From hallways to hall of fame: Old Colony superintendent to be honored for wrestling career

ROCHESTER — In addition to serving as the superintendent-director of Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School, Aaron Polansky works as a keynote speaker.

But Polansky couldn’t find the words during a particular conversation, the one in which he learned he’d be inducted into the Massachusetts chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

“I was speechless,” he said. “I literally didn't know what to say when I got the official phone call.”

The Old Colony head is one of seven announced in August as the class of 2025 for the state chapter’s hall of fame. 

After wrestling in high school and part of college, Polansky has coached for more than twenty years. For a decade, he oversaw USA Wrestling in Massachusetts.

He said his induction is “a reflection of a collective effort that's always existed.”

“The people that I've had the opportunity to be surrounded by have been a blessing in my life, and I'm forever grateful for their influence,” Polansky said. 

One of those people, most prominently, was Polansky’s wrestling coach at Natick High School in the early 1990s.

Inducted himself in 2017 to the Massachusetts chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Bob Anniballi “changed the trajectory” of Natick’s wrestling program and was, and still is, a role model to Polansky, he said.

“I think without him in my life, I don't know if I'd be where I am today,” Polansky said.

Polansky wrestled collegiately at Norwich University, then began his coaching career at Amherst-Pelham Regional High School in the mid-90s. He worked as an assistant coach to Dave Wintsch, who always said their “job was to build great human beings, not just great wrestlers,” according to Polansky.

Wintsch always asked three questions: “Is it kind? Is it honest? Will it improve the situation?” Polansky said.

“I've taken those three questions with me to this day,” he said. “It's part of how we operate here at Old Colony. We ask those questions.”

For 10 years, Polansky served as the director of USA Wrestling in Massachusetts, the local affiliate of the Olympic Training Center. In the role, he recruited for and organized the state’s teams that competed for national titles, working with countless Olympians along the way.

During his tenure, Polansky was a “big proponent” of organizing girls wrestling in Massachusetts, he said. 

Polansky has five daughters; three of them have wrestled.

“There's no better feeling than to stand in the corner of your daughter and watch her grow and develop and set goals for herself and dream big,” he said. “I've had a lot of wrestlers with whom I've had the opportunity to coach and contribute to, but there's something deeply inspiring when it comes to standing in the corner of your own child.” 

After introducing a wrestling program as an assistant principal at Bristol County Agricultural High School, Polansky came to Old Colony.

The school has a cooperative wrestling program with Middleborough High School.

“The kids really seem to love it,” Polansky said.

For Polansky, who drives his daughter Olivia to train at Harvard University three times a week, it’s not a cliche that it takes a village in wrestling.

“It's a truth that this community of people comes together to help the next generation, and I think that's what I love the most about the sport is people are constantly giving back to each other,” he said.

The incoming class for the Massachusetts chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame will be inducted during an April 2025 ceremony in Norwood.

Polansky attended the ceremony at which Anniballi, his high school coach, was inducted in the class of 2017. He remembered thinking about how many different people he’s met through wrestling — and the influence they’ve had on his life.

“It's a blessing to be passionate about something, and then it's even more of a blessing to find people who can have a positive impact on the work that you do and in the growth that takes place for you,” Polansky said.