Garden City football coach Dave Ettinger is used to being in the last game of the season. But he never anticipated going to the Super Bowl.
Nominated by the Giants, Ettinger was named the NFC recipient of the 2025 NFL Don Shula High School Coach of the Year Award. He and his wife, Dana, will be guests of the NFL at the Pro Bowl Games and Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.
Ettinger and the award’s AFC recipient, Dylen Smith of Palisades Charter High School (California), will be recognized at NFL Honors, the league’s annual awards ceremony on Thursday.
“To get our program some national recognition is amazing,” Ettinger told Newsday. “I feel guilty that I’m the one that reaps the benefits of it because there are a lot of kids and coaches that have gone into our success… I was going to take [assistant coach] Steve Finnell with me, but my wife would’ve killed me.”
In 11 years as Garden City’s coach, Ettinger has led the Trojans to a 121-3 record and 10 consecutive Nassau titles. Garden City won its fifth straight Long Island title and broke the record for New York’s longest winning streak this season. The Trojans own the nation’s longest active winning streak at 66 games.
The Ettingers flew out west Monday evening for the all-expenses-paid trip, in time for Tuesday evening’s Pro Bowl Games.
“It’s beautiful out here. Definitely different from Long Island,” Dana Ettinger said. “The weather is great, so it’s a nice change in temperature.”
Ettinger said that the honor was kept a secret until Friday’s announcement.
“Since then, I’ve gotten a ton of text messages and phone calls from current players, past players and parents,” Ettinger said. “It’s pretty special.”
Garden City will receive $15,000 toward its football program.
“The kids are going to want gear or uniforms, I’m sure, but we’ll definitely try to upgrade some of our technology,” Ettinger said. “I have my eye on a couple of things that we can update and make it a little bit easier to use and improve the sideline experience.”
Ettinger earned a $10,000 cash prize, which he said he likely will use to treat his coaches.
“I’m extremely proud,” Dana Ettinger said. “I see all the time and dedication that everyone puts into the program. It’s just amazing.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
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