HUGS FROM A HUNTER

Junior Galvan is the Tommy Lasorda of high school football. The 17-year-old Canoga Park High tailback rarely goes a day without opening his arms to hug somebody.

Almost anybody.

His mother, father, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, cousins, aunts, uncles, coaches, teachers, friends--they all receive hugs from Galvan.

“Even people I don’t know,” Galvan said. “People come up to me after games, I hug them. It’s just the way I was brought up--to always love, to always respect others.”

When Galvan is tackled and thrown to the ground, he politely offers a hand to help a defender to his feet.

“This is the way he is,” his mother, Maura, said. “He treats his friends like family. There’s not one time he doesn’t see his grandparents that he doesn’t hug and kiss them. I always get a hug and a kiss.”

Rudy Lugo, Canoga Park’s football coach, should be hugging Galvan for the impact he has made the past two seasons. With Galvan at running back, the Hunters are 9-2 in Valley Pac-8 Conference play, including a 4-0 mark this season.

Galvan is listed in the school program at 5 feet 9, but he said he’s closer to 5-6. He rushed for 1,034 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. He has gained 962 yards and scored four touchdowns this season.

“He loves football,” Lugo said. “He has a real winner’s attitude. He shows up to do his best every game. His best asset is he changes direction without losing any acceleration.”

Anyone who has played youth football in the San Fernando Valley probably knows of Galvan, who started his football career with the West Valley Eagles at age 7.

“Some people think because I’m so small I shouldn’t be playing football, but I just like to prove everybody wrong,” Galvan said. “Nobody has really put me down. It’s, ‘How do you do it? You’re so small. How do you take the hits?’ I just do it.”

It helps that Galvan probably has one of the largest personal cheering sections in the region. His father comes from a family of 10 brothers and sisters, all of whom are married. There are at least 20 family members in the stands screaming and yelling for Junior on a given Friday night. And they all want a hug from Junior afterward.

“He’s a wonderful kid, with the kindest heart,” his mother said. “He has the most beautiful smile--perfect white teeth.”

Now there’s an accomplishment--10 years of playing football without losing one tooth.

The other night, Galvan got hit in the ribs so hard that his mother wanted to take him to the hospital. He declined.

“When we win, I feel happy,” he said. “I don’t feel no pain. I’ve always had my cuts and bruises.”

There are so many players like Galvan in the high school ranks. They quietly go about their business, working hard every day, trying to do their best for the team and school. Many times, they go unnoticed because people focus too much on the players who are said to be NCAA Division I prospects and not enough on those making real contributions.

Galvan is also a star outfielder for the Hunters’ baseball team, but when he finishes school next spring, his most important lesson won’t have come from sports. Only recently has he come to know the importance of getting an education and good grades. In the past, he had twice been academically ineligible.

“He’s showing signs of thinking about the future and not just today,” Lugo said.

And what has Galvan discovered from a decade of playing football?

He’s not playing for a college scholarship. He’s not playing for Nike shoes. He’s not playing to get his name on television.

“I just play for the team and to give our school a good name,” he said. “I just play.”

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.