MILFORD, Ohio — Milford football coach Tom Grippa is grateful when he reflects on the opportunity to coach his grandson, freshman quarterback Liam Farrell, this season.
“It is emotional,” said Grippa, who is starting his 36th year as a high school head football coach and has a 232-150 career record. “I can’t wait to get him in high school and to coach him. It will be fun. For the Grippa family, it will be Friday nights, Saturday mornings.”
There will also be Wednesday games as another grandson, Graeme, is an eighth-grade wide receiver and defensive back.
Farrell will likely split time on freshman and junior varsity football levels this season with an opportunity to dress varsity on Friday nights.
“I think it’s awesome; I’m really proud of him,” Grippa said. “He loves football and he’s a really good kid. He’s in the National Honor Society. He gets straight As. He’s made a lot of friends. The Milford kids have been really generous to my family. They embraced them and made them feel like a part of this.”
Farrell, 14, was very young when Grippa was the Mount St. Joseph offensive coordinator and director of summer camps in 2013. Grippa, 70, remembers Farrell attending MSJ games.
Football was certainly in his bloodline. Grippa worked with Farrell on his quarterback skills going back to Farrell’s grade school days.
“Ever since I’ve been wanting to play for him,” Farrell said. “I just feel like it’s special I get to do that now.”
Farrell is an accurate passer who is intelligent and has a good understanding of the game, according to Milford defensive coordinator Jim Grippa, who is Tom’s son and Liam’s uncle.
“It’s pretty special,” Jim Grippa said. “To have Liam in the program it feels like a dream come true.”
Football means everything to Tom Grippa. So when Farrell starts football this fall, it will mark another special chapter. Besides being a quarterback, Farrell plays safety on defense.
“It’s something that in the back of your head you’ve always kind of dreamt about and you think about all the time,” Jim Grippa said. “I think when Liam – even this year when he walks out on the field – it’s going to be something where it’s going to be hard not to shed a tear. It’s going to be special for the entire Grippa family and Farrell family.”
Tom Grippa and his son, Jim, are proud of Farrell beyond football.
“He’s a kid that he’ll put in the work,” Jim Grippa said. “You don’t have to worry about his dedication. At the end of the day, he’s a kid you would trust at the end of the game.”
