By Mary Malloy
Vito, a football coach at Roosevelt High School, was chosen as one of 51 top coaches from throughout the country, representing each state and Washington, D.C. Also included in the summit weekend were more than 100 youth coaches, and 19 former NFL players now coaching at the high school level.
The program, designed to support the youth coaching community, required high school football coaches to attend the summit by entering a nomination and essay contest conducted by the NFL through its high school football web site, NFLHS.com. Coaches submitted online essays in which they wrote about their coaching careers, commitment to youth and coaching philosophies. " To me, it was a surprise, because I was nominated by those on the executive board at the state level," said Vito. "I am involved in a lot of communities." A local and state panel reviewed the essays, and the 51 coaches were chosen to serve as their state's delegate at the summit.
-Pro football greats Anthony Munoz and Dave Wilcox were on hand to discuss topics of importance to the youth and high school coaches. Leaders in the fields of sports medicine and sports psychology spoke at the summit, including Dr. Linn Goldberg, who talked about steroid use; Dr. Bob Murray of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, and motivational speaker Zachary Minor addressed the audience.
"It was exciting," said Vito. "There were many seminars, and we learned a lot. We got to speak about our own programs, and we shared ideas with each other."
Seminars were presented to the coaches on topic of interest such as using technology in football, injury prevention and sports first-aid practices; role-playing demonstrations on handling coach-player relationship issues, recognizing talent, and tips on inspiring youth and high school football players to achieve their greatest potential.
There were representatives from USA Football, an organization whose purpose is to support and promote the sport at all levels of amateur football, and the National Football Foundation (NFF) who participated in discussions on the importance of leadership and the benefits of football.
"There were guys from England, Japan, Mexico and Canada," said Vito. "I met wonderful coaches from around the world."
At the Commissioner's Reception, Vito met football Hall of Famers, past and present, and he and the other coaches were treated to a private tour of the Hall of FameÍ. "It was all such a great honor," said Vito. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue spoke to the attendees at dinner. "We have more than 1,600 players on our NFL rosters," he said. "They have one thing in common -- they received guidance from high school coaches. The Youth Football Summit is one way that we can offer our resources on an annual basis to help maintain the quality of youth football coaching throughout the country."
Back in Roosevelt, Vito is trying to raise money for his team. "We are hoping to get the Play It Smart program into our school," he said. Play It Smart was created in 1998 by the National Football Foundation. It's an educational program targeted at schools where family and community support are generally lacking. The program, designed to channel a student-athlete's passion and dedication for sports into a rewarding and enriching experience, has sent 80 percent of its participants to college. The program costs less than a dollar-a-day per student. "This is my next goal," said Vito.
Comments about this story? MMalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
Photos courtesy Vito family
