On January 14,1996 the new midget football and wrestling clubhouse in East Greenwich was dedicated and named in honor of Sam Giordano, a long-time local youth athletic volunteer.  Giordano, who is also a member of the East Greenwich Police Department, has been closely involved with area youth athletic organizations for many years.  He has coached Little League, helped with the midget wrestling program m he and sits on the Parks and Recreation Board along with the Tri-County Midget Football Association.  “Sam is not only a great civil servant, but he is a great humanitarian for youth.”, said Ed Meyer, president of the East Greenwich Little League.  “He continually works for the youth in the community…and he has given much to the township through his efforts.”

Giordano’s main project, however, has been the Kingsway Youth Football and Cheerleading Program which he has helped turn from a dream to a reality during the last seven years. Giordano said that he wanted to start the program because local children didn’t have anywhere to play football together.  Celeste Dolan, who is a member of the midget football board of trustees, explained that when it comes to doing something for kids, “Sam doesn’t know when to stop.  He’s so enthusiastic.  When he gets started, he gets everyone started.”  Giordano brought people together and persuaded the township to appropriate land at Hidden Acres for the football fields.  Since then, the area has been developed from a vacant field into a game field, a practice field, and a parking lot.  “When the kids need something, Sam made sure they got it.  He’s very generous with his time.  He wants the kids to have the best.” When the league needed a concession stand to raise money for referees, Giordano got area businesses to donate refrigerators and a trailer.  His powers of persuasion didn’t stop there, through.  When they began working on a clubhouse at the field, he organized a cinder block drive. 

Clubhouse Stands As Tribute
To One Man’s Dedication

To add a note of humor, they called the drive a “block party” and asked people to donate cinder blocks or $1.  Altogether, 5,000 blocks were collected to form the foundation of the clubhouse.  Steve Cacciavillano, who was very involved with the construction of the clubhouse, credits Giordano for getting the program where it is today. 

“It has been an unbelievable success, especially when you look at other area programs that have been around for much longer,” he said.  When the program began, it was called East Greenwich Midget Football but has expanded over the years to include Swedesboro, Woolwich, and South Harrison as well.  The program was eventually renamed the Kingsway Youth Football and Cheerleading League. 

When the field needed goal posts, a score board, fences, and the kids needed uniforms, Giordano got donations from area businesses for equipment and got others involved to help with the work.  Another member of the midget football board of trustees, John Lucas, agreed that Giordano is very energetic when it comes to youth projects. 

At first, the league was open only to boys age 9 through 13.  However, it has grown to include 7 and 8 years olds as well as involving a cheerleading program for girls.  Currently, approximately 200 area youth participate in the program.  Next season, a flag football program for kids age 5 and 6 will be starting as well as pom-poms for the younger girls.  The upcoming year holds other new challenges for the football league.  The clubhouse should be completed within the next few weeks.  The next goal is to get lights for the game field so that the kids will be able to play home games after dark.  It will be expensive, but Celeste Dolan is confident “If there’s a way to do it, Sam will figure it out.” 

Their next fundraiser will he held in March with their annual St. Patty’s Beef and Beer, held at the Bridgeport Fire Hall.  But most of all, Giordano said that he is looking forward to next season because the first group of kids that started with the program five years ago will be completing their last year.  He said that he will have “a lot of great memories watching the kids who came up through the program move on and hopefully play in high school.”  Although he has put in so much time and effort to the creation of the midget football program, Sam had mixed feelings about the dedication of the clubhouse to him.  He felt that it was an honor, but he said that he feels bad that they put only my name on the building.  “There are so many people who were involved donating their time and energy, and businesses who have donated money and equipment. 

With every breath I take, I could name someone else who helped, “ he said.  But Linda Dodd, who along with her husband Jim have worked closely with Giordano in starting the football program explained the dedication.  “Sam, along with a handful of people, started the program.  Because of his perseverance and hard work, it has become a reality.  Other people have been very involved as well, but Sam had the desire to see it through.  If anybody thinks of the football field, they think of Sam.”