Instilling pride

During the last seven years, Joe Ninni has had his fair share of big wins, and more than a few losses.

But in those years of coaching youth football, Ninni, of Geneva, believes his greatest victories weren’t reflected on the scoreboard.

Rather, the victories are recorded in the smiles and gleaming eyes of the young players who, perhaps for the first time, felt they had accomplished something.

“I’ve seen boys come through, who maybe have struggled for a long time,” Ninni said. “And then they have a really good game, or a good season, and to watch that kid smile, see how proud he is of himself, that’s what it’s all about.”

As Ninni tells it, coaching has been in his blood since he was a child. The passion was first ignited by his father, who volunteered for youth sports in which Ninni participated.

But it was a passion Ninni didn’t act on until seven years ago when he registered his son, then 5, to participate in the Tri-City Youth Football Association’s flag football league.

“I eventually got approached about coaching, and I agreed,” Ninni said. “And I’ve just kept doing it.”

For the past five years, Ninni has served on the board of directors for the TCYFA, and for the past three years, has served as the president of the organization commonly known as Tri-City Chargers.

The job consumes much of his time, as the work of administering the league goes year-round.

Ninni, who also owns a small restaurant business in Naperville, said the tasks keep him as busy as his own business.

The difference, however, lies in the pay – as in, he doesn’t get any.

“Everything with Tri-City football is 100 percent volunteer,” Ninni said.

Since taking the top spot at the youth football association, Ninni has helped guide the group through the growing concern over head and brain injuries.

“There’s no doubt, it’s a big challenge,” he said.

He said registration in the association has decreased in recent years, primarily over such concerns. The association still boasts about 500 players annually.

“And last year, we had just one concussion,” Ninni said, a rate he believed to be comparable to other youth sports.

He attributed the relative success at preventing concussions to the association’s commitment to safety, reflected in such steps as reconditioning all helmets each season and selecting teams to ensure players compete against others their own age.

Erin Thiesse, of St. Charles, said Ninni’s leadership has been instrumental in helping the association to not just continue, but to thrive.

She noted Ninni’s role, for instance, in launching Tri-City youth football’s Little Giants program, in which current and former youth football players are paired with autistic children from the area for a day of football-related activities.

And she said the football program also has helped her son, Ryan, 12, who was coached by Ninni two years ago.

Thiesse said her son is naturally shy and reticent, but Ninni’s coaching helped to draw out leadership qualities, as well as football abilities.

“Joe took him under his wing, and to see him now, it’s amazing,” Thiesse said. “Joe does so much for the kids and the program.”

In addition to his administrative duties, Ninni continues to coach, as well.

“My wife has told me I should go find a job where I get paid to coach, because I love it so much,” Ninni said. “But to get paid, you’ve got to go to the higher levels, and that’s not what I want to do.

“You see the kids at this level, how they play just for the fun of it, and to see them learn to take pride in what they do – that’s why I want to coach these kids.”

The Ninni Lowdown

Name: Joe Ninni

Age: 39

Hometown: Geneva

Family: He and his wife, Renee, have four children, 11, 7 and 5-year-old twins

Hobbies: Coaching lacrosse and baseball

Fun fact: He says he never played football – he was a soccer player his whole life. His parents wouldn't let him play as a kid, but that was always a passion of his.