Students at Lynnfield High School may know Pat Lamusta as a teacher, others may know him as a coach, and to some, Lamusta is a role model with a message worth listening to.
Lamusta is a 9th-grade history teacher at the school, but you’ll also see him at Pioneer Stadium, helming the Pioneers’ football and lacrosse teams.
As a town native and Pioneers’ alumni, Lamusta captained the football, basketball, and lacrosse teams. He notes the positive impact the school and community had on him since he was young and had a feeling he’d be involved again someday.
“I had a great experience,” Lamusta said.
After his graduation from Framingham State, Lamusta quickly accepted a job offer to teach at Lynnfield High, and also, reconnect with his own former football coach Neil Weidman.
When Weidman asked him to help with the program, the answer was obvious.
“Neil Weidman called me, like, a day after [I got the teaching position] and asked if I wanted to coach football. And, obviously, it was a very quick yes… to be honest, it almost seemed like it was part of the job.”
Lamusta’s involvement with students – and, frankly, his approachability – is second-to-none. This makes it fitting that his favorite part of his jobs are the relationships.
“I get to see the kids off the field, so I think that’s huge, just in terms of building rapport with them,” he said. “When you really think about it, we’re talking two to three hours every day, so you get to know their personalities. You become a family over time, for sure.”
He added that watching his students grow is what does it for him.
“I’ll see them as freshmen… academically, and then with football, too, and by the time they’re seniors, some of the transformations you see are really cool. You see their maturity, you see them start to realign their priorities, and that’s all nice to see,” Lamusta said.
Lamusta’s care for students goes beyond just being a friendly face, as his work with the Lynnfield Athletics Leadership Council goes a long way.
Led by Lamusta, Lynnfield football players can apply and become accepted into the leadership council to engage in several community-boosting activities, such as assisting Salem Food Pantry drives, guiding middle school football players, and marketing cancer-awareness games, among others.
“We’re trying to partner with the community as much as we can… trying to help different causes and initiatives beyond the field,” Lamusta said.
As for his work at Pioneer Stadium, he’s won many a game. The football team is riding a 7-1 season (press time), and the lacrosse program is fresh off a state tournament appearance.
But for Lamusta, it’s never been about himself, or the win column.
“I really want the football players and lacrosse players to be known as great citizens within the school community… I hope that people can say the football and lacrosse players were great kids in the community and weren’t just about sports,” he said. “Then, winning from there is a bonus.”
