Coach keeps kids on track for success

Sometimes, it’s not the result that makes a difference, it’s the approach..

Asked what makes his group of 14 track and field athletes from Key Biscayne special, veteran coach Paul Zuccarini described it simply.

“Sometimes, I’ll have a kid show up late to practice, but he’ll show great enthusiasm and ask, ‘What did I miss?’ and that’s indicative of all of our kids,” he said.

Several of his young track and field athletes have been making great strides in recent meets.

The most recent was his nephew, Teo Zuccarini, whose father, Peter, is a well-known Hollywood underwater cinematographer, known for his “Avatar” work.

Teo, 14, who attends Palmer Trinity School in Palmetto Bay, recently took home two trophies by placing first in the shot put (41-05 feet) and matching South Dade Middle School’s Weston Moejhing for top honors in the high jump at 5 feet, 8 inches, at the Sam Burley Hall of Fame Invitational track and field meet at Miami’s Tropical Park.

“I coached him as a tiny little kid and now he’s in the high school world,” said Zuccarini, who like his brother, Peter, were Junior Olympic track and decathlete standouts. In fact, Paul still holds the “unofficial” decathlon record from his days at Ransom Everglades School.

Teo, who competed in the junior high division, already has qualified for the Florida State Middle School Championships in both events.

Lia Chaustre, 11, placed second in the girls high jump and on the 4×800-meter relay while competing as a fifth grader in the middle school classification for grade 6-8. She also has qualified for the state meet as part of that relay.

Another 11-year-old, Iñigo De Lorenzo, placed ninth as a one-person “team” at the Speed Capital Invitational in Miramar, where Olympic gold medalist and world champion Justin Gatlin was on hand to present awards and sign medals.

“He’s a hard-charging, young kid,” said Zuccarini, who noted kids with Basque backgrounds are “historically tough.”

Two others in his group, Bella and Isaac Cabrera, delivered strong showings in the 200- and 1,500-meter runs.

Zuccarini, manager of the Key Biscayne Beach Club, has coached several sports on the island, including flag football, baseball, high school soccer and track and field.

One of the reasons Zuccarini’s track group is thriving is the assist he receives from Julieta Espinosa, an 8th-grade student at MAST Academy and a member of the Makos’ track squad. She scored a third of her team’s varsity points with a personal-best 4-7 effort in the high jump at the Barbara Goleman Gators high school track meet in Miami Lakes.

“She is slowly approaching the college or high school jumping (standards),” he said.

With enthusiastic kids and Zuccarini’s coaching, track and field is certainly off and running on Key Biscayne.