STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 When it came time for nominating one of his players for the prestigious Heart of a Giant Award for Week No. 6, Tottenville head coach Brian Neville knew one of his players would fit the bill. <\/p>\n
The honor, sponsored by USA Football and the New York Giants, was created to recognize players who \u201cdemonstrate a relentless work ethic and unmatched love for the game.\u201d <\/p>\n
And Pirate fullback\/tight end Robert Brisk was someone who exemplified all those qualities when you consider his personal life was a lot tougher than others.<\/p>\n
After losing his father to addiction at age five and being raised by his grandparents while managing a complicated relationship with his mother, he has overcome significant challenges that have shaped his strength and character.<\/p>\n
Brisk himself shared the type of character that he\u2019s built through playing football, sharing that, \u201cLosing my father at a young age is something I\u2019ve never forgotten. Some days are easier than others, but football has been the one constant that helps me through my struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe energy of practices and games, and the support of my teammates and coaches, allow me to block out the hard times and keep moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Neville said Brisk is a pleasure to coach. <\/p>\n
\u201cRobert is a program guy,\u201d he began. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe shows up every day, works hard and does whatever is needed to help the team each and every week,\u201d he continued. \u201cPersonally, Robert is kind, polite and selfless. It\u2019s a pleasure to coach him and watch him develop as a player, but more importantly as a person over the past four years.\u201d <\/p>\n
Brisk, a senior at the Luten Avenue school, has been an important contributor to the Pirates\u2019 undefeated season. He is especially noted for his strong work ethic on the field, a quality recognized by his coach.<\/p>\n
Despite the aforementioned challenges, Brisk has not only emerged as a leader for the Pirates but also excelled academically, earning a place on Tottenville\u2019s Honor Roll and passing the Algebra 1 Regents exam ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the classroom, I participate in discussions and encourage classmates to share their ideas. I make it a priority to help others when they\u2019re struggling, whether with homework or understanding a lesson. By staying responsible, respectful, and prepared, I try to set a standard that motivates my peers to stay focused as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brisk is the second Islander in as many weeks to be nominated for the Heart of a Giant Award. Last week, McKee\/Staten Island Tech\u2019s Lymeek Moton<\/a> was one of the Week 5 nominees from all over the Metropolitan region. <\/p>\n The Heart of a Giant program runs over six weeks, with a new group of nominees introduced each week. The nominee with the most votes during their respective week is named a finalist. By the end of the process, 11 student-athletes \u2014 six finalists and five honorable mentions \u2014 will be recognized for their dedication, character, and work ethic.<\/p>\n Each weekly finalist earns a $1,000 equipment grant for their school\u2019s football program. One grand prize winner, chosen from the group of finalists, will receive an additional $9,000 grant and be honored on the field at an upcoming New York Giants game.<\/p>\n Voting for Brisk\u2019s group closes on Oct. 26, and support from the Staten Island community could help him earn a spot as a finalist. To learn more about the award or cast your vote, visit usafootball.com.<\/a><\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 When it came time for nominating one of his players for the prestigious Heart…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-4936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}