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FAIRFIELD, Conn. Mark Innaimo knows he has big shoes to fill in replacing Jack Tetreau as the president of the Fairfield Giants Pop Warner Youth Football program.
The good news is Tetreau has left a strong model to follow. Innaimo also has a board he believes will continue to lead the program forward.
Jack is tough to follow, said Innaimo, who has been involved with the league since 2003. It was Jack and his brother Mike, Steve Finnegan, and a lot of others who put in a lot of time to make this work. We have a great group of volunteers. From top to bottom, everybody gives 110 percent. Its fantastic to watch. When we come together, everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Under Tetreaus leadership, the Giants became one of the powerhouses in the Southern Connecticut Pop Warner League. They won six state titles, three New England championships and a national crown.
When he took over the program, we were upside down, Innaimo said. We were something like 6-40 (combined record among the teams). We've changed that around. We had better advertising, promotion and marketing. The registration gradually increased. Then our winning percentage started to increase. They laid the foundation and set up everything perfectly.
Innaimo, a former high school player at Holy Cross in Waterbury and Marist College, is hoping to maintain the Giants success and continue to grow the program.
We definitely want to move forward, but its walking a tightrope, Innaimo said. You have to be the gatekeeper, but you have to grow too. We want to grow our parent involvement, our volunteer involvement and at the same time, strive for continued success while providing a fun atmosphere for all families to enjoy."
Innaimo was part of a new board that took over early this year and includes vice president Johnny Vasquez, athletic director Dave Houghton, treasurer Mark Cirilli, secretary Lee Battista and cheer coordinator Michelle Scholz.
The Giants start their season this weekend. They have nearly 300 children involved between tackle football, flag football and cheerleading. The leadership is supported by a strong staff of coaches, many of whom played college football.
Innaimo has a dual role. Hes also the coach of a Junior Pee Wee team of fourth-grade players.
Its tough because youre getting pulled in a lot of different directions, Innaimo said. But we have 24 members who do a lot of work between January and July. We try to get as much aligned as we can before Aug. 1. We know after that, were going to be busy.
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