"Everything you do has your name on it": Kent Maugeri cherishes life lessons learned from Dad

06/16/2024 10:24 AM

Kent Maugeri wishes he could replay a weekend ritual from his childhood.

"Sundays, to me, were watching film with my dad," the Saskatchewan Roughriders' Special Teams Co-ordinator reflects when asked about Father's Day and a love of the gridiron game he shared with the late Salvatore Maugeri.

"Coach Sal" loved to work with football players in the minor and high school ranks. He also enjoyed coaching Little League Baseball and, well, life in general.

Somehow, he found time to pursue his sporting passions while operating a construction business — Maugeri & Sons.

Sal and Valerie Maugeri raised two sons (Kent and Hunter) and three daughters (Melissa, Kristin and Daynna) while earning every dollar and maximizing every minute of family time.

"My dad was as old-school as you could be," says Kent Maugeri, whose dad was 75 when he passed away on Feb. 11, 2020 in New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

"His father — my grandfather, Ignazio — came over from Italy and was a stone mason, just like my father. His brother was a mason and my uncles were in the tile business and the granite business.

"If you don't work hard, you don't eat, so my dad was old-school like that. He'd get up at 4:30 in the morning, earn an honest day's pay, and work six days a week."

On the seventh day, it was time to watch film.

"We were looking at the next opponent and breaking down their games, so I learned at a young age about football and what it takes," Kent says.

"I also learned about my dad's work ethic in his regular construction life. I learned the value and the lessons of hard work through him, going to construction job sites when I was not tall enough to walk.

"Doing that every summer in the off-season, you realize the value of a dollar and you realize that hard work is important. He instilled that in me.

"Everything you do has your name on it, so make sure you do it to the best of your ability."

Keeping that in mind, the Roughriders' Maugeri has emulated his father by becoming a successful coach — the first full-time gig dating back to 2009. After excelling in the U.S. college ranks, he joined the Roughriders' staff in 2016.

"My dad knew more about the teams we were playing than I did," Kent says with a chuckle. "I'd get a scouting report after the game. Dad would say, 'Hey, you guys are playing Winnipeg. I saw Zach Collaros threw for three touchdowns.'

"He was so invested. He just loved sports and he was just a people guy. He was awesome."

That sentiment is front-of-mind on Father's Day.

"I was so blessed to have him for a dad," Kent says. "He was such a great influence for me and such a great teacher for me in a great leadership role, so I learned all about leadership and hard work from him.

"For the life lessons that dads are supposed to teach, he definitely was there. It's bittersweet at times, but then you're thankful that you had such a great role model and such a great dad who loved you."

Kent honours his father by striving to be the same "great dad."

The Maugeris, Kent and Cathy, are the proud parents of Blaine (age 10), Kylie (9) and Kaden (6).

"I try to give them what I had growing up — love and attention," Kent says. "There's tough love, too. They need to learn those lessons as well."

In due time, they will also learn to deal with the Saskatchewan winters.

"We're going to move up here full-time," Kent says. "It's getting a little too hard going back and forth, with half the year here and half the year in Florida, so we're going to be Reginans."

With that objective in mind, Cathy has joined Blaine, Kyle and Kaden for the trek from New Smyrna Beach to Regina.

That excursion just happens to coincide with Kent's latest road trip. The Roughriders are in Hamilton, where they will oppose the Tiger-Cats today at Tim Hortons Field (5 p.m., TSN, CKRM).

"My family gets to Regina on Father's Day, so I'm not going to see them until 2 o'clock in the morning," notes Kent, who will soon be aboard the Roughriders' chartered overnight flight from Hamilton.

"But, when we get home, don't think for one second that I'm not jumping on that bed — after a win, hopefully."