(L) Defensive Coordinator Steve Wiser [43 Years plus 4 years as a player] and (R) Hall of Fame Coach Frank Girardi |
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Former Lycoming College head football coach Frank Girardi spoke at the National Football Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner Press Conference ahead of his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame tonight, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m., at the Waldorf-Astoria, as part of the NFF’s Annual Awards Dinner. The awards dinner will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Below are Coach Girardi’s comments at the press conference, provided by Caption Northwest, Inc.
BONNIE BERNSTEIN: Frank Girardi, 1972-2007 at Lycoming, 257 victories, won 72 percent of his games, one of only 17 coaches on any level -- any level -- to reach 250 wins at one school. Coach, Coach Bowes was talking about the importance of having an eye for talent, hiring coaches around who can complement you. But you think about that: 250 wins at one school, 29 straight winning seasons. What's the formula? What really worked? If you had a bunch of young, aspiring coaches sitting here in front of you, what would you -- how would you guide them?
FRANK GIRARDI: First thing I would say is get them to trust you. Get them to trust you, and they'll do anything for you. To be able to communicate with them. I think that's lacking so much, is the communication nowadays. If you can do those things, you can be consistent, and then they're your best recruiters. Once they leave, they're your best recruiters. I still maintain contact with the guys I had in the '70s. They're great kids. Great kids.
I, too, want to thank the Foundation for this wonderful, wonderful award. Looking around here at all these guys, man, I could have coached until I was 100 if I had these guys. You kidding me? I remember watching most of them on TV. That doesn't mean to say that I'm that much older than you guys, but I did watch you guys play.
I want to certainly thank the National Foundation for this wonderful award. The gratitude that you have for something like this, you never think something like this is going to happen. When you first get into coaching, you want to survive. It's all about winning. I've got to win a game. We've got to win a game.
But as you get older, you know that the game is so much more than all the wins that you've had. So many people are responsible for that. So many wonderful, wonderful young men I've had. So many great coaches that I've had. And it's all about relationships. It's all about memories. And I certainly have enough memories to last me for a lifetime.