Legendary South Dade wrestling coach retiring after 32 years and 20 state titles

He wasn’t in the wrestling room.

He wasn’t at school.

Vic Balmeceda – one of the greatest wrestling coaches in the nation – spent Friday … at the beach.

Balmeceda, who won 20 state titles in 32 years at South Dade High, including 18 championships in 29 seasons as a head coach, announced his retirement on Tuesday.

Thus, he made the trip to Cape Canaveral with his wife Susan.

Balmeceda, 54, and Susan have been married for 29 years, and they were high school sweethearts who first met at age 14.

“I can’t express well enough how elated I am that I have my husband back,” Susan said. “I’m a proud wife. I’m so proud of his career. But it’s time for us now.”

Balmeceda’s decision to retire from coaching – he will still teach special-needs kids at South Dade – was made for a rather unusual reason.

In essence, winning state championships had become mundane, especially for fans.

“I’m tired, man,” Balmeceda said when asked why he decided to step down despite an active streak of 12 straight state titles. “I’m physically emotionally and mentally drained.

“My body hurts. I always said I would never get tired of winning. But when winning becomes expected and unappreciated …”

Balmeceda said he has witnessed rival teams and their fans celebrate wildly after one of their wrestlers finishes fifth or even lower at state.

Conversely, Balmeceda has seen one of his wrestlers win a third straight state title, and the reaction has been muted.

“We might get a golf clap,” Balmeceda said.

“It’s great when one of your wrestlers jumps into your arms after winning state, and you know you helped him reach his goal. But over the past 12 years, we were really challenged three times in terms of fears that we might not win state.”

Balmeceda and his wife have two sons, Brevin, 24, and Gavin, 18, and both them are or have been successful wrestlers.

Brevin, a four-time state champ at South Dade, won two NAIA championships at Life University, located in Marietta, Georgia. He’s now working on his Master’s degree in Psychology, and coaching may be in his future.

Gavin, who won one state title at South Dade, is currently a wrestler at Life.

Now that Balmeceda is retired, he and Susan can more often travel to Georgia to watch Gavin wrestle and to visit with Brevin.

“With Brevin,” Balmeceda said, “I wasn’t able to be there when he won his national titles because I was busy coaching South Dade.

“It sounds arrogant to say, but for the amount of work I put in and the time away from my family, it just isn’t as rewarding as it used to be.”

Many of Balmeceda’s wrestlers over the years have come from difficult home lives. In countless cases, Balmeceda has become their father figure.

“When you think about all the time spent helping raise other people’s kids, and it costs you time away from your children,” Balmeceda said. “I did it all with little monetary compensation -- just for the passion for the sport.

“But if I were a surgeon and as good as I am in wrestling, I’d be a millionaire.”

Balmeceda said the only thing stopping him from quitting in prior years was the fear of everything he built falling apart upon his retirement.

But once his long-time assistant coach, Humberto “Duck” Reyna, decided to accept the job replacing him, that was the final piece.

“Duck is half the reason we have the dynasty we have,” Balmeceda said. “He has coached many of these kids since they were five, six or seven years old, and he is a two-time National Assistant Coach of the Year.”

Reyna will bring in two new assistant coaches, and they are both former South Dade High state champions.

There’s Bretli Reyna – Duck’s son – who just graduated from the University of Iowa, where he wrestled for one of the top programs in the nation.

In addition, Ozzy Lugo, a three-time state champ, is also new to a South Dade staff that includes heavyweights coach Markel Shropshire.

“The program is in good hands,” Balmeceda said. “They have an old-school coach in Duck, and they have young blood with Bretli and Ozzy.”

After Balmeceda announced his retirement, he received dozens of well-wishing text messages and Facebook posts.

Many of the messages for Balmeceda were from his ex-wrestlers such as Eric Diaz and Kendrick Sanders.

Said Diaz: “Your words of wisdom helped me in dark times. You unselfishly gave so much to so many, and all that you asked was for us to give you our best.

“Just know that you have earned the gratitude, respect, love and loyalty from us all!”

Added Sanders: “I wanted you to be my coach so much that as a kid I would sneak and put on my older cousin’s singlet just to see what it felt like to rock that ‘S’ on my chest.

“You inspired me, and you have impacted so many lives. You instilled confidence in a boy who was lost at times. There were countless times when we couldn’t afford to go to a camp, and you spent out of your pocket to make it happen.

“You provided structure. You held us accountable, and you loved us like we were your own sons.”

Balmeceda said he’s at peace with his decision, but he admitted that he won’t feel fully retired until the state meet rolls around in 2026.

“I wouldn’t say that I’ll never coach again,” Balmeceda said. “I need a break to spend more time with my family, but I will be in the stands leading the cheers for South Dade.”

He’ll also spend more time with his wife.

“I’m excited for the next chapter in our lives,” Susan said. “I get to have him with me in the bleachers instead of sitting alone.

“More than anything, this means freedom, and it feels amazing.”