Forty years of coaching excellence for Parkville’s own Jerry Giarraffa

Coaching football isn’t all about Xs and Os. It can also be about teaching life lessons. Jerry Giarraffa, football coach and recently retired post office employee, is living proof. He is currently celebrating 40 years of coaching. His career in pigskin has been sometimes difficult, but often rewarding. “I fell in love with the idea (of coaching) during my playing years,” recalled Giarraffa. “Football is wonderful way to learn about life. There are so many things similarities between coaching football and life, such as teamwork and self- motivation. There are so many things it can teach you.”

Giarraffa, who played at New Utrecht High School, began his coaching career in the early 1970s at St Bernadette’s. He spent 13 years there, having started out as a special teams coach. After stints as both a defensive and offensive skipper, he eventually moved up the ranks to head coach. “As years went by, registration dwindled,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of the soccer craze. It was cheaper for parents so they pushed kids to soccer leagues.”

Giarraffa became an assistant coach in the 1980s at a semi-professional league with the Brooklyn Bruins. He worked with Dom Laurendi, who later spent some time as head coach of the Xaverian High School football team.

After a few years of coaching the Bruins, Giarraffa’s son, Jerry Jr., was born. When he turned five years old, Giarraffa decided to try a new challenge: coaching in peewee league.

“To go to pee wee football was an adventure. I was so used to teaching older kids,” said Giarraffa, who has now been coaching in the Parkville Youth Organization for 19 years, in three divisions.

Although it was an adjustment period, Giaraffa took great joy in working with young children. “Teaching kids is most important thing. From day one, my job as coach of a team is to do two things: get them to have fun and get them ready for high school football,” he said.

Of all the accolades and accomplishments, two moments stand out for Giaraffa. “Having my son play for me was great,” he said. Today, Jerry Jr. coaches besides Giaraffa at Parkville for the major division, where they won a Parkville championship.

Another great moment for Giaraffa came from his days at St. Bernadette. “One of my proudest moments was when I won coach of the year at Bernadette my first year as head coach,” he said. His team had gone undefeated that year. “It was overwhelming at first. I had self-doubts. But having a team go undefeated was rewarding.”

Giaraffa, who is now also currently a school bus driver, continues to enjoy his time at Parkville. “I love the qualities of the Parkville program. There’s good sportsmanship,” he said. “They stress that this is a teaching organization first. Competing comes second.”

After 40 years, his love of teaching football has yet to dissipate. “If I had to change my life over again, the one thing I wouldn’t change would be coaching. It’s a privilege. Parents entrust your kids with you and help them learn the game,” Giaraffa said. “It’s a wonderful feeling.”