one of our freshman football coaches. And throughout, throughout my time there, he was one of my biggest supporters and I've a lot of, um, other reasonings aside from just him as a coach that, um, you know, make him special to me, but he was just always really good to me.
Gary:Those are some pretty extraordinary men who, uh, have, have led you and mentored you. I assume you maybe have mentored others. You're a young guy. So, um, I'm sure there's younger guys looking up to you. Any examples there?
Paul:That's, that's my job, you know, and something, I like to think that I'm going in year nine in the profession first year as a head coach, but I would hope that every day for the last eight years I've done that. That's my, so that's with every, every body that I've been entrusted to lead and mentor, which has every student athlete I've had. So hopefully I've done that every day for the last eight years and I'll continue to do so
Gary:In the rebel five podcast, I alluded to it earlier. Um, I've asked most of our guests if it was appropriate, their favorite woodshed moment. And I mentioned that you were mentioned, uh, brought up numerous times. What is your favorite woodshed moment?
Paul:My favorite was watching my sister's computer. Um, you know, Casey was really good volleyball player. Um, you know, I remember when she, she's probably the sweetest person I've ever met in my entire life, the most loving, you know, she's just awesome. And I remember I was in college and she, you know, parents walk their kids out and senior night she asked me to walk out with them. I remember I walked out with her and, you know, I was such an honor to me that she has her big brother to be out there too with her parents. I remember number of that moment. That was really cool for me. I'm watching her compete. Um, there was some really good teams there. And then, um, my sister, Lindsey, who was obviously, uh, I always say without question is the best athlete, the family. And that's that four year run of women's basketball at Roncalli. I mean, that was unbelievable going into her freshman year, they moved up from 3A to 4A and was like the smallest 4A school in the state. They would have stayed. They would have won four straight state titles. And they will maybe the best dynasty in Indiana history or even national history in terms of, four straight time, they were, they were so good with Bridget Perry and Lindsey, but she was adding anybody that was around and watched them play. I mean, they, they were drawing more than the boys team at girl's games to come watch her play. And, uh, I grew up in the Katie Gerald's era on the South side and I felt like she had kind of done the same thing, um, when she was playing. And that was so fun for me to watch. Um, I was so glad I was coaching at UIndy so I can make most of the games. I remember being in the woodshed the day that she was presented or McDonald's all American, uh, uh, uh, trophy. So watching them was the most fun for me.
Gary:We're going to go to a break in just a second, but I have one question before we go to the break. Uh, your mom and dad are both fine athletes back in high school, which one's the better athlete
Paul:Without question. Uh, uh, she, uh, her hand eye coordination this day, still, she goes to sport athlete and play volleyball and softball and in their athletics hall of fame. But people don't realize is she's probably a better basketball player than she was volleyball or softball player. And, um, but you know, she went to U of I to play both of those because, uh, back then coaches would coach in multiple sports and they told her that she could pick as many sports you want and you'll get a full scholarship and thought through would be too much, obviously. But that the same, the Sue Willy, who would not be in the ed when I played there and just hired me again, funny how things come full circle. She was the volleyball and softball coach. My mom knew she was gonna play volleyball. Uh, I came, she even knew she was gonna play volleyball or knew she was gonna play softball. I can't remember which one, but if she would've played basketball and didn't play the other one, she thought she was going to make Sue mad. And it was gonna affect her playing time. One of the ones, she was like, I'm just going to play one of those. She really could have been a three sport athlete.
Gary:Your mom is oftentimes overshadowed by some of the other women that she played high school sports with, but she could possibly be the most underrated female athlete in the history of Roncalli. Um, and I, I,
Paul:She was from average in the triple double or, uh, under coach Kirkhoff, like your senior year, senior, senior in basketball and, um, and that she's doing out without the three point line, all that kind of stuff. I always give her a hard time that yeah, you're so old you played without the three point line, but she'll get mad when she hears this. But, uh, um, yeah, so she, she was, she was really good. Yeah.
Gary:She was definitely fun to watch. We're going to take our last break with Paul Corsaor on the rebel 5ive podcast.
Break:Rebel five is sponsored by Steve's flowers and gifts for the best and freshest flowers in Indianapolis and surrounding areas. Steve's flowers and gifts have exactly what you're looking for for your next special occasion call Steve's flowers at(800) 742-9359
Gary:We're back on the Rebel 5ive podcast with Paul Corsaro. Paul, thank you again for being here. I know, again, you're very busy at this time trying to put your program together and spending some time with us. We really do appreciate it. We are going to ask you the rebel five questions. In another life. What would you want to be or do?
Paul:Uh, nothing. Um, my dream job and I coaching is something that I'm able to help mentor young people. Uh, if I can have the effects on them that they had when, uh, when I was student athlete and, uh, you know, I can finish my career happy. Um, also feels that this fills the void of not being able to compete any more. Also, I literally I've loved every second of the last eight years and to be a head coach at a place I love so much in a city that I love. This is, this is a dream. There's nothing.
Gary:I'm sure that the folks at U of I could not be happier. Your career is just starting, but do you have a moment at this point in your life where you're most, you're most proud?
Paul:I've had a lot of small moments in terms of, you know, everybody thinks about wins and losses. It's not, it I've had several moments where it's been late at night and I get a text message from a kid that when I was an assistant that I might've helped through and graduated, right. It's like a thank you. I know that I helped them out, you know, in a way that, you know, whether it was encouraging to, you know, finish up or, you know, it was something that was just putting me in him. I know what he's talking about. And, you know, that's, that's special.
Gary:I think you had some comments about Bob Tully that, that, uh, you wanted to share. And so we have a few minutes here, the floor is yours.
Paul:Yeah. So there's two things. I've, I've, I've taken from people that have told me in terms of life advice in my life. And the first came from a professor in my MBA program. He always said, and this was during my time when I was, you know, not making any money as a GA and my friends were all making money, but I knew I wanted to coach. And wasn't sure like, there's a lot of uncertainty and he would always tell me like, Hey, don't worry about money until you're 30 years old, he goes, use your twenties to invest in what you want to do. And if you're any good at what you want to do, once you get an opportunity, you'll get paid to do it. And that was just unbelievable advice. I'd encourage that to all young people, because I wouldnt' be where I'm at right now, if he wouldn't have told me t hat, and that was good.
:just life in general advice, other coach Tully Coach Bob Tully, He told me. And that was kind of the professor who has been later in life. I've thought about that to get to that point. You know, I remember my freshman year, um, Bob Tully came in one morning and I just got done. It would football season just then at 6:00 AM. I just got done shooting. Uh, I didn't have the key yet, but, uh, I Coach Wantz had let me in that morning to get extra shots, I felt for basketball, we had just finished freshman season. He was a freshman football coach. And that morning I'm sitting there as about 7:00 AM. Um, he sees me at my locker. He goes, were you in there shooting this morning, getting ready for class? I'm like, yeah. He goes at 6:00 AM, like, yeah. And he says, let you know, um, I had a lot of fun coaching this year.
Paul:Um, I think you got big things ahead of you and, um, and you know, you got, have you have something special and don't you ever forget that? And then I remember every time I accomplished something or whether it was at a team or individually in high school, and that happened five or six times, like whether it was after the cathedral game or, you know, Indiana, all star in football or except in a scholarship, he would find me and say, I'm so proud of you. Remember that morning. I told you that your freshman year, and I'm not telling you that now, because you've achieved what you're going to achieve. I'm telling you that, because this still, isn't gonna be the biggest moment in your life. I saw him a couple of times in college and he would remind me, he goes, Hey, I'm so proud of you. You're not, you're not done yet. And I thought about that several times in my life, whether it's been uncertainty, you know what, from professional or personal standpoint, um, I thought about it when I accepted the UIndy job a month ago. That was from an athletic standpoint and professional standpoint, the, the best day of my life at that point and something I've always wanted. And I actually remember, I reflected back to that, like, don't let this be the most defining moment of your life. And that's something I've never shared with anybody. But freshman year at 7:00 AM in the freshmen hallway that he pulled me aside and said that to me and stuck with me to this day.
Gary:Thanks for sharing that story. What's it mean to be so close to the Roncalli community as a professional head coach at UIndy?
Paul:Um, it's, it's, it's a dream come true. Um, you know, as I said, why I just sold house to Fort Wayne. So as I get this program started for the next couple of weeks, moved back in with my parents, I tell everybody I'm back with my roommates. Uh, but, uh, yeah, so I, uh, as I drive to campus, pass I pass Roncalli I'm thinking, it's funny how the same drive. I went to st. Jude st. Jude's right there. The same drive I took the same two year, the same drive. I took to Roncalli, the same drive I took to go to college. And now I'm back to work everyday. Like it's South community is unbelievable and it brings back a lot of memories. I've been doing this same drive for 31 years. And that's so cool to me. Um, to be back in the Roncalli community, I've got so many texts and calls. It's just such a supportive community and great people. I want to make everybody proud. And that's, that's my big thing is I want to be, I want to be a reflection of Roncalli. Um, part of who I am today, part of anybody who graduates, there still the men from the people that came before them. And I wouldn't be the person I am today or doing what I'm. Now, if it wasn't for my experience there, and a big thing is I just, I want to represent the institution with class and make everybody back there proud because I'm so proud to say I was a graduate from the school.
Gary:Well to repeat what Bob Tully said, you're not done. And we're so excited that you are close to us that we can go see you lead the lead, the Greyhounds. And we just thank you so much for representing us so well today, yesterday and tomorrow. So good luck to you this year. Uh, we're so excited for you and Go Rebels.
Paul:Thanks for having me, Gary. It's been a lot of fun.
Gary:I'm Gary Armbruster. And thanks for joining us today for this episode of the Rebel 5ive podcasts to find out more information about the podcast, please visit 50.roncalli.org/podast.php. And until next time,"We'll fight ahead."[ inaudible].