Coach Artie Viggiano, the Pelham Memorial High School varsity football coach, was awarded the Lou Rettino High School Coach of the Week on September 5, 2019, for Week 1 of the football season. Viggiano coached the varsity football team to a 14-7 overtime win against Harrison High School. Although Viggiano has been coaching this team for some time, he was previously a catalyst for the junior varsity football team at Pelham Memorial High School. Before Viggiano stepped into the coaching scene, Pelham had no junior varsity football team, which has long since been expanded since Viggiano’s tenure here at Pelham.

Viggiano became the head coach of the varsity football team in 2016. Before Viggiano, Pelham’s football program only consisted of a varsity football team. There were never enough kids playing football to create a junior varsity team, but once Viggiano came into the coaching spot, everything changed. His influence on the varsity team gave more kids the idea that they should play football for Pelham. With more and more kids wanting to play, a junior varsity team was created, and the kids were able to play on that team. Viggiano also played a big role in Pelham’s improvement throughout the seasons. The Pelicans were winless in 2015, but they have improved dramatically since Viggiano has taken over as head coach. And with Pelham transitioning into a Section 1 football team, it is proof that Viggiano is coaching the program in the right direction.

Pelham Memorial High School defeated Harrison High School on September 6th, 2019. This was Pelham’s first victory against Harrison in 25 years, which attributed to the significance of the win. Along with the win came Viggiano’s awards. Announced before the game was a $2000 donation to the Pelham football program, just one of several awards won by Viggiano. This was followed by tickets to a New York Giants preseason game in 2020, an in-game announcement on September 29 at the Giants v. Redskins game, and an invitation to a dinner hosted by the New York Giants at Metlife Stadium in the spring of 2020.

When asked about his feelings towards his awards, Viggiano said, “I mean, it was a tremendous honor winning the award, but I am more proud of my team for winning such an important game against Harrison that night. The awards meant a lot, but my players made me proud for winning the game.“

This award is very prestigious, and Coach Viggiano worked very hard to earn this honor.