Francois Joseph knew he had a daunting task ahead of him when he took over a Waltham High girls track program with little sense of its own history 14 years ago. The culture that Waltham High alumnus and former WHS coach Joe Tranchita had built more than a decade prior, as the Hawks contended for state championships in girls track and cross country, had slipped. Joseph believed he had to restore a lot of that pride, dedication and knowledge of the sport nearly from scratch. He also knew he had a guide in Tranchita nearby at Newton North who would be ready, willing, and most eager, to give him a hand whenever he requested. “His knowledge is so huge,” Joseph said. “He loves what he does. He’s good at what he does. He loves his craft. “When I came to Waltham High I remember him being very excited because someone was taking over the program who knew the sport very well. I was open to his help. He still loved our program and wanted to lift it up to be better.” Joseph and Tranchita kept the programs close over the years with Joseph helping the Hawks take considerable strides in the Greater Boston League and Dual County Leagues, while Tranchita perennially has had his team at the top of the state out of the Bay State Conference since heading to North in 1989. When Tranchita was inducted into the Waltham High Athletic Hall of Fame two years ago, Joseph said he was honored when he was asked to give the introduction speech. When Tranchita would ask him for advice on an athlete or technique, Joseph said he knew he truly arrived as a coach. It is that continual search for any bit of information that can help his runners, jumpers and throwers that has fueled a remarkable run for Tranchita at North, which included a 340-14-3 record heading into this winter, 58 different divisional, relay or All-State titles and 47 conference titles through this past season. It is that desire to impart his knowledge on his athletes that has been the foundation of a career that has him enshrined in the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Hall of Fame and has made him a six-time Coach of the Year. It is that track record of success – including the recent Division 1 state indoor championship – that has made Tranchita a finalist for the National High School Athletic Association 2015 Coach of the Year honor. “I’ve always said that athletes make the coach,” Tranchita said. “You have to have the type of talent and type of attitude to want to be successful. From the get-go, I have been lucky have that type of athlete at Newton North that has a different definition of excellence. “We’ve had a level of success that the kids have bought into and want to be part of that legacy.” Tranchita will be honored, along with the other finalists, at the National Awards Banquet at the Kahler Grand Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 20 along with athletic directors and national Coach of the Year finalists from 19 different sports. “I’ve had a lot of coaches throughout my life, and college, and JT is the one who has had the biggest impact on my life,” said North alumna Kayla Prior, who now competes at Division I Elon University in North Carolina. “He’s such a mentor to me and was such a mentor to a lot of my teammates. I would not be a Division I athlete without him. A lot of girls in that program have college track careers and him to thank for that.” Tranchita’s success at North has been a constant through teams with different strengths and inherent skill levels. He can fill a gymnasium full of 80 girls and make each one feel like they are competing for an important goal every meet. “He shows such patience in developing the track athlete and developing a track culture,” North athletic director Tom Giusti said. “There’s a pride here at the school that the kids take in the program that you don’t see many places. “He knows what every kid is doing and will inform everyone about the smallest, incremental detail. If a kid goes down one-tenth of a second, Joe recognizes that and puts it out for everyone to see. He gives his best every single day and, in turn, he gets that from his kids.” That has helped him guide the Tigers to a collection of State Relay titles unmatched in recent years. Tranchita has always proclaimed the Relays as his favorite meet of the season because it requires the most athletes to contribute to a championship. “He doesn’t focus on the individual as much as he does the entire team,” said Kayla Wong, who won a state championship at North and now runs for Division I Cornell University. “Year in and year out, he has good, quality teams and not just good, quality individuals. “He’s an awesome coach who has had so many great teams because he is able to adapt. He can coach a young team full of underclassmen, or a veteran team full of upperclassmen, and win with both of them.” Wong ran for Tranchita both at North High and as a member of the Waltham Youth Track Club, which brings hundreds of fledgling athletes to Leary Field each spring and produces high-end competitors who have won National Junior Olympic championships. “That’s helped me a lot because then as a high school coach I am not starting from scratch,” Joseph said. “The kids come from some sort of base that is strong. Having them have that base of knowledge is huge. “I’ve talked with other coaches at the school and they say it’s one of the best youth programs in the city. Even if the kid doesn’t do track in high school, it prepares them to be an athlete. He’s very precise, specific and detail-oriented. In the youth club, he has a meeting with parents three weeks in advance if they want to coach so they know how to do it right. He is coaching the parents as well as the kids.” Development is the constant goal of the Waltham Youth Track Club. “That’s key at this level,” Tranchita said. “You always want to foster development at that age level regardless of ability because that’s the true indicator of future success. High-end success at an early age is not an indicator, it’s the improvement you can continue to show each year.” Wong said she wasn’t surprised to see so many athletes travel great distances to be a part of the Waltham Youth Track Club. “He ends up with girls coming there from across the state,” she said. “He has this reputation as a coach who does a great job and who coaches people of every ability. He does a great job keeping everyone together. “He is one of my greatest personal and athletic mentors. He pushed me to the best of my ability and to become a Division I track athlete. He coaches me physically, but also prepared me mentally for the type of training I do here at Cornell.” That type of coaching helps create a connection that lasts long after the final medals are handed out following a meet. “He doesn’t play mind games with you,” Prior said. “He just makes you want to be the best you can be. He talks a lot about life and makes you want to work your hardest to be successful at everything you do.”
Inducted: 2011