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Community love powers Tayala
By Joe Scalzo
Last Wednesday afternoon, as his son was obliterating the Division III regional discus record on the best day of his (already historic) throwing career, Steve Tayala was thinking back to a meet three weeks earlier when Matthias won the shot put and discus and earned Field MVP at the Trumbull County championships.
If you’re thinking, “That’s not a bad day,” you’re sort of right. Because to Matthias, “bad” isn’t a strong enough word.
“He sat in the bleachers at Lake-view for an hour and a half, shaking his head, wondering what he did wrong,” Steve said. “He always wants to do better than he did before.
“When he doesn’t, it just kills him.”
Steve likes to tell his son that first place will feed his hunger, but personal records will satisfy his hunger.
“He lives by that,” Steve said. “It’s something I don’t even have to tell him anymore.”
On Wednesday, he went home satisfied after throwing the discus 197 feet, which was more than four feet better than the previous regional mark and just three feet, 11 inches shorter than the Division III record. (And in case you’re wondering — it was just seven feet, five inches short of the all-time Ohio record, set by Akron Ellet’s Charles Moye in 1987.)
This weekend, he’ll take aim at that mark as he looks to finish his career atop the podium for the first time.
The story of how he got to this point starts with a loud, oversized Warren native named Steve Tayala who joined the Army after high school, got stationed in Germany and met a woman from Nuremberg named Marianne Haas.
They started dating, fell in love and, eventually, moved to America when Steve got homesick. Marianne agreed, leaving her family (all of whom still live in Germany) to live in northeast Ohio.
Growing up, Steve played a little football and even threw the discus in middle school, “but I never got good at it.”
As for the rest of his formative years? Steve just smiled and said, “I’ve got a rocky past, brother.”
His son has just the opposite.
The Tayalas sent Matthias to Blessed Sacrament in Warren until 2001, when they moved to McDonald. It was the best thing they could have done, Steve said.
“McDonald, as a whole, is unlike any community you’ll ever go to,” he said. “They devote so much of their attention to their kids — to anybody’s kids that come there — and I thought it was so spooky.
“It was like stepping into a Stephen King novel.”
Tayala started throwing in the seventh grade. In addition to his McDonald coaches, he met older throwers like Fitch’s Sam Cassano, who passed on their knowledge and aided his development.
His sophomore year, he started working with Mary Domitrovich, a former state champion in the discus and throwing guru whose brother, Lou, is the team’s head coach.
“Right from the beginning, he was very motivated, very driven,” she said. “He paid attention to detail and he was always willing to learn.
“I think his work ethic superseded his [athletic] qualities. He’s the whole package.”
A talented basketball player, Tayala earned first team all-Ohio honors this winter — “But only second team all-conference,” he said, smiling — after topping 1,000 career points and helping the Blue Devils win their second-straight district title. He also earned third-team All-Ohio in football last fall — his first year on the team.
Though those sports kept him fit, they also kept him trim. At 6-2, 200, Tayala has the frame to pack on at least 25-30 more pounds. He’ll throw collegiately at Kent State, and his father thinks his best event will be the hammer, once he gets strong enough.
McDonald has had 55 state track champions — so far — and Tayala, who placed second in the discus last year, is almost certain to join that list this weekend.
When asked what he’ll be feeling when he competes for the last time in a McDonald uniform, he said, “It’s kind of sad. A lot of people want to get out of high school, but I like high school. High school is fun. You get so close with everyone.
“I’m going to miss it a lot.”
And McDonald will miss him.
“He’s certainly going to make an impression on the program and the community for many, many years,” Mary Domitrovich said.
Added Steve, “He thrives on the attention he gives this community. And the community gives it right back to him. It’s just an incredible, wonderful thing.
“The glory goes to God first. But the community, brother, is just awesome.”