A
former player, survivor of a hit-and-run driver in 2010, suffered such massive injuries doctors were unsure he would
live. When he did miraculously awaken from a coma, some of his first words were about Mike DiGrigoli, who had been his coach at Gulf Coast High School. His mother told the coach that it was DiGrigoli’s training, both physical and mental, that had helped him pull through. Such a reference doesn’t surprise another
of Coach D’s former players. Lee Campbell, a 2006 All-State football player who went on to play middle linebacker for the New York Giants and Detroit Lions before a knee injury sidelined him temporarily. “Coach knows how to help kids reach their
maximum potential. He helps make us not just better athletes, but better men”, says Campbell. “He taught us to work harder than everyone else and gave us the skills to use in creating a successful life.”
DiGrigoli models the behavior he tries to instill in his young players, even after they aren’t his players anymore.
“I’m back in Naples now while I do
physical therapy,” says Campbell, “and still my phone will ring at 5 a.m. and Coach’s voice will say, ‘Ha! I’m up earlier than you and already training. Let’s go!’” Mike DiGrigoli has been coaching football
and wresting in Naples since 1998, first at Gulf Coast High School and now at Golden Gate High. Apart from having helped produce a long string of District and State champions and championship teams over the years, he also teaches Special Education and finds the skills required of him there not dissimilar. “I always teach my athletes selflessness,
one of the reasons our team does a lot of charity events, and (I) hope such compassion carries forward into their future lives,” says DiGrigoli. “Teaching kids with disabilities requires me to treat them with respect, to show compassion, and that makes me appreciate the blessings I have.” His gratitude list includes the many kids
he has taught and coached over the years. To give back, DiGrigoli pours his passion into the work. “Wrestling, for example, is the most
demanding physical and mental sport a young person can engage in,” says the coach. “It requires such discipline and toughness of spirit, but I never ask my athletes to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. I try to model the right behavior for them.” DiGrigoli bases much of his behavior on
the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. “One of the lessons is not to just react to a problem by blowing up with frustration and anger, but to respond to the problem and thereby solve it. I try to teach the kids that.” Barb Anderson, the President of Golden
Gate High School Boosters Gridiron Club, adds, “Mike instills enthusiasm and challenges his players to be good students and citizens. His excitement about what he does is contagious.” DiGrigoli isn’t faking that enthusiasm. “Teaching the Special Ed kids, who are
always excited to see me and give me such undivided attention, has taught me to take in everything with an open mind and open heart,” he says. “To work with young people and have an opportunity to make a positive difference is just such a blessing. This isn’t a job for me; it’s a vocation.”
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