Charter School to career win 200 on January 16 against Innovation Charter, boys basketball coach Tony Ferullo has made an indelible mark on the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School community. The lives touched, the lessons learned, the guidance given: the 17th year Eagle head man, the only coach the program has ever known, attained the milestone victory in front of a spirited crowd on Eastern Avenue.
“Coach Ferullo is a true point of pride to Mystic Valley Regional Charter School,” Director/Superintendent Alex Dan, who took in the momentous win, said. “He is our longest tenured coach and someone that is synonymous with Eagle athletics not just on the court but in making impact in the lives of our student-athletes even after they have graduated. We congratulate him on this wonderful achievement and certainly look forward to many more wins and celebrations in the future.”
Coach Ferullo, who for the last 21 years has worked in the media relations department of a local university, has loved the game of basketball since his days as a youngster in Revere. The proud father of three sons began his coaching career 24 years ago, serving as the head coach at Newman Prep in Boston for a season before his hometown Revere came calling. After five years at the helm of the Patriots and a year on the bench as an assistant at Melrose High School, the prospects of building a program from scratch enticed Ferullo to accept a challenge and opportunity, one that he has embraced for the past 17 winters. Along the way, much success has come as his teams have hung a quartet of banners in the Eastern Avenue Athletic Complex, the first in 2011-2012, followed by back-to-back trophies in 2014-15/2015-16 and finally last season as the Eagles came away with the CAC large division title. For his career, he now has tasted victory 251 times overall.
Someone who eschews the spotlight and constantly preaches collective team success, Ferullo shied away from celebrating the victory, instead focusing on the next task at hand, a conference tilt with CAC foe Northeast Tech the next night. As an aside, MVRCS’ first-year assistant Fran Brown ’07 was a captain and on the floor 17 seasons ago when the Eagles downed South Shore Charter to give Ferullo his maiden win.
“Tonight is all about the players both past and present,” Ferullo said. “I’ve never taken a charge, hit a three-pointer or dunked the ball, it’s been my players throughout these 17 seasons, they’ve been the ones that deserve the credit. I have enjoyed shaping lives and my players have almost become like sons to me.”