Hazlet Football Player Nominated For NY Giants Award

HAZLET, NJ — A football player at Raritan High School in Hazlet was nominated by his head coach to receive a 2019 "Heart of a Giant" award, presented by the New York Giants NFL team and the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

That player is Danny Fiore, a 17-year-old senior at Raritan High.

Every summer, the New York Giants ask high school football coaches across the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) to nominate certain players. The student-athletes are chosen for unique reasons and usually because they overcame a person struggle: For example, this Keansburg High School football player who had his arm amputated due to childhood cancer was nominated.

Danny's challenge is that he has struggled with reading his entire life, his parents said.

"When Danny was in first or second grade, the school wanted to assign him a special reading coach," his mother, Hannah Fiore, tells Patch. "He fought me so hard on that. He didn't want to stand out or have anyone treat him differently. We bought him a special $2,000 reading program and he worked so hard on his own, teaching himself how to read at home."

And yet an outsider would never know that Danny still struggles with reading, even to this day. He is No. 4 in his class at Raritan, has a perfect 4.0 GPA and is currently taking six Advanced Placement classes. Last year, he got a 5 (the highest score) on AP exams such as U.S. history, calculus and physics and a 3 on the AP language test.

"It just takes Danny longer to read," says his mother. "He knows what he has to do."

Danny says playing football for the Raritan Rockets was his escape: “On the field, I was different because I was good at it and I understood it," he said. "So, I dedicated myself to getting better at playing and to getting better at reading. Football helped me develop confidence and a positive self-esteem.”

“Danny has inspired his teammates in both his friendship on and off the field," says Raritan head football coach Anthony Petruzzi. "He has been recognized as a school leader and a future mover and shaker of our community.”

Danny also plays varsity baseball and basketball for Raritan.

Student-athletes that win can receive a $10,000 equipment grant for their program, meaning the Raritan football team will receive all new equipment if Danny gets the most votes. You can vote for a player here: https://usafootball.com/programs/recognition-awards/heartofagiant/

Similar Patch reporting:

Keansburg Football Player Nominated For 'Heart Of A Giant'

North Brunswick Twp HS Football Player Nominated For Giants Award