LYNN — Tom Grassa is the most recent of a legacy of boys basketball coaches at Lynn Classical that has kept the school in the sports forefront for generations.
Only six times in the city’s history has a sports program won back-to-back state championships, and one of those accomplishments belonged to Grassa. His 1993-1994 boys basketball teams, led by Calvin Johnson and Marcos Echevarria, won Division 2 state championships.
His team often went deep in the North sectional tournaments, too, including last season, when the Rams made the Division 2 North and taking top-seed Brighton well into the fourth quarter before succumbing.
Wednesday, without making any big announcements, Grassa retired as the Rams’ head coach. He leaves the job that he held for 31 years with 476 career wins, two state champions, and an aversion to talking about his accomplishments. And that included his 400th win, which happened during the Walter J. Boverini Basketball Tournament in 2013.
Grassa became head coach in 1985, when he was named to replace Lou Falkoff.
The job was immediately posted on the Lynn Public School website.
“He’s a coaching legend,” said Classical principal Gene Constantino, “as well as a friend. When I was still coaching (girls basketball), he was a great resource for me. I thought he did an excellent job at the school.”
In his tenure as coach, Classical missed the state tournament only a handful of times.
“He has left a great legacy at our school,” said Constantino.
Grassa coached many of the city’s recent basketball stars, including Calvin Johnson, Marcos Echevarria, Nico Echevarria, Louis Eaton, Jarell Byrd, Alvin Abreau, and his sons, Jasper and Nick Grassa.
Grassa confirmed Wednesday he’d retired as a head coach, but left the door open for future involvement with the program.
“I hope to get the opportunity to be involved in the future,” he said, “and if I get that opportunity, I will take it.”
