Mickey DeSimone was a Ramapo Central School District native having grown up in Sloatsburg and attending Sloatsburg Elementary School and then the Suffern Junior High School. Mickey entered Suffern High School in 1970. While in high school Mickey was an important part of the football program, earning two varsity letters and was elected captain of the varsity football team in his senior year.
Mickey was a four-year varsity wrestler, captaining the team in his senior year while compiling a 15–7 record. He was second in both the Rockland County tournament and the Section Nine Tournament as a senior. In his junior year Mickey made the New York State Freestyle team that competed in Iowa for the National Championship.
After graduation from Suffern High School in 1974 Mickey enrolled at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania where he competed on Bucknell’s varsity wrestling team.
In the fall of 1978 Mickey returned home to Suffern and began his career as a history teacher at Suffern High School. He also began his coaching career in both the football and wrestling programs. Mickey has coached football at the Jr. High, Middle School or freshman level every year since then until 2006 when he briefly retired from coaching.
At the same time Mickey worked his way up the coaching ladder in the highly successful Suffern High School wrestling program. He was the freshman coach, then the J.V. coach, followed by the assistant varsity coach. Not being someone to be idle in the spring, Mickey also coached Girl’s Lacrosse for a few years.
In November of 1988 Mickey took over the reins of the Suffern High School Varsity Wrestling program until the year he stepped down as the head coach. The Suffern Wrestling program was unparalleled in success.
During Mickey’s eighteen years as head coach his teams won:
• 220 dual meets
• 52 team tournaments
• 11 Rockland County team championships
• 8 Section I championships
His wrestlers earned:
• 83 Rockland County Championships
• 35 Section I Championships
• 24 State Place Winners
• 10 State Finalists
• 4 State Champions
During his career as an educator, Mickey transitioned from history teacher to guidance counselor. He was a caring, involved guidance counselor who always made time for any Suffern High student.
After two years of coaching retirement, Mickey returned to the wrestling room as the J.V. wrestling coach — a major boost to the program. At the same time, Mickey’s daughters began playing lacrosse and he became active in the Girl’s Lacrosse program as an assistant coach.
Everything Mickey was involved in was successful because of the type of man he was. He believed in setting goals, working hard to achieve them, and then setting higher goals. It worked for him, and he believed it would work for his teams and students.
We tragically lost Mickey DeSimone on December 30, 2014. Everyone who knew Mickey was shocked; he was the picture of good health and vitality. The outpouring of sorrow and love that followed over the next six days was enormous. As his daughter, Micaela, said in her eulogy: “Heroes are remembered ~ Legends live forever.” Mickey DeSimone’s legend will indeed live forever at Suffern High School
