Feb 13, 2022 3 min read

The moment Tim Mousetis walked through the wrestling room door as head coach at Chartiers-Houston High School he established himself as the smartest and toughest guy in the room.

Not far removed from outstanding wrestling careers at Washington High School and the University of Kentucky, where he was a two-time All-American, Mousetis was a natural fit at Chartiers-Houston.

He led the Bucs to consecutive WPIAL Team Tournament championships in 1981 and 1982. After finishing second in the state in 1981, Chartiers-Houston won the 1982 PIAA championship with Phil Mary winning a state title and three other Bucs (Jim Vulcano, Chris Mark and Brian Bell) advancing to the semifinals before placing third in their respective weight classes. The Bucs were state runnersup again in 1983.

Mousetis wrestled under his father, the late Stan Mousetis, at Washington. His coaching style was like his dad’s — work hard every day, pay attention to details and, understand, without a doubt, who is in charge.

“He was the boss and he had to be,” said Chris Mary, one of the Bucs’ top wrestlers in the early 1980s who later became an iconic coach at Canon-McMillan. “His rules and ways were golden. He coached us into becoming a great team.

“Looking back and getting to know Stanley (Mousetis) better, Tim coached it like Stanley coached it. They loved wrestling and they coached it with everything they had. You had to work for them, or you weren’t going to be with them. Stanley was all business. Tim reflected his dad. They are two of the most successful and respected coaches in the state’s history.”

Tim Mousetis credits the situation he walked into and the total cooperation from his wrestlers and their families for being a huge part in Chartiers-Houston’s success as a Class AA team wrestling in Class AAA.

“The support system we had then is rare today,” he said. “It was exceptional. It just doesn’t happen like that today. Some of the workouts I put these guys through. . . you couldn’t do it today.

“We had one goal at times in the wrestling room. We had a painting of the head of a Buccaneer on the wall. Our goal was that no one was leaving the room until the Buccaneer cried. It was intense and hot in the room just about every day.”

Phil Mary, a two-time state champion and former coach at his alma mater and at Peters Township High School, said the most important factor in the team’s success under Mousetis was belief in him.

“At the end day, our parents trusted Tim with us,” Phil Mary said. “We all knew, wrestlers and parents, we were lucky to have Tim as our coach. It was the right place at the right time.

“He asked for a lot from us and we gave what he asked for from us. As talented as we were, when we walked into that room each day, we knew who the best was in the room. It was Tim.”