Suffolk News-Herald

Watching so many of the athletes he’d help heal for the past few years grab their respective awards, Lakeland trainer Mike Mosciano probably wouldn’t have guessed that he’d get one of the top ovations of the night at the Spring Sports Banquet. When he went to the podium, everyone expected to hear the sad farewell that they’d known was coming since Mosciano announced his plan to leave Lakeland for Maryview Sports Medicine after the season.

After he was thanked in nearly every coach’s farewell speech, Mosciano spoke his mind. To everyone’s pleasant surprise, he told the audience that he’d be back for an eighth year, drawing a huge round of applause.

He’ll still be overseeing training operations of the three Portsmouth and three Suffolk schools next year. But Mosciano’s supervisors decided that he should also stay at Lakeland to give athletes a familiar healing face.

&uot;There’s going to be a lot of meetings and a lot of phone calls,&uot; he said after the event. &uot;Up until a month ago, I didn’t think I’d be coming back. But they just thought it would be easier if I stayed. It’s kind of sad, because I was looking forward to a life of normal hours. But I’m glad I’m staying, because I know the situation here.&uot;