New York Giants' head coach has ties to parish in Rochester Diocese

Published: 2008-01-30

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (CNS) -- Mayor Ted Young of Waterloo sees a link between the success of the New York Giants and St. Mary Parish in his Seneca County village. He and Tom Coughlin, the Giants' head coach, are 1960 graduates of the parish grade school. Young believes Coughlin's Catholic-school upbringing helped shape his coaching achievements in college and the National Football League. "I think it played a large part. It sets your life values, and your values are set very early on," Young said in an interview with the Catholic Courier, newspaper of the Rochester Diocese. "Say what you want, he's been successful everywhere he's gone," Young said. "His values, his determination, his dedication -- if a little bit of that can be instilled in the players he's coaching, that can instill success. A coach like Tom drives you to put heart into what you're doing." Such qualities came in handy in the NFL's National Football Conference title game Jan. 20, as the Giants pulled out a 23-20 overtime victory in subzero temperatures in Green Bay, Wis., over the Green Bay Packers. The upset earned the team a Super Bowl date with the New England Patriots Feb. 3 in Arizona.

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