CLEVELAND — If you’re a fan of college football you know this season, coach prime, Deion Sanders is bringing excitement and raising the national profile of the University of Colorado. The NFL Hall of Famer making a positive impact on his players on and off the field.
It’s the same impact Glenville High School football coach Ted Ginn Sr. has made here in one of the toughest parts of town for more than 20 years. I recently sat down with Coach Ginn to talk about his success stories and philosophy when it comes to developing young men for success in life after their playing days.
Ginn is a known force on the gridiron as he trains his defending state champions to work hard and score big in the endzone. But his passion goes beyond the field, as he calls the plays that will help his athletes succeed in the game of life.
I asked him what made him take his coaching skills beyond the game.
“I saw the influence that I had over young people. And then the thing that I know we weren’t getting the right information. We have the best athletes and all that, but nobody's really paying attention," said Ginn.
But Ginn flipped that around and got his athletes the attention they deserved. Colleges now calling him and signing his players to full scholarships. Players he carries in his heart like sons.
I spoke with two of his players, who appreciate his fatherly presence.
Fredrick Johnson says, “He's a father. He helped me with a lot of like adversity when I came in here. He just accepted me."
D’onte Jones echoes that sentiment.
“Coach is like a father figure. If I wasn't here, I don’t know where I'd be. He plays a big part of my life. He teaches me different types of things, communication, life outside of football,” said Jones.
Ginn’s playbook consists of ways to tackle life, even after you've fumbled. His principles are love, passion, and understanding. But he shared with me that the challenge in transforming his players into productive, successful ones has changed.
"The challenge now is worse because we're dealing with a whole different way of living. Now that challenge that we are dealing with now because we got social media. The cell phone is raising our kids. You understand right now, the mindset of a 13, 14, 13–25-year-old, I hate to say it. It's about a gun," Ginn said.
Gun violence in Cleveland is taking the lives of young boys and deleting the hope that they will live to be men. Ginn Academy is working hard to change that narrative. His players have learned to stay patient and poised to seize every opportunity for success.
The coach believes he has been given a divine assignment to transform boys into good men. Football is the vehicle. His love, passion, and understanding of his sons, are the fuel.
When his mission is finished Ginn says, "I would love for people to think that I cared about everybody and I want to fight for the underdog all the time. But I left it all on the field.”
