By Ulises Araiza ’11
THE ROUNDUP
Brophy varsity football Defensive Coordinator Mr. Gary Galante is more than the tough specimen who lives in the basement of Loyola Hall.
In his youth, his life revolved heavily around the small church where his father was a minister. There he would sing with his family.
“Music has always been a passion of mine,” Mr. Galante said.
In high school, Mr. Galante was in his school choir, drama club and played the trumpet in the school band. After high school, he attended Northern Arizona University where he played football and majored in Exercise Physiology.
So when did Mr. Galante get into weight lifting?
After taking the Presidential Fitness Exam in junior high, he said he realized that he could not do a single pull-up and decided to take charge of his life.
His father soon got him into weight lifting and he was lucky enough to train under a man who had been considered one of the world’s strongest men during the 1960s. From him he said he learned self-motivation as well as the foundation for his training.
Mr. Galante first arrived in the Valley in 1992 and has been coaching at Brophy since the summer of 2005. Before coming to Brophy, he coached at Mountain View High School, Arizona Boy’s Ranch where he was the head football coach and Gilbert High School, where he left his position as assistant head coach to become a Bronco.
He said his coaching philosophy is for his players to always give their best effort.
In fact, Mr. Galante was the original 212 man, whereas coach Mr. Scott Heideman is the most vocal advocate for the 212 lifestyle around Brophy.
“Heideman got 212 from me,” Mr. Galante said. “We’ll let coach Heideman believe that he’s the founder of it. The biggest thing for me is to push your body, your mind and yourself beyond what you think is possible each and every day.”
“In my case, coach Galante has influenced me to push myself beyond the limits,” said Jairo Villagrana ’10, who in his four years at Brophy has gotten to know Mr. Galante.
Besides coaching the football team and his weight training classes, Mr.
Galante is known for occasionally singing at Mass.
Mr. Galante got into education to motivate kids to reach above and beyond.
He said he believes it is the job of educators to knock down all of the barriers for their students.
In his lifetime he hopes to fulfill a bucket list that includes bungee jumping and traveling abroad to Australia and New Zealand, as well as Central and South America.
What’s Mr. Galante’s message to the Brophy students?
“Submerge yourself in everything you do. Jump in and get wet.”