East Rutherford, NJ – The New York Giants have selected Mr. Louis Zampella of Hudson Catholic Regional High School (Jersey City, NJ) as "The Lou Rettino High School Football Coach of the Week" presented by Chase for the week of October 26, 2015. Coach Zampella and the Hawks have started the season off 7-0, which is the best start in school history and have only given up one touchdown all year.
In recognition of Coach Zampella's success and commitment, he will receive a certificate of recognition signed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin and a $1,000 check, to be matched by Chase, will be granted to the Hawks football program. Coach Zampella will be acknowledged by a stadium announcement when the Giants host the New England Patriots on November 15th and an announcement will also be posted on the Giants website, www.giants.com.
The Lou Rettino High School Football Coach of the Week Award is part of the Giants' continuing effort to promote youth football. The Giants elected to name the award in memory of former Union High School (NJ) coach, Lou Rettino, for his fine commitment to the game of football, his community and the betterment of his athletes' lives.
Each week during the 2015 high school football season, the Giants will select one area high school head coach as the Coach of the Week winner. The selection is based on the coach's continuing commitment towards promoting youth football, developing motivated student-athletes and his overall community involvement. At the conclusion of the 2015 season, the Giants will choose a Coach of the Year. That coach will receive $2,000, to be matched by Chase, for their school's football program. They will also be invited to attend a dinner hosted by the Giants and Chase.
Last year, Chase committed over $17 million in charitable donations in the tri-state area. Investing in the communities it serves is central to how Chase does business, and the firm is committed to supporting programs like youth football that provide young people with access to a positive extracurricular activity.
Coach Zampella began his coaching career at Hudson Catholic Regional High School as the defensive backs and running backs coach and was part of the coaching staff that helped the team make its first ever state playoff appearance in school history. From 1999-2002, he became the recruiting coordinator and defensive coordinator at St. Peter's College where he helped build a team that went from 0-10 in 1998 to 10-1 in 2001 in just three seasons. His defense was ranked #1 in the country and led the NCAA in six statistical categories in 2001. Additionally, he coached numerous All-Conference players, two Defensive Players of the Year and six All-Americans. In 2003, Coach Zampella returned to Hudson Catholic as the defensive coordinator and was there until 2008 when he became the defensive coordinator at Union City High School and Memorial High School. In 2012, he signed on as the head coach at Hudson Catholic, helping the team to make it to the playoffs every year since.
Coach Zampella graduated from Hudson Catholic in 1993 where he excelled in football. He was named All-Conference 1st Team, selected to the FAA's Dream Team as a defensive back and was awarded Team MVP his senior year. He graduated from St. Peter's College with a degree in Business Management and was a four year starter on the football team as a defensive back.
Coach Zampella was born and raised in Hoboken, NJ and still resides there today. He is a career Fire Captain for the Hoboken Fire Department.
