LYNN — Harry Agganis All-Star Week kicked off Sunday with an opening ceremony highlighting individuals and their contributions. Five awards were presented, one of them to a face of Marblehead athletics.
The Dr. Elmo F. Benedetto Athletics Award was given to Mike Giardi, a longtime coach and educator. Benedetto founded the Agganis All-Star Football Game in 1956 and served as Lynn’s athletic director for 26 years. The award honors those who embody his commitment to student-athletes.
Giardi is the assistant football coach, head boys basketball coach, baseball coach, and a math teacher at Marblehead High School. A 1990 Agganis Foundation Scholarship recipient and football All-Star, Giardi was a standout athlete at Salem High, helping lead the football team to a state championship in 1989. He went on to play football and baseball at Harvard, earning Ivy League Player of the Year honors in baseball in 1994.
