Football scholar-athlete award winners feted
Every March, I get to meet a group of teenagers that, in 10 years, might include the doctor, firefighter or policeman who saves my life.
Every March, I get to speak with a group of teenagers that might include the future soldier, fighter pilot or Marine who volunteers to protect our country.
Every March, I get to read the resumes of a group of teenagers whose academic and athletic achievements leave little doubt that they will be the community leaders of tomorrow.
It’s so meaningful to tell the stories of the football scholar-athlete award winners who will be honored this month at banquets in Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Pasadena, Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley as part of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame awards program.
Each football team had the chance to nominate a senior who had to maintain a minimum 3.0 grade-point average and demonstrate leadership on and off the field.
The first banquet is set for Monday night at the Anaheim Convention Center honoring Orange County players, and don’t feel silly if you shed a few tears of joy when the representative from Huntington Beach Edison, Luke Gane, is introduced.
He compiled a 3.7 grade-point average, was a key defensive player for the 13-1 Chargers, plans to walk on at UCLA and wants to become a physician’s assistant in pediatric medicine.
And here’s his back story. As a junior, he was discovered to have a life-threatening blood disorder, aplastic anemia. He couldn’t play football, but his classmates, teammates, opposing players, community members and strangers united to help him and his family through their prayers, donations and blood drives.
He recovered after a bone marrow transplant, with his 10-year-old brother, Jacob, serving as the donor. It saved his life and allowed him to experience a senior year that at one point didn’t seem possible. He’s grateful and determined to give back.
“It’s incredible,” he said. “It’s so surreal and unbelievable how things have turned out. I’m definitely blessed.”
Asked about the impact of football on his life, he said, “Through football, I learned to be a good person.”
Asked about the balancing act between football and school, he said, “It shows that hard work pays off in the end. You can be in a sport, keep your grades up and still succeed.”
Representing Moorpark at the March 18 San Fernando Valley chapter banquet at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills will be kicker Stephen Picchini, who’s headed to the U.S. Naval Academy. He beat out two teammates who are headed to Air Force and Army, respectively, which means he deserves to have “Anchors Aweigh” played when he walks to the podium.
His father, Ted, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1983 and spent 20 years as a navigator in P-3 Orion planes. Picchini, who has a 4.3 GPA, wants to fly or work in intelligence.
He’s off to Plebe Summer on July 1, where he’ll learn how to salute, how to march, how to wake up at 5:30 a.m. and how get into shape.
“I’m working on it right now,” he said.
His coach, Tim Lins, said, “He embodies what you want in a student athlete.”
The same can be said for the dozens of honorees throughout Southern California.
Ty MacArthur, a receiver from Newhall Hart, started thinking about attending Air Force as a sophomore. He’s only 5 feet 9, 155 pounds, but he was determined to succeed.
“Honestly, nobody except my parents and my siblings thought I could play big-time Division I football,” he said.
Defensive back Max Napolitano of Westlake Village Oaks Christian has a 4.2 grade-point average and was selected student of the year in chemistry, Spanish and history. He’s off to Yale.
There are many more to admire. The L.A. chapter has its banquet March 12 at the Radisson Hotel in Culver City. The Riverside chapter’s is on March 14 at the Country Club at Soboba Springs. The Pasadena-San Gabriel chapter holds its banquet Monday at Brookside Country Club.
These honorees are the reason coaches coach, teachers teach and parents brag.
They are the reason to have hope for the future.
twitter.com/LATSondheimer
