Printer Friendly Version - Tafro Taps Into the Bigger Picture as Guilford Youth Football Coach

Dan Tafro enjoys seeing athletes progress as both players and people in the Guilford Youth Football program. Dan is the midst of his second year in the organization and his first as head coach of the 7th-grade squad. Photo courtesy of Dan Tafro

Regardless of the wins and losses, Dan Tafro is all about making football fun at the youth level, while helping Guilford’s boys grow up into upstanding young men. That’s exactly what Dan is doing this fall as head coach of the 7th-grade team in Guilford’s Youth Football program.

Dan grew up in New Jersey, where he went on to play collegiate baseball for Monmouth University. Dan has lived in Guilford for the past five years and spent the last two years as a coach in the Indians’ youth ranks. He coached the 6th-grade team last year, before becoming the 7th-grade coach for this season.

It’s taken a lot of hard work for Dan and his colleagues to grow youth football in town, but Dan says the effort is well worth it, because he gets to watch his players learn a lot of life lessons through their experiences on the field.

“Last year at the 6th-grade level was the first time this grade had enough players to form a team. We had a successful year last year, and we are trying to make Guilford more of a football town from a youth standpoint,” says Dan. “I try to bring to them a solid football foundation that will hopefully last for years to come. The president of Guilford Youth Football, Rance Hillier, asked me to step in a few years ago, and I’ve just enjoyed coaching. I love seeing the boys work hard.”

Dan understands the importance of instilling principles in his young athletes. Dan details an itinerary of core values that he feels will not only help them excel on the field, but also in their lives outside of football.

“One of the values is family. They are a part of a team with one heartbeat that works to a common goal. We spend a long time together and develop deep bonds. Another is being coachable and listen when the coaches are speaking. I also tell them to do things right and follow the rules,” says Dan. “I also ask them to embrace failures and successes and that they still have to work hard when the chips are down. The other values that are big for me are body language, attitude, and giving maximum effort.”

Dan’s team has lost its first three games this season, but he isn’t too worried about the numbers on the scoreboard or Guilford’s place in the standings. Dan knows that his athletes appreciate getting the opportunity to play a sport that teaches them so much.

“I love seeing the boys develop and get better. We are 0-3 so far, but even at the end of the third game, they were just happy to play,” he says. “It’s great to see their work ethic and how they develop, along with how they are maturing and becoming good young men.”

Dan also coaches kids on the baseball field in Guilford. Little League coach Fred Rosa says that Dan emphasizes constant optimism and forward progress, no matter what sport Dan is coaching.

“Dan is the Vince Lombardi type coach—motivational, inspirational, and positive-to-no-end type of coach. It’s this approach that his players respond to. [Guilford’s 7th-grade team] is what youth football should be about: working hard, taking the bumps and bruises that sports throws at you, and getting back up to keep battling. Coach Tafro teaches this to his kids and motivates them to keep building on what they are working on to achieve greatness,” says Rosa. “In addition to football, Dan has had success on the baseball diamond with All-Star teams and AAU teams. He takes the same approach of constantly remaining positive and keep working to achieve success, and it translates.”

While coaching kids in the middle-school level, Dan wants to help them develop the tools that they’ll need to succeed under the Friday night lights at Guilford High School. Most important, though, Dan wants to make sure his players are enjoying themselves as they make those strides.

“The goals are to instill a good foundation at the youth level to help them go to the next level and be successful there. I also want to make it fun for them, too,” says Dan, who thanks assistant coaches Chris Gambardella, Carter Welch, Mike Shippy, Scott Ridley, Paul Jahnige, and Nolan Holabird. “Football is a sport that teaches you a lot about life, such as how to work hard to get what you want, and those are the things we try to instill in the boys.”