"I think God sent me to Palumbo."
After coaching high school football for more than 40 years, that's the sentiment coach Ray Reca feels in his fifth season at Academy at Palumbo.
Reca had moved through the ranks of coaching high school football, with stops at various schools across Philadelphia and New Jersey. When he moved to Pennsylvania with his wife from New Jersey, he was told he wasn't allowed to coach in the state of New Jersey and be able to draw a paycheck.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Reca found the job opening at Palumbo on Indeed and applied. After a year of virtual football, Reca began his journey of building up a program that was in need of guidance – he was just the man for the job.
When Reca held his first practice at the school, only eight kids showed up. With kids coming from all different areas of the city, Reca wanted to make Palumbo a home.
"The mentality was to bring them into a family and give them a family atmosphere and show them that we cared about each other," Reca said. "In order to cultivate a real team mentality, we had to all have a common denominator between us and the concept was to be part of a family. And what do you do as the head of the family? You provide."
Provide is exactly what Reca did.
When he saw more than 100 jerseys sitting in trash bags at the school, Reca personally took them to a dry cleaner, spent more than $1,000 of his own money and got the uniforms ready for the season.
Additionally, if players didn't have food before games, Reca would buy them meals. He would buy helmet stickers, mouthguards, and anything the program needed.
Reca's contributions and dedication to the program have paid off, as last season Palumbo had 43 kids on the roster, won its division for the first time in school history, and moved up to the third-tier division of the Philadelphia Public League. "I kind of looked at my opportunity at Palumbo when I got hired at 58 years old, that I was going to take an approach to where football is going to be a vehicle to make an imprint on people's lives and I still value that opportunity to still be an influence to young people and to do it because I love the game," Reca said.
"The game has so much to offer. It has so much to challenge us with and I think they've been pushed to the limit and maybe beyond what their personal expectations would be. Their academics, their self-esteem has all increased as they've been part of the team. Football is a part of making them a better person in life."
Despite the success they began to find on the field, tragedy struck the entire community at Palumbo early in the 2024 season.
When a player on the team lost his life, Reca and the community were put in an impossible situation, doing the best they could to keep the team together, supporting one another.
"It was very hard to come to grips with what had happened and we rallied around each other and got other people from the community in South Philly and found a way to find strength in one another and press on to play a season in which we dedicated to him," Reca said. "Incredibly difficult time trying to keep the team together, losing someone that meant so much to us. He is still remembered, still revered, still loved, and will never be forgotten."
Reca and his team use a motto which he says every single day and has used throughout his time with the school. The creed has helped them remain together and keep pushing forward especially amid an extremely difficult time.
"One heartbeat. One soul. One goal. Palumbo!"
The team says this before every game and practice. They have added it to the back of their T-shirts as well. It has become synonymous with the Palumbo football family. Reca said it helped the team bond together again and that it is the backbone of his philosophy as a coach. Reca says that if players don't buy into the message, they probably shouldn't be playing for him – that's how important the message is.
Reca even signs off on all of his emails with the creed and wants all of his players to know just how strong the bond is between himself, his players, and the school.
With the playoffs beginning on Saturday against Mastery Charter North, the team was able to garner a .500 record, which is pretty impressive considering the circumstance they endured, and it being the first year in a higher division.
While Reca won't be able to coach the game due to health issues he's had to deal with, he still checks in on the team actively and the team knows the love and support they have from him.
"I just told the kids that the bottom line is that you're family and you have to turn around and take care of one another. You do it because you love each other and you bust your butt, go out and win a playoff game. Go out and give it hell," Reca said, choking up, as he just wants to be out there with his team.
An inductee into the 2017 New Jersey Football Hall of Fame, Reca reflected on what it meant to be named Coach of the Week.
"I am deeply flattered to be chosen for this honor. I'd like to thank the Philadelphia Eagles, the administration of Palumbo, and anyone else that put me up for this award. I'm eternally grateful," Reca said.
– Written by Liam Wichser
