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Ted Ginn Sr. (official thread)

ysubuck

Be water my friend.
This guy is pretty remarkable!!! He is all about helping kids!

Ohio prospects adore coach Ginn Andrew Skwara
Rivals.com Staff Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ask a Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio) High football player about their head coach, Ted Ginn Sr., and a line of lofty compliments will quickly follow.

"Coach Ginn is like the perfect example of a father," said rising senior receiver/cornerback Raymond Small, who is ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the state of Ohio. "He really cares about your life. Sometimes it seems like he cares about your life more than you do."

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</td></tr><tr><td align="center">Tedd Ginn Sr., has been helping high school football players in Ohio earn scholarships for 30 years.</td></tr></tbody></table><!-- End TeddGinnSr.200 Image-->"It's amazing all the things that coach Ginn does for the kids," cornerback Ray Fisher said. "He helps and works with everybody in the school."

Ask the players who play against Glenville and Ginn the same question, and expect a similar answer.

"Coach Ginn is like an angel on earth," said Jahmal Brown, a running back at Benedictine Prep. "It doesn't matter if you are one of his own children or players, he will try to do something to help you reach your goals."

Ginn, the father of Ohio State star receiver Ted Ginn Jr., has spent a good portion of the previous four summers driving a handful of Glenville's top prospects to camps across the Midwest in an effort to earn them more recruiting attention. But, he always felt he could be doing more, helping many other players in a similar fashion.

Ginn made dozens of phone calls this spring, inviting players from all around the state to join him on his annual trip. He ended up with a bus full of 37 prospects who represented 15 different schools in Ohio.

They left Cleveland on June 10 and visited 10 Division-I schools in 12 days, logging more than 3,000 miles on the road.

"I had a vision about the bus and wanted to try and get all the top players in Ohio on it," said Ginn, who has been a coach at Glenville since he graduated from the school in 1974. "Normally, I take six or seven players of my own, but I wanted to try something different to give others a chance and gave it a shot. I felt if it was good for my kids then others should have the same opportunities. This gave them some exposure."

It did a lot more than that for many of the prospects who made the trip.

Glenville's senior quarterback Arvell Nelson has more than twice as many scholarship offers now, including the chance to earn a full ride at Wisconsin.

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</td></tr><tr><td align="center">Glenville's Bryant Browning is among the many players with great things to say about Ginn.</td></tr></tbody></table><!-- End Image-->Strongsville's cornerback Brandon Stevens landed his first offer from Iowa and appears to be on the verge of other offers from the Big Ten.

Brendan Mitchell, a tight end from Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, was receiving very little interest from schools three weeks ago. Now, he has an offer and is being contacted by a handful of coaches in the Big Ten.

"I go to a school with about 400 students, and it doesn't produce a lot of Division-I players like Glenville," Mitchell said. "A lot of college coaches don't come there, but because of this exposure now they know what I can do. I have an offer from Bowling Green and Iowa and Indiana are both really interested."

Stories like that are the most rewarding for Ginn.

"The kids that nobody knows about benefit the most from this," the coach said. "A lot of these guys come from schools that don't get a lot of attention are now capturing the eye of colleges and now they know them."

Ginn isn't just committed to helping players when it comes to recruiting either. Also a successful track coach, he talks to athletes about improving on and off the playing surfaces.

"Coach Ginn did a lot for me as a ninth grader," Jones said. "I wasn't that big or strong, but he just kept telling me to keep my head straight and that we would make it happen. He has always been by my side telling me I can do it. He never puts me down. He's like a father to me."

Several of Glenville players treat Ginn like a dad.

"To me, Coach Ginn is a father figure," said Glenville offensive lineman Bryant Browning, who landed a handful of big offers on the trip. "He does anything for children and spends all his time doing things for other people. Most coaches are only out to win for themselves and their own team, but coach Ginn is trying to help everyone he can."

Why is Ginn so committed to players, regardless of what uniform they wear?

"It's all about helping kids," Ginn said. "That is what it's supposed to be about for coaches."
 
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spraguezilla said:
I thought I read somewhere that the Cleveland Browns donated some money for the trip, but maybe that donation had something else to do with Glenville. I can't remember now.
Certainly the Browns are helping out with Cleveland HS Football next year .. they ponied up big bucks to offset budget reductions at the HS level that would have had a negative impact on the future of the sport. Hope they can fill the gap in coming years, as budgetary shortfalls are likely to be routine in Cleveland.

As for underwriting of Ted Ginn's trip --- parents, ??
 
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ScarletInMyVeins said:
sandgk... These kids live in the inner city. Do you really think all of their parents can afford to sent them to these camps? I know there might be a few but I highly doubt that the parents paid for all of it.
SIMV --agreed, lots of those athletes are inner-city, hence my double "??" question marks.

Or put another way -- I double dunno!

I'm pretty sure of one thing. However the funds come in, its all legit donations/payments. Ginn Sr. is not going to do anything to harm any of these kids futures.
 
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I recently read that the trip was almost cancelled due to transportation costs, but a local pastor donated the use of the bus, and then went along on the trip. I can't find that article now, though.
 
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By the end of the school year, 37 kids had signed on. Using much of his own money, $200 player fees and some donations from local donors, Ginn was able to reserve enough hotel rooms and put together a food budget. But, four days before the trip was to begin, it looked like it might get cancelled. They still needed a mode of transportation.

That's when a local pastor came through. Andrew Clark, who owns a bus company, was able to give Ginn a bus with just enough seats at a heavily-discounted price. Clark ended up traveling with the team, offering guidance and advice to many players.

from a previous Rivals article.

$200 is a small price to pay when probably at least half of these kids have at least one full-ride scholarship offer, many of which probably came from the tour.
 
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Once in awhile remarkable people like Coach Ginn emerge. I bet Mrs. Ginn matches Coach in her approach to life. Great teachers. Kids grow into adulthood and carry those valuable personal memories with them all their lives...many pass it on. I'm proud to have the Ginns associated with the Buckeyes...just as community leaders in their own right.
 
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