CLEVELAND — Rashid Sharif has been documenting Glenville head coach Ted Ginn for the last three years for a documentary.
“It means that we can achieve greatness for our town, our city, our kids, our community,” Ginn said after winning the championship.
Ginn is the first coach of a public Cleveland high school to ever win a state title in football.
“I don’t think we could have wrote this out any better than this being the icing on the cake and the end result,” Sharif said.
Now he will add that to the series he’s producing on Ginn called, “The System And Us.” The documentary will feature Ginn’s story.
Ginn started as a volunteer football coach and security guard at Glenville High School. He later became head coach and launched Ginn Academy in 2007. His son is Ohio State and NFL wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr.
One project is a documentary about how coach Ginn helps develop his student athletes into young men, despite obstacles in their youth. The other part is a drama series based on Ginn. The real Ted Ginn will be an Executive Producer.
“We wanted to enlighten them but also inspire them that they can also survive the same things and the same systems,” Sharif said.
The series was shot at Ginn Academy.
One scene showed the students saying the Ginn Academy creed, which is on the walls.
Sharif said this isn’t just about football, it’s about the lessons Ginn instills into his players through the game
“It’s about how we help players navigate through the broken systems that they’re born within,” Sharif said.
He’s hoping to release “The System and Us” in 2023, revealing to the world the story about the “coach of the community.”
