[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 17 (Monday, January 29, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING COACH TONY NAPOLET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I have given many speeches on the 
floor of the House, but none do I feel so good about as the one I am 
about to give about my friend and a great man in Warren, Ohio, Coach 
Tony Napolet.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the recently completed season and 
the still ongoing career of someone who is an institution in Ohio high 
school football in the community of Warren and the family of Warren 
John F. Kennedy High School. It is Coach Tony Napolet.
  Overall, Coach Napolet has garnered three top 10 AP rankings, five 
State semifinal appearances, a winning percentage of 71.6 percent 
during his time at Warren John F. Kennedy High School and an overall 
coaching record of 191 wins, 84 losses and three ties. All of the 
records, all of the statistics and all of the awards, Mr. Speaker, 
cannot speak to the influential and inspirational man that is Tony 
Napolet.
  Mr. Speaker, in short, he is a legend. He is funny, he is passionate, 
he is loyal, he cares about his kids, and he is the best. Tony Napolet 
is every part of what a high school football coach should be. He 
realizes and has always realized that the role he plays is not just 
that of a football coach, but as someone who is preparing young men for 
the next step in their lives, whether that involves football or not.
  I had an opportunity as a young man to coach for a season with Coach 
Napolet at Kennedy, and you think about how you try to define, Mr. 
Speaker, or pick a couple of points that really describe Coach Napolet, 
and there are a couple that I think of. One is his faith in God, 
something that he is not afraid to share with his players, the students 
at Kennedy, and it is not just the prayer before the game, and it is 
not just the mass that we go to before the game.
  It is when you go to a mass during the week or in the morning and you 
see Coach Napolet at one of the many churches, Catholic churches, in 
the City of Warren, where he is actually practicing what he is 
preaching. I remember him telling the kids to have a relationship with 
God, to make God your best friend. It is that kind of an example that 
he sets for his kids.
  But there is another one, the St. Henry's Division V State 
championship game several months ago, that I think really sticks with 
these kids. And it is the situations that Coach Napolet is in and how 
he responds to them, because life many times is about how you respond 
to situations in your life.
  The Kennedy team was, unfortunately, down 21-7. Then they got the 
ball, and then they were down 28-7 towards the end of the game and only 
a few minutes left, and the Kennedy offense got the ball back, and they 
ran a flee-flicker. They tried to score.
  Regardless of how much time was left in the game, Coach Napolet was 
teaching these kids that you never give up. You persevere, regardless 
of what the circumstances are. And those are the lessons that he has 
taught those young men who have graduated from Kennedy and have played 
football for the Warren John F. Kennedy Eagles.
  So, today, Mr. Speaker, I am not honoring a coach and his distinct 
record but rather a great man who also happens to be a coach.
  Coach Napolet, we love you and you really are the best.

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