Welcome to Papa's Perspective, brought to you by Bob's Discount Furniture, the official furniture store and Mattress partner of the New York Giants.

As we welcome you into the Hackensack Meridian Health podcast studio, Keep Getting Better.

We're joined by Super Bowl champion Henry Heinosky on this edition and.

Henry, good to see him.

Man, Always a pleasure, my friend.

How are you good?

What was it like walking in the building?

Oh, it's everything.

It's everything.

It's such a special place, such a special organization.

Just brings back so many great memories and seeing all the people that were still here when I was playing.

It's like a reunion and you're just welcomed right back in, right back at home.

So with training camp, you know, going on right now as we're recording this, take me back to twenty eleven.

Because a lot of people thought you would get drafted coming out of Pittsburgh, you wind up signing with the Giants as a free agent.

What was that whole experience like trying to make the team and then at the end of the year you're hoisting the Lombardi troph.

You know it was it was absolutely amazing.

You know, everything came full circle.

I was predicted to be drafted, would be the first fullback off the board, you know, that's what That's what all the experts said.

Anyways, But at the combine, I got hurt.

I had a hamstring injury, wasn't able to finish the combine, wasn't able to do any pro days.

So it definitely affected my draft status.

But you know what, I wouldn't change it for the world.

So I at that point, I got to pick where I wanted to go, and New York was always the team that I had my eye on, and I was during the draft.

I was praying that it was going to be the Giants.

But you know, God has a plan and it worked out.

I wouldn't change it for a thing.

But it just all happened so fast.

It was like a huge whirlwind.

And you know, we get to training camp and they hand me a playbook and said, well, bear Pass goes on, you know, negotiating his contract.

You're starting, don't get Eli hurt.

And then and then.

I, uh, you know, got my first start the third preseason game and then kept the job there, made the team.

They told me I was starting, and then next thing you know, we're winning games, we're in the playoffs, and then here we are in the Super Bowl on the same field where I got hurt and I thought at the combine in Indianapolis, where I thought my career was over at that point.

And you know, it just goes to show you if you continue to stick to the grind and work hard, everything came full circle and it works out.

Yeah, that's pretty amazing.

You get hurt in Indianapolis at the Combine, you win the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

Full circle for you.

When you were looking at teams in the Giants were one of the teams.

Even at that point in time twenty eleven, there were some teams that didn't carry fullbacks.

They used tight ends, but it was more of a passing team.

Is that one of the things that made the Giants attractive to you?

With Bradshaw and Jacobs and their commitment to running the ball.

Absolutely and just watching the NFL, you know, over the course of my childhood and when I got in high school and college, it just seemed like all the teams that were successful and winning Super Bowls were able to run the football, especially late in the year when it was cold and you're on the road, you know, And that's kind of what the Giants always epitomized.

And I wanted to go to a team that, you know, really focused on running the ball, and you know, obviously Eli Manning was the quarterbacks.

We could throw the ball a little bit too, but you know, it was always the Giants.

Was always a team that I had my eye on.

And when the lockout ended.

That was the other thing too.

The lockout was that year, so I couldn't sign with the Giants right after the draft, had to wait until the lockout ended.

But when coach Kaflin called me, you know, to ask me to come on, and it just verified everything that I believed about this organization and what the Giants represented, especially from an offensive perspective.

All right, let's let's now take our audience on a journey.

Because you played four years with the Giants, you get a Super Bowl, you got the trophy.

Now you got to think about life after football.

Playing fullback does not have a long life expectancy as it is.

What was the first thing you thought of, What am I doing next?

Well, I guess I was off to a I was off to a really good start.

And then I had the knee injury, and then that, you know, was a setback.

I probably rushed that back a little faster than, uh than I should have, you know, because later that year I made it back.

I know, they were talking about putting me or off on IR and starting on IR because I had the knee injury in the spring, and then uh, I ended up making it back for the opening game, didn't do any training camp, but was ready for Week one for the Cowboys, and I just wasn't quite myself.

And then I ended up sustaining a pretty significant shoulder injury.

And when a full beck gets a shoulder injury, that's essentially the kiss of death unfortunately, you know.

But I can say, you know, did my career as long as I wanted to know, I envisioned I visioned you know, playing ten twelve years.

But at the end of the day, it was a nice It was a nice four to five years, and I really enjoyed my time, had a lot of wonderful experiences, you know, and I gave it my all.

I really did.

I can look back and say that I have absolutely no regrets because I know every single play and you know, every single situation.

I brought it, and uh, you know, it was it was all about team, and I cared about team, and uh, you know, we got a Super Bowl out of it, and then my first year, so I thought we were going to get a couple more.

I just thought this was the way it was supposed to go.

But you know, it just makes you realize how how special it is and how rare it is to actually accomplish that in the world's biggest stage.

So let's talk about life after ball.

Because you work your whole life as a kid, you're an elite athlete.

You you you break through every barrier to eventually get in the national Football LEA football players at the age of twenty five or twenty six, after investing their entire youth into playing football, now have to start a new career.

That's correct.

So what were the first steps when you knew that ball was over and deciding on a direction you wanted to go to.

Well, it was.

It was definitely tough.

It was definitely a transition.

You know.

When I was done with the Giants in twenty fifteen, went back home, you know, really thought about it what I wanted to do with the next steps, or I spent a lot of times in the woods hunting and fishing, and you know, thinking about my options, and you know, I knew I had an opportunity here with the Giants.

Came back as an intern because I thought, you know, maybe I want to stay in the NFL, you know, from either coaching or like a scouting perspective or you know, marketing, public relations, whatever it might be.

And I accrued a lot of great experiences and knowledge about how you know, the NFL works and the ins and outs.

And I really enjoyed doing the player evaluations.

But ultimately, you know, I missed home.

I'm a country boy at heart, and you know that's where my heart is.

I loved, loved my internship opportunity, loved working here, but you know the big thing was, I just wanted to go home, and you know, and I wanted to make a difference when I went home and do something positive and productive to you know, help the community and help, you know, especially young kids, you know, reach their goals and you know, give them something to believe in and you know, give them confidence that they could do anything they set their minds to.

So I thought a lot better way than you know to do that than education and when I was with the Giants, we started, you know, we would do different charity events and different community relations events, and we're going to schools in the city trying to help kids and motivate kids that are having struggles or you know, having issues with grades, and just the thrill that we brought them coming in and being with them and spending a little time with them, and you know, hearing about how they turned around and you know, became success stories.

Said, I thought, you know, there's really something here, and you know, so that's when I decided.

While I was working here for the Giants, I went back and got my master's degree in education.

And you know, it really worked out because I really enjoy what I'm doing, and I still get to come back to New York, which is my my you know, my home away from home, and my wife's from here, and we come back off and with our kids because we want them to experience what the cities like.

And you know, we're back every couple months, so we're away, but we're still here.

We're only two and a half hours away.

So it's the perfect balance and the perfect blend.

So now in twenty twenty three, you're named the principal at Southern Columbia Area High School, Principal Hainasky, what has that been like and how much do you draw upon your experiences from your coaches like Coach Coughlin to execute your job.

Now, I'll tell you what I learned so much from Coach Coughlin, you know, the other coaches, but even just the leaders in this organization, from management down, you know, even you know, the director of player personnel.

You know, it's you learn a lot of the the ins and outs of the business and you're able to translate it to your job.

So I actually started off at another school district.

I was an assistant principal.

I started off as a dina students.

Then I went back and got my, uh another master's in educational leadership, and I was coaching football at that time too, So naturally, you know, I tried the model myself off of, you know, a blend of the coaches I had in my life, mainly Coach Coffin, but you know Coach Wantstead as well from when I was in college.

And you know, the kids responded well with that, and you know, I was able to take a program that was struggling, that one over the course of the three years before I got there, they won I think two or three games.

They were like two and twenty eight or something like that.

And we're able to turn around become, you know, a winning, competitive team that was playing for a district championship every year.

And you know, then the opportunity came to go back to my alma mater.

Southern's my alma mater, and I just couldn't pass that up.

And you know, our school board had a policy in place that you can't coach if you're an administrator.

And not that I was gonna dethrow in our current coach anyways, because he was.

He was my coach in high school.

Still there.

The man is the first most winningest coach in Pennsylvania history.

He won fifteen state titles, third most wins nationally.

You know, so obviously football wasn't in the cards at this point.

Maybe down the road, we'll see, But right now, I'm still applying those same principles as a principal to my students, even though I'm not a coach.

Hard work, discipline, you know, just doing what you love, staying out of trouble, doing the right things.

You know, that's what we that's what we preach, and we just wanted to make sure we get these kids and you know, in the community on the right path and make sure that you know, they become productive citizens beyond their days in high school.

What's the biggest challenge that you have to deal with with the high school kids of today as opposed to Henry Hyne i ski in high school circa two thousand and eight, nine and ten, actually a little bit before that.

Social media, social media and you know, just cell phones in general.

When I was in high school, we still had the flip phones and we were playing snake on it.

You know.

Now now all you know, all the kids are you know, have their their social media and their you know, texting.

So I would say the technology is the definitely the biggest adjustment now with that, so much positivity can come from it, you know, all this AI you can use it as a resource, not to cheat in school, you know, because there is that, but you can use it as a resource now where we need to be able to help kids use it for research perspectives, not to do the work for them.

But it's not going anywhere.

AI and tech isn't going anywhere.

As educators, we have to embrace it and teach our kids how to utilize it properly.

You're happy with how this whole thing has evolved for.

You, Yeah, I really am.

And you know, my whole life centers around my family, you know, amazing wife, two beautiful, wonderful kids, and we're happy and we're healthy, and we're in a great stage in our life.

And ultimately, this is where I want to be.

So I wouldn't change a thing.

You know.

We had some hardships along the way, you know, with the injuries and you know, with with football and you know, being cut, you know, and being released and everything.

But those things all happen to prepare you for the rest of your life.

And I have absolutely no regrets because I lived my life to the fullest and I woke up every day and gave it one hundred percent.

And you know, I just I just love where I'm at.

I really do.

And that name is etched on that Super Bowl forty six Lombardi Trophy in perpetuity.

Now, when you have a staff meeting at the school as the principal, do you make sure everybody's there five minutes early?

Well, I'm a little more lenient when it comes to that because you know, we're talking about you know, true, true academic professionals here, so I expect them to be there early.

But if they're you know, three, two or three minutes early, I'll cut them a break.

But hopefully, hopefully never, never late be on the threshold.

Henry, we appreciate you joining us.

Congratulations Principal Heinosky and Super Bowl forty six champion.

Thanks for joining us.

From Popper's Perspective, Thanks Bob, always a pleasure.

Popper's Perspective brought to you by Bob's Discount Furniture, the official furniture store and mattress partner of the New York Football Giants.