Vince D’Adamo: What did you enjoy most about competing in athletics throughout your life?
Michael Savino: There were so many things that played into my love of sports over the years. Early on, it was about having a built-in, exciting activity to look forward to every day, and having the chance to emulate my idols that I watched on TV (I loved replicating the batting stances). But what grew to be a stronger element as time went on, which is true for most athletes I think, are the fun friendships that are made by being part of team. Teammates get to know each other very well – strengths, weaknesses, habits, and quirks. So the dynamic that forms between teammates, good ones at least, is in large part built on ultimate support. You celebrate everyone’s successes and pick each other up when one fails. But on the other hand, no one is ever safe from being made fun of, endlessly ribbed, and given some embarrassing nickname. That balance made for such a fun environment to be a part of every day, while working toward a common goal.
D’Adamo: What have you been doing since graduating from high school?
Savino: It’s pretty shocking to think about how many years have passed since that graduation day. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel around the country and live in some fantastic places…but I had to endure many more years of school to do that! I attended the University of Notre Dame for college, and from there went on to medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA. After med school, the required period of time during which you gain on-the- job, specialized experience in hospitals and clinics is called residency. I spent the first year of my residency at the University of Pittsburgh, and then the last three years at NYU in New York City. Lastly, for the final year of training (which is called fellowship), I headed to Northwestern in Chicago. When it was finally time to get a job, I was fortunate to be hired as a radiologist with the Napa-Solano branch of Kaiser Permanente. So, after 14 years away, I finally returned to the Bay Area, and soon I will be getting some company. My fiancée, Marissa, is moving here in less than a week and we will set up shop in Walnut Creek.
D’Adamo: What was your favorite class at Justin-Siena High School?
Savino: Biology with Mr. O’Connor. Obviously, it was a subject that proved to be something I was very interested in. But, I was a younger than most of the kids in the class so I was nervous going into it.
Something about the way Mr. O’Connor conducted the class and treated me individually turned him into both a mentor and a friend in my eyes. It was one of the happiest I can remember being in a classroom, and it gave me a lot of confidence moving forward in high school. Now, if I were to be completely honest, leadership class senior year when Andrew Bettencourt and I would sneak a basketball out of the locker room when setting up assemblies in Dan Clark Gym wasn’t too shabby either.
D’Adamo: What was your favorite athletic moment at Justin-Siena High?
Savino: It was a varsity baseball playoff game at home, I think against Salesian. We were down going into the home half of the final inning, but put together a rally. My spot in the order came up with the tying run on third, and Coach Rossi called a suicide squeeze. I gave my signal to acknowledge it, stepped into the box, and was able to get it down for the tying run. I beat out the throw to first, so I was on base when Steve Andres hit a bloop base hit over my head into shallow right, which scored Travis Aspegren for the walkoff win. The tension turned into absolute elation, and I just remember flying around second and third base to give coach a huge high five and join the team for the celebration at home.
D’Adamo: How much do you feel you have grown personally since graduating from high school and how much of that do you trace to athletics?
Savino: I have grown immensely since high school, I think primarily as a result of exposure to people from innumerable cultures, places, and walks of life. Napa is a great, safe place to grow up, but there is a relatively narrow demographic. Living in Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago, all the while interacting with patients in hospitals and clinics, allowed me to meet so many different kinds of people and expand my degree of open mindedness and empathy.
But I realized that there are a lot of common veins that connect people no matter where they are from, and sports is a huge one. I forged many of my strongest friendships through a love for sports and continuing to play on intramural teams throughout my post-high school life. Plus, sports is almost always a topic that you can get to chatting with a stranger about, and gets those lines of communication going. And having been an athlete growing up always gives you credibility.
D’Adamo: Within your family, who have been the most influential people?
Savino: This is a pretty easy one – my parents. The things in life that are important to them have been passed down to me by both direct teaching and them leading by example. The list is long, but treating other people with kindness, being unselfish, placing a value on education, and worshipping homemade Italian food are a handful of the major principles that have carried forward with me. I went through a lot of school and needed a lot of help along the way, and they were always there to support me when I needed it. Moreover, my dad was my coach for the majority of my childhood, with the two of us spending countless hours between the lines with one another. From the days of him mowing a baseball diamond in the grass of our back field for my 7-year- old birthday party, to sitting and analyzing the final round of a Sunday golf tournament in the current day, the sports connection has been, and always will be there.
D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet.
Savino: I figure, if I get this magical, once-in- a-lifetime chance, I might has well have some fun with it and meet Jerry Seinfeld. Walking around New York City for a day with him making fun of people and pointing out the oddities and absurdities of life sounds like a plan I could get behind.
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