Blue Ridge football, track community shocked by death of beloved coach Frank Girardi

The Lakeside-Pinetop community is in shock after beloved Blue Ridge High assistant football and track and field coach Frank Girardi died Friday night in a motorcycle accident.

Girardi was 46. The accident occurred near his home, according to Bob London, former head football coach at Blue Ridge, where he helped coach Girardi in the 1990s.

The state high school track and field championships are taking place Saturday.

Girardi grew up in the White Mountains and was one the greatest athletes to come out of Blue Ridge in the 1990s. He played football and baseball and was a three-time state champion in wrestling and a top 300-meter hurdler in track. 

He was a big part of the 1994 state football championship team at Blue Ridge as a running back and linebacker.

London, a football coaching fixture at Blue Ridge since the time Girardi starred as a running back there in the 1990s, when the late Paul Moro was the head coach, said that Girardi was well-respected and loved in the community. 

"A tenacious competitor who tried to instill that in his athletes," London said.

Girardi's father, Joe Girardi, was the head football coach at Blue Ridge from 1972-75, before becoming the head coach at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. He was killed in a car accident in 1982 when Frank was 5, said Denise London, Bob's wife.

The Londons are spending time with the Girardi family on Saturday. Denise said the family is too heart-broken to talk to reporters now.

Bob London, who retired from coaching as as the school's athletic director after hiring Blue Ridge alum Jeremy Hathcock as his replacement, grew up on the same street with the Girardis.

Bob London said that Frank Girardi was the Blue Ridge Junior High athletic director and a teacher. He was a top assistant football coach under Hathcock last season.

"Can't believe it," Hathcock texted. "I'm in disbelief and sadness."

Mike Wright, Blue Ridge schools superintendent, released a statement after Girardi's death to the community through the Blue Ridge Unified School District web site.

Girardi was a lifetime member of the Blue Ridge community. He attended grade school locally.

After college, Wright said, Girardi returned to Blue Ridge to follow his late father's footsteps, becoming a coach and a teacher.

"Frank was a favorite among students, being young and energetic," Wright said in an email to The Republic. "He had a big personality and a passion for the sport of football. Frankie was well-known and a friend to many. He was beloved by our community. His passing creates a significant void in the Blue Ridge family."

Girardi leaves behind his wife Miranda and children Jet, 12, and Gianna, 15. Gianna is a freshman at Blue Ridge.

"I was blessed to coach teams that he played on and to have him as a coach on teams with me," Bob London said. "The time and effort he put into kids in our community is not something easily replaced.

"It goes without saying that this is heartbreaking, not just for his family, but for so many current and former kids in our community."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.

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