Spotlight: Coach Barris Grant

Last season, the New York Giants and Gatorade selected Barris Grant of Hillside High School (Hillside, NJ) as the Lou Rettino High School Football Coach of the Year.

In 2019, Grant’s Comets finished their season with a perfect 12-0 record. Hillside won their third consecutive sectional title by coming from behind to defeat top-seeded West Deptford 14-10 in the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics South Jersey, Group 2 championship game. They went on to defeat Cedar Creek 25-3 in the NJSIAA Group II Regional Championship at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium.

Under Grant's leadership, the Hillside Comets finished the 2019 season ranked seventh in New Jersey, while also boasting the state's top defense.

Grant became head coach of the Hillside Comets in 2016, and has amassed 39 career victories over the past 4 years. In 2017, his second season as head coach, Grant led Hillside to its first sectional championship in 30 years, following up the next two seasons with the Central and South Jersey Sectional Championships. Grant has also led his team to two back-to-back Mid-State 38 Valley Division championships.

The Hillside Comets began their 2020 season last month and are currently 3-1.

The Lou Rettino High School Football Coach of the Year Award is part of the Giants’ continuing effort to support local youth football programs. The Giants elected to name the award in memory of former Union High School (NJ) coach, Lou Rettino, for his commitment to the game of football, his community and the betterment of his athletes’ lives.

The selection is based on the coach’s continuing commitment towards promoting youth football, developing motivated student-athletes and his overall community involvement. In recognition of Coach Grant’s selection as Coach of the Year, he received a $4,000 to his school’s football program from The Giants Foundation and Gatorade.