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As we approach the 2025 Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this October, Emmanuel College is highlighting the achievements of this year’s inductees.
In the weeks ahead, we will share profiles of the student-athletes, coaches, and supporters whose dedication, leadership, and excellence have left a lasting mark on Saints athletics.
Coach Tony DaRocha was hired in 2001 to lay the foundation for a new era in competitive running at Emmanuel College. Essentially building a new program from the ground up, DaRocha forged Emmanuel cross-country into a conference power that won four championships in 17 years.
The secret of his success? Working with each runner to build their confidence and ability.
“I think the biggest thing was the team believing,” said DaRocha. “The players have to believe in what the coach is doing to have success... and trust that I’m going to help them do their best.”
The results speak for themselves: a conference championship for both the men and women’s cross-country teams in 2013, with the women winning it again in 2015 and 2018. All told, DaRocha coached 38 cross-country All-Conference student-athletes, including the 2008 GNAC Women's Cross Country Individual Champion and the 2013 GNAC Men's Cross Country Individual Champion.
DaRocha also coached the indoor and outdoor Track & Field teams throughout his tenure at Emmanuel, leading the indoor program to 12 All-New England and All-ECAC performances and the outdoor program to 32 All-New England performances and 14 All-ECAC finishes.
A seven-time Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Coach of the Year at Emmanuel, DaRocha had five runners total that first year between the men and women’s cross-country teams. He built up the program from there, one runner at time.
“The first thing was trying to get some success,” said DaRocha. “If the athletes are having a positive experience, the success will come. And once you have some success, people will start buying in.”
DaRocha has been building up runners for most of his life, starting with himself. Told in middle school he was too slow, DaRocha accepted that challenge and trained himself into one of the best 10,000-meter runners at the high school level nationwide. He attributed that partially to being blessed with a great sense of pace, supplemented by hard work and a fascination with the science and techniques of running.
Bryan Mahoney G’09, G’23 witnessed those dynamics firsthand as an assistant on DaRocha’s staff. A seasoned runner with three marathons under his belt, Mahoney described DaRocha as the greatest coach he’s ever seen—adding he ran his best while in the orbit of DaRocha’s knowledge and encouragement.
“He would really take people under his wing,” said Mahoney. “I remember he had these binders, filled with information about how the runners were performing and he would systemically approach the training and build it out for every single athlete.”
“He cares about running at a level that I'd never seen and I think that anyone who ever ran for him felt that and had confidence in what he was doing,” added Mahoney. “I think his record speaks to that.”
DaRocha was hired at a unique moment in Emmanuel’s history. Founded as a women’s college in 1919, Emmanuel became coed in 2001 and added its first men’s cross-country team. The women’s team was also being revived after a hiatus.
Serghino René ’05 was DaRocha’s first male recruit. He ran while attending New Bedford High School and met DaRocha by competing against his teams at Boston Latin School. The chance to train with DaRocha brought René to Emmanuel, and it was a profoundly influential experience.
That’s not to say it was easy. René was a sprinter in high school, but DaRocha wanted him to run cross country at Emmanuel as well, with a standard run of five miles. René hit a wall about halfway through his first meet. He was unhappy about the whole situation, and let coach know after crossing the finish line.
“I told him that I’m a sprinter and not a distance runner,” said René. “He just laughed and patted me on the back and said it would be okay. I have to say: doing cross country is what gave me the strength to be a better sprinter in college.”
René still has the training books DaRocha provided, complete with inspirational quotes. And he still remembers the things he learned from coach.
“His philosophy is always in my mind when I’m working out, and how I’m talking to myself in general,” said René. “You work in increments to make yourself better, and sometimes you have to go through hard things to get to the good. I now have this foundation in my mind.”
Originally from Cape Verde, DaRocha moved to Boston at age 5. He spent one year in Florida, but otherwise he’s a lifelong Bostonian. His first sport was soccer, but growing up during the Big Bad Bruins era, street hockey quickly became his favorite sport. But he had a gift for pacing himself while running, which helped him earn an athletic scholarship while at Boston Tech (now known as the John D. O'Bryant School of Math & Science).
DaRocha majored in human movement at Boston University, building a strong knowledge of exercise and physiology. He completed a Master’s of School Administration at Cambridge College the same year he was hired at Emmanuel. Appropriately, his thesis was 250-pages on how to start a successful track and field program; a document he’s freely shared with other coaches who are just starting out.
All told, DaRocha taught physical education at the Boston Public Schools for 32 years. He was hired at the Solomon Lewenberg Middle School in Boston in 1992, and coached cross country and track there for a season, before taking on coaching duties at Boston Latin High School from 1994-2001. He also found time to coach cross country for the Boston Public Schools from 1993 to 2001, building it up from a single runner to a program with 41 league champions in individual and relay events during his tenure.
There were multiple offers when DaRocha started looking to coach at the collegiate level in 2001, but he immediately felt a connection with Emmanuel’s focus on connection and nurturing the whole person. It was a place he could be himself, and build a program that matched his values.
“It doesn't matter if I’m coaching a champion or the slowest runner on the team; I’m still the same person and I treat everyone the same,” said DaRocha. “When I walked into Emmanuel I felt like I was home, because Emmanuel has that same philosophy.”
DaRocha retired from teaching in 2024, and that has freed up time for playdates with the grandchildren, but he also stays involved by officiating local events. He does a lot of work with the Boston Athletic Association. The mayor’s office is frequently in touch on matters of fitness and running in the city.
Even in retirement, DaRocha keeps busy, but he’s doing what he loves. He’s always advised his runners to do likewise.
“That's one thing I always ask all my athletes: Are you happy?” said DaRocha. “If you have fun and look at things through that lens, everything else will fall into place.”
