Vince Lombardi

Vince Lombardi is regarded as one of the most legendary and greatest coaches of all time. Not only did he create winning teams, his philosophy and motivational skills were key factors to his success as a high school, college, and professional football coach. Vince was Italian and grew up in Brooklyn. His father owned a meat shop, and he made sure that Vince was a responsible young man and had him do work for him when he was not in school. Much of Vince’s philosophy and discipline as a coach was learned from his father in his younger years. His father told him as a young man that “There was only one right and wrong, and he believed that you only did the right thing all the time” (O’Brien, 1987, p. 23). Vince began playing football at the age of 15 and later got a scholarship to play at Fordham University. Although he did not have much playing time at the beginning of his career because there were players who had priority over him and the fact that he incurred several injuries in college football. He was among the linemen that became known as the Seven Blocks of Granite in his later college years. Vince believed in winning, and did not ever take losing lightly. While he was in college, he did well, but not above average in academics. He was a devout Catholic, and he did spend many hours studying to improve his academic scores. After Fordham, Vince played on several semi-professional football teams, but his small stature did not prove him to be a successful football player in the pros. Afterward, he accepted a job as an assistant football coach at St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, New Jersey. This was the start of a long coaching career that would prove Vince Lombardi to be one of the greatest coaches in history.
Vince was a football coach and teacher at St. Cecilia High School from 1939 to 1947. Although he had never had any coaching or teaching experience, he felt this was his time to prove himself successful. Although he was only an assistant coach, he