Elite coaching produces elite results.

Steve grew up in Park Ridge and attended Maine South High School.  As the son of Italian immigrants, Steve gravitated to the soccer field, but by the time he reached high school, he recognized that there wasn’t much of a future for a 250 pound midfielder....  He was fortunate to have great coaches who encouraged him to play football, including: Phil Hopkins, Dave Inserra, Phil Kardasz, Charlie Bliss, and Carl and Rick Magsamen.  Steve earned All-State, All-Area and All-Conference honors as an offensive and defensive lineman.  He was also part of the MSFB All Numbers Team and the Maine South Hitter’s Club.  After graduating from Maine South, Steve attended Northwestern University on a football scholarship and was a member of the 2000 Big Ten Championship team.  His brother Vince also attended Maine South and went on to University of New Mexico on a football scholarship, eventually earning All-American and All-Mountain West honors as an offensive lineman.  Steve works in the finance industry and is a Partner with a Chicago-based private equity firm.  He lives in Park Ridge with his wife Allison and their four kids.  The opportunities afforded and lessons learned from the coaching staffs at Maine South and Northwestern were invaluable.  Steve is proud to have the opportunity to coach with Park Ridge Hawks Travel Football and hopes to have a positive impact on players and their families.

Mike has been a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Chicago since 2010. He

graduated from Indiana University with a Major in Economics and Minor in Finance degree. He grew up

in the Chicago neighborhood of Edgebrook Sauganash where he then attended and played Varsity football at Loyola Academy. He currently resides in St. Charles, IL with his wife, Michelle, and is expecting a Son in June 2022. In his free time, Mike enjoys coaching in the Park Ridge Hawks Pop Warner football program, playing basketball, and golfing to keep up with his competitive nature.

 Strength and Conditioning 

Danny was born in Chicago, IL, to Italian parents and grew up in Norridge.  He graduated from Pennoyer School in 2003, and then went to Maine South High School, where he played on the soccer team all four years.  He competed in the State tourney in 2006 and the team took third place.  In  2007, Danny started his career as a personal trainer and worked at a variety of clubs like Bally Total Fitness and FFC.  In 2010, Danny attended Concordia University in Chicago, and obtained  a degree in physical education, health and driver’s education.  Danny was the starting kicker and punter for Concordia D3 football for four years.  In 2014, he started a career in education, teaching PE, health and driver’s ed at various schools in the Chicagoland area, teaching grades 7-12.  In 2019, Danny started a holistic fitness company, Danny Cola Fitness, teaching and coaching one on one, small group fitness classes, steel mace and functional movement workshops.  In 2020, Danny joined the coaching staff of the Park Ridge Hawks Travel Football as the strength and conditioning coach for all levels.  Danny recently opened his own personal training studio in Park Ridge, called Underground Fitness.  It is his personal goal and mission to build a community around physical and mental optimization.  Underground Fitness is the official training facility of the Park Ridge Hawks.  Danny can be reached at 847.347.4398 and followed on Instagram @dannycolafitness and @underground.fitness.pr.  He also has a podcast on iTunes and Spotify, “The Danny Cola Podcast,” which is a conversational style podcast that discusses optimization and connections to higher potential. 

Mark attended Maine South High School and currently resides in Park Ridge with his family. Having the privilege to play for IHSA hall of fame coach Phil Hopkins, Mark earned USA Today honorable mention All-American honors, All-State honors and is a member of the MSHS All Numbers team. After graduating from Maine South, Mark was the recipient of a four-year football scholarship to Miami University and was a three-year starter at Left Tackle. Enjoying the rigor and discipline required to succeed both in the classroom and on the football field, he took great pride in the title of student-athlete. He believes that life lessons learned in sports are just as impactful as lessons learned in the classroom. Some of Mark’s fondest memories and experiences can be attributed to playing youth team sports and hopes to provide the same to the next generation. He instills the virtues of positive attitude and never-give-up effort into his young athletes. Mark has a degree in Engineering as well as an MBA and works in Private Equity and Operations in Chicago.

Matt is a lifelong Park Ridge resident. He grew up in Park Ridge, attended Maine South High School, and currently resides in Park Ridge with his family.  For ten years, Matt has actively served as a youth sports coach for football and wrestling.  As a former Maine South football alum, Matt was captain of the 1994 Maine South Hawks under the legendary leadership of Phil Hopkins.  He is proud to be highlighted as part of the MSFB All Numbers Team (#71).  As a college athlete, Matt competed as a heavyweight wrestler at Illinois State University.   Today, he is honored to continue youth coaching and mentorship with the Park Ridge Hawks Elite Football program. Matt draws from his experience as an athlete to instill the values of commitment, hard work, and love for the game.  Go Hawks!

Randy and his family have lived in Park Ridge since 2005. He has actively been involved with Park Ridge sports including basketball, lacrosse and football and has served as a volunteer coach in both house and travel leagues. Randy has two sons that have proudly played on past and current Park Ridge Travel Football teams. Randy’s oldest son, Bennett, plays OL/DL on the Maine South sophomore football team. His youngest, Gavin, is a 7th grader that plays OL/LB in the program. The players truly benefit from the knowledge and insights being taught by the former Maine South football greats on the coaching staff. And having experienced how both his sons have grown from the enhanced level of coaching, competition and experience that the PR Hawks football program offers, Randy is a strong supporter. As a coach in the program, Randy spends his time working on fundamentals and skills development with the offensive and defensive line positions. 

Paul attended Maine South High School and currently resides in Park Ridge with his family. He has been involved in the Park Ridge sports community his whole life and he has been a coach for 5 years. Paul has been an impactful coach for Park Ridge football, coaching both house league teams as well as Hawks Travel Football. Paul played football at Maine South and was a member of the Varsity Maine South Football team in the early 1990s. He draws upon his experiences and interactions with legendary Coach Phil Hopkins and his staff, to coach current youth football players. Paul has worked for the City of Park Ridge for over 20 years and is unwavering in his commitment to the Park Ridge community. 

Born and raised in Park Ridge, Joe began his football career with the Park Ridge youth tackle football program at age 10. His love for the game continued to Maine South High School where he played under coach Phil Hopkins and, as a senior All-Conference defensive lineman, he helped the Hawks win the first Maine South football program Class 5A State championship in 1995. With the continued support of coaches and his parents, Joe went onto to play four more years of Division III college football at St. Norbert College, where he graduated with a degree in business finance and was a member of the 1999 Midwest conference championship team.  Undersized his entire football career, Joe learned the values of hard work, dedication, preparation and pride that goes into each game.  He learned from his late father to always take advantage of your opportunities and reach for your goals. He is proud of this opportunity to help the kids in this program learn these same values that have helped him throughout his life. Currently, Joe lives in Park Ridge with his wife, Andrea, and their three kids and operates a small family real estate business. 

Johnny was born down the street from Maine South. His earliest childhood memories are playing football in his backyard where he pretended to pick up “another Hawks First DOWN!” As a former Park Ridge D-1 Travel Football Player and Maine South football alum, John has been committed to the Park Ridge sports community for the last twenty years. Johnny realizes the value youth football has had upon him and wants to pay it forward. In his first year of D-1 Travel Football, the Hawks went 13-0, as he played an important role in winning the program’s first Pop Warner National Championship. Over the course of the next seven seasons of football, John and his teammates lost six total games and won the 2008 8A State Championship. He was lucky enough to be surrounded by a great coaching staff, and his teammates who continue to be his lifelong friends. His experience in the Park Ridge football community ingrained invaluable personal skills such as physical and mental toughness, discipline, adaptability, commitment to teamwork and willingness to grow as an individual. As an example, one of Johnny’s closest friends and roommates at Indiana University was an opponent he caught a touchdown pass over in the 2008 State Championship game. Most recently, he was a member of the Park Ridge Junior Hawks coaching staff, which allowed him to pursue his passion for mentoring and developing young talent. Johnny graduated from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business with degrees in Finance and Real Estate Finance and currently works as an Investment Sales Broker in downtown Chicago.

Growing up in Park Ridge, Sean's passion for football started at the age of 8 with the Park Ridge Youth Football tackle program. He then joined the Park Ridge Travel Football program, developing his skills and knowledge under Coach Jim Dihu, competing in the 1999 and 2000 Pop Warner National Championships. In high school, Sean became the first sophomore to start as Maine South's Varsity QB. Under head coach Dave Inserra and offensive coordinator Charlie Bliss, Sean's high school career was highlighted by back-to-back State Championship appearances in 2003 and 2004. In 2003, Sean set numerous Illinois state passing records and was chosen as the 2003 Chicago Sun Times Player of the Year. He was also part of the MSFB All Numbers Team and the Maine South Hitter's Club. Sean continued his football career at Central Michigan University, being offered a four-year Division I football scholarship by current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly. During his years as a Chippewa, CMU won multiple MAC championships and appeared in several bowl games. Since college, Sean has enjoyed giving back to the Park Ridge community by volunteer coaching, sharing his knowledge and lessons learned to future and current Hawks. Sean works in finance in Park Ridge, and he and his wife are the proud parents to a three year old son and newborn daughter. 

Charlie began his tackle football career at 7 years old, and by 2002 he had already led the Park Ridge Hawks to a 13-0 record and the program's first Pop Warner National Championship. Charlie went on to play for Dave Inserra and Charlie Bliss as a freshman on the Varsity football team at Maine South High School. During his senior year in 2008, Charlie was named Parade Magazine All-American, EA Sports All-American, and Chicago Sun-Times Illinois Player of the Year, while leading Maine South to its first 14-0 record and 8A State Championship in school history. Charlie was the recipient of an athletic scholarship to Vanderbilt University in the SEC. He works in real estate and is involved in volunteer coaching and foundations helping to promote awareness and testing for prostate cancer. Charlie attributes his passion for coaching to his late father, Chuck Goro.