Redshirt senior Josh DaSilveira stepped onto the mat at Wells Fargo Arena for the final time on Feb. 27. He faced CSU Bakersfield’s redshirt senior Reuben Franklin, the top-seeded wrestler in the weight class, for the rights to take home the Pac-12 title in the 197-pound weight class.
On that night in Tempe, the country got to see a small glimpse of DaSilveira’s work horse attitude, and the amount of heart he pours into his trade.
The two were engaged in a frantic duel with the Pac-12 title on the line. Hundreds of roaring fans were in attendance, watching the epic clash. The last minute of the match was like the end of "Rocky 2," where Balboa gets the win over a highly touted rival, and the crowd goes nuts as Balboa celebrates his monumental win.
DaSilveira held on for the win, and let his emotions loose after the match by signaling his gratitude to his fans by putting his hands to his heart. During the post-game conference, he couldn’t hold back the tears, letting his unfiltered emotions flow and giving the presser of a lifetime.
“These guys are here for me, I’ll do anything (for my teammates and fans)," he said in the postgame press conference. "I’ll rip my ligaments out of my f---ing heart if I could."
That was the climax of his wrestling career; but his story goes way beyond the accolades and the championships.
The making of a champion
DaSilveira was raised in Miami, Florida, by Brazilian parents. His parents divorced when DaSilveira was 5 years old, so he split time between his two parents’ houses. He moved on many occasions and changed schools frequently.
“It kind of corrupted my life," DaSilveira said. "I’ve gone to (many) different schools. This is the first time in my life I’ve grown up with people around me.”
His father trained him in Jiu-Jitsu at a young age — so young that Dasilveira can’t put his finger on when he started. The Gracie Jiu-Jitsu style he learned was derived from his parents' home country.
During the summer between his freshman and sophomore years of high school, he visited Brazil, but ended up living there for nearly a year when he got an ulcer. Luckily, he is fluent in Portuguese and was able to get by just fine.
When he got back from his extended stay in Brazil, his wrestling career kicked off. During such a turbulent time in his life, wrestling became the one constant that kept him on the right path.
The start of a wrestling career
With a background in MMA-style fighting, he had absolutely no experience wrestling and didn’t know the ins-and-outs of the sport. One day at Barron Collier High School, he met the wrestling coach’s son and everything took off.
“(Coach Joe Blasucci’s) son walked into the P.E. locker room, and he had a nice shiner, and I was like, 'Damn, man, how (did) you get that?'” DaSilveira said.
The coach’s son said it was from wrestling and that DaSilveira should come to practice and try it out. DaSilveira was intrigued and attended the practice.
When Blasucci saw DaSilveira for the first time, he was in awe and said he thought DaSilveira was a senior. When DaSilveira said he was a sophomore, the coach was in shock of the “man-child.”
“(On his first day,) I told him, why don’t you watch in the back. He didn’t know how to do anything,” Blasucci said.
DaSilveira remembers his first day too, and he recollects he had some fun.
“I went into the wrestling room with only P.E. clothes and socks on,” he said. “I think I ended up throwing a couple guys down too.”
During his sophomore season, he was still getting a feel for the sport, but his junior season was when he really broke out.
DaSilveira had a near flawless season placing second at the Florida State Championships and winning the NHSCA championships right after.
“I knew he was a prodigy,” Blasucci said. “That season he made the finals, he didn’t know what he was doing. He got in 180 matches during the offseason (between his sophomore and junior seasons). He really was a phenom.”
During the NHSCA title match, DaSilveira tried to spring up for an escape, but his ankle got twisted and he suffered a near-disastrous injury.
“(My opponent) was on top, and he leaned all his weight on my ankle during an escape (attempt),” DaSilveira said. “I was hobbling around trying to get the win.”
He won anyway. He proved his mettle, but he was then sidelined for nearly five months as he recovered from his injury.
The next year, DaSilveira transferred to Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and won the 2010-11 Florida State Championship.
Blasucci knew he had enormous potential, so after DaSilveira graduated, Blasucci talked to an old high school wrestling teammate and coach at North Carolina State, who is now an ASU assistant coach, Lee Pritts.
“The first time I saw him compete, he stood in the middle of the mat and he was ready to battle,” Pritts said. “I was just like, 'God I like this kid. It was his competitive spirit. You could tell the fight he had was unbelievable.'”
At NC State his freshman year, DaSilveira was in more of a studying phase than anything as he was still learning how to wrestle at the next level.
“It was more trying to mentor him his freshman year,” Pritts said. “When you’re trying to adjust from being away from home, there is a high rate of guys who don’t make it their freshman season.”
Things didn’t quite work out his freshman year as a new regime was brought in at NC State. Pritts moved on to coach at ASU, and DaSilveira’s time there was done as well. He transferred to a small junior college in Iowa that Blasucci had some ties with, Ellsworth College.
Coming to ASU
Pritts tried to bring DaSilveira to ASU after they left NC State, but he said then-ASU head coach Shawn Charles said DaSilveira lacked the ”pedigree," so DaSilveira had to prove himself first.
“I worked closely with the juco coach,” Pritts said. “I stayed in touch with (the coach and DeSilveira) every two weeks to make sure he was on the right track.”
DaSilveira ended up earning his pedigree, as he dominated at the juco level, putting together a 23-7 record and winning the 2013 NJCAA National Championship at 197 pounds. After that season, ASU felt he had earned a spot with the team, and they brought him in.
During his stint with ASU, he proved that the investment ASU put into him was worth it, putting together a successful senior season that saw him win the Pac-12 title and earn a NCAA Championship bid.
He didn’t have the success he had hoped for at the NCAA Championships, getting eliminated on the second day, but he is still grateful for the opportunity he had.
“Regardless of the outcome, don’t forget about the good stuff in life,” Dasilveira said of his approach to the championships. “I had a great journey. It was tough.”
Something that trumps his prestigious senior season was his attitude off the mat.
“He’s loyal to the bone,” Pritts said. “Not too many people I’d rather be in a foxhole with than him.”
Now that his collegiate wrestling career is over, it seems like all roads lead to the same place for DaSilveira: MMA.
“MMA fighting has always been stuck on me. I’m definitely going to give MMA a full 110 percent try and take wrestling and throw it into MMA,” he said. “Doing something I love and maybe support a family doing it. Maybe work with wrestling and kids too.”
ASU wrestling has a knack for producing MMA fighters, such as Dan Henderson, Dan Severn and Cain Velasquez. So now, after taking shot after shot both inside and outside the mat, the question of DaSilveira's pedigree is finally answered with a resounding yes.
Related links:
Sun Devil wrestling unable to advance to day three, ends season
ASU wrestling has tough first day at NCAA Championships
Reach the reporter at benjamin.a.flores@asu.edu or follow @benflores21 on Twitter.
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