Garden City’s football team has earned plenty of recognition over the last few years. After a historic season, the Trojans will be represented at the Super Bowl.
Coach Dave Ettinger was named the NFC recipient of the 2025 NFL Don Shula High School Coach of the Year Award, the NFL announced on Friday.
Ettinger, who was nominated for the award by the Giants, will be a guest of the NFL at the Pro Bowl Games and Super Bowl LX. He will be recognized at NFL Honors, the league’s annual awards ceremony on February 5. Garden City’s football program will receive $15,000 and Ettinger earned a $10,000 cash prize.
Dylen Smith of Palisades Charter High School (California) was nominated by the Los Angeles Chargers and is the AFC recipient of the award.
In 11 years as Garden City’s coach, Ettinger has led the Trojans to a 121-3 record and 10 consecutive Nassau titles. This season, Garden City won its fifth straight Long Island title and broke the record for New York’s longest winning streak. The Trojans’ 10-7 win over East Islip in the Long Island Class II championship game in November extended the team’s winning streak to 66 games, which stands as the longest active streak in the nation.
“I am incredibly grateful to accept the Don Shula High School Coach of the Year Award, an honor that represents teamwork, sportsmanship, and character,” Ettinger said in a press release. “My life off the field has been as a constant teacher, shaping both who I am as a person and how I approach coaching. We celebrate selflessness — making the extra block, supporting a teammate, handling adversity with composure. Our athletes learn that how you win matters as much as winning itself, and that the lessons gained through effort and responsibility extend far beyond football. Ultimately, our mission is for every student-athlete to leave our program as a better leader, a better teammate, and a better person.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
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