Athletes and teams often speak about "The Grind" and working hard every day.
If there were ever a person who embodies hard work, it's Chris Gizzi '93.
Dating back to his days at Saint Ignatius High School, Gizzi has been a relentless worker in every aspect of his life. Gizzi's work is now paying off at the highest level of professional football.
Earlier this week, the Green Bay Packers announced the promotion of Gizzi to strength & conditioning coordinator under new head coach Matt LaFleur. Gizzi spent the previous five seasons as strength & conditioning assistant with the Packers.
"He's earned it," said Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69. "He's worked so hard for it."
If anyone would know, it would be Coach Kyle. The 36-year veteran head coach watched Gizzi grow up during his four years at Wildcat High, and has stayed in close contact since.
And as it so happens Chris' father, Al Gizzi, preceded Kyle as head coach. Al Gizzi coached the Wildcats from 1977-82, guiding his charges to a 32-25-2 record and a city championship in 1977 with Oliver Luck '78 at quarterback.
Chris Gizzi starred for the Wildcats at linebacker in the early 90's, helping the men of Ohio City claim back-to-back OHSAA Division I State Championships in 1991 and 1992. Gizzi served as a captain during his senior season, anchoring a defense that allowed just 7.7 points per game and pitched five shutouts.
"He was a great football player here," Kyle said. "He was a captain. He was a wrestler, too, finishing second in the state. Coming off of football and being that good of a wrestler is awesome. His weight room ethic was very strong. His dad was a football coach here and other places. That connection with strength training helps. When your dad is a football coach, you're going to work hard. He worked well with Marty Eynon, Joe's uncle. We were fortunate to get that going."
Gizzi also starred as a wrestler for the Mat Cats. His experience in football and wrestling shaped him as a young man.
"With wrestling, he was a guy who had to be conscientious of not only strength training but also diet," Kyle said. "You have to be smart about your food intake with the weight class thing. You have to be conscious of nutrition, and with wrestling, you're wrestling how many times in a weekend, so you have to know how to recover."
Gizzi kept working hard on and off the field after graduating from Saint Ignatius. Gizzi headed to the Air Force Academy, earning a college degree, three letters, and Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1996 and 1997.
The Denver Broncos took notice of Gizzi and signed him as an undrafted free agent in 1998. Gizzi spent the 1998 and 1999 seasons on Denver’s reserve/military list while honoring his military commitment. Gizzi then joined the Packers for the 2000 and 2001 seasons, playing in 23 games for Green Bay.
In Green Bay, Gizzi is remembered for carrying out the American flag on September 25, 2001 in the team's first game after 9/11. At the time, Gizzi was a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
At the end of his NFL career, Gizzi owned and operated a training facility in downtown Chicago called Atlas Performance. Gizzi entered the training ranks with the University of North Carolina in 2013, spending one season with the Tar Heels before joining the Packers.
"If you take a look at Chris in high school, college, early in the pros, and you follow his pathway, he's having a very interesting life," Coach Kyle said. "He has a work ethic and keeps working, which causes great things to happen. He's a very personable young man. Because of his knowledge, they trust him a lot. That's important at the NFL level, they trust the strength trainer. There are a lot of private trainers, but they trust him. It's very exciting to see how he's becoming a well-known strength trainer in the league."
Coach Kyle knows of Gizzi's experience first-hand.
How? Gizzi came to Kyle's rescue in 2009. The Wildcats' longtime head coach needed Gizzi's help after assuming the reins of the United States’ first junior national football team (Team USA) for the International Federation of American Football Junior World Championship from June 27-July 5, 2009, at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.
"When I was the head coach of the USA Football U19 team, I contacted him. I said, 'I'm getting these college players and I want to make sure they train well.' The way the schedule worked, it wasn't once a week play. You had to play a game every two-and-a-half days," Kyle said. "I want to work on recovery and not hurt these guys. He put together a great program for after games and in the next morning, cleansing things out and working. It worked really well. He contributed very strongly to what we were able to do. Our kids recovered nicely, and we went through it with just one minor injury.
"No one published that story, but he came to my rescue for that, and I appreciated it."
Gizzi will have the chance to come to the aid of another Wildcat in his job with the Packers. Jake Ryan '10 is recovering from a torn ACL sustained during training camp last August.
Gizzi and Ryan will certainly have many Wildcats cheering them on from Northeast Ohio.
On behalf of Saint Ignatius Athletics, congratulations, Chris!