MAGAZINE - Poly Prep Country Day School

Hundreds of friends, family, and colleagues gathered for Ed’s retirement dinner, including (left to right) his daughter Lisa Taliercio ’95, his
son Christopher Ruck ’97, Alex Donnenfeld ’07, Ed, and Peter Sessa ’68.
the boys’ varsity soccer coach for 20 years. He has also
served as Middle School, freshman, and varsity baseball
coach and as head varsity swim coach.
Mike Junsch ’71, P’94, ’95 was the first soccer captain
Ed coached at Poly, and has been his fellow athletics
teacher at Poly for 33 years. Junsch credits Ed for his
decision to become a physical education teacher.
“Thank you for teaching the boys and girls of Poly ‘how
to play the game!’ ”
Ed may be best known for his charismatic leadership
as coach of the swim team, which he worked with
throughout his 40-year tenure. Christine Capone ’02,
now a student at New York Medical College, still recalls
Ed’s signature whistling from the side of the pool, which
she said he could sustain for an entire 6-minute race.
Health coordinator Patti Tycenski Mastro, Ruck’s
assistant swim coach for 13 years, adds that the whistle
is piercing enough that swimmers can hear it underwater.
She speaks fondly of their years working together,
calling Ruck a “colleague, mentor, and dear friend.”
As an astonishing finale to Ruck’s tenure as a coach,
the 2007–2008 girls’ swim team ended their season by
winning the Ivy League title. It was the first time a Poly
swim team had won the championship since 1980.
“They sent me out a winner!” Ed says with a smile.
Ed’s philosophy of teaching is simple.
“Involvement of everyone,” he says. “Everyone has a
role. I try to make it as enjoyable as possible, and also
educational.” Ed wants all his students to learn cooperation
and to gain an appreciation of whatever activity
they’re practicing in class. Sometimes, he says,
students have found skill development boring. “They
would rather play!” he says. “They have to learn first.
After that, they love playing against each other and
playing against other schools.”
The coach received several standing ovations this
spring, when chants of “Ed-die! Ed-die!” from alumni
and faculty, or “Ruck! Ruck! Ruck!” from students,
would erupt at the mention of his name in Chapel and
elsewhere. April 18 was officially declared Ed Ruck Day
at Poly. That morning, when Ed walked into Chapel, he
was greeted by 450 cheering students and faculty
decked out in ‘I Love Ed Ruck’ T-shirts.
That night, alumni, parents, faculty, and staff
gathered at Brooklyn’s El Caribe Country Club for an
unforgettable celebratation of Ed’s extraordinary
career. The event included a reception, live band, and
dinner for more than 640 guests. In El Caribe’s enormous
dining hall, elegantly decorated with strings of
lights and Poly Prep iconography, guests cheered as
speakers testified to Ed’s dedication, easygoing attitude,
and savoir-faire in athletics.
SUMMER 2008 11