Parenting a Future D1 Athlete: By Jake Botticello

Two years ago, I sat and watched my 13-year-old son – who at the time had never

really shown any exceptional physical abilities – tear apart the defense of the opposing

flag football team, the members of which were all high school Varsity tackle football

players and 3-4 years older than him. This wasn’t his first flag season, but something

had “clicked”.

As I sat there and watched, I started to know my kid was different. I was perfectly

willing to admit that this might just be “Dad Bias”, but I felt like I owed it to him to figure it

out.

Over the next few months (and multiple flag leagues), he continued to be a terror on the

field. His Mom started to believe what I was telling her, followed by her parents and my

dad. There was no denying that he stood out on the field.

The following summer, I did what most parents in my position would do next – I started

to take him to developmental football camps. I needed to know how this kid stacked up

against his peers – including those that were willing to spend the time, effort, and

money to go to these camps.

Again, he stood out. At one camp, we had three different members of the coaching staff

approach us and ask us to stay for an additional four days because they wanted to keep

working with him. We couldn’t do it, but two of those coaches gave us their contact

information and asked us to stay in touch as they wanted to track his progress. Of the

many athletes at that camp, my son ended up winning the performance award for his

age group and an invitation to a national youth bowl game.

The combination of these events left me and my wife in a difficult place. We had a kid

that was showing signs of having significant talent. I played ball in high school and

college, so I was able to coach him up a bit over that first year, but he was quickly

exceeding my abilities to help him progress. The conversations started in earnest at

home. “He’s good. Is he as good as we think he is?”, “How do we take the next step?”,

“We obviously need help – how do we do this?”.

It wasn’t long after this that I took him out for a one-on-one conversation to try to gauge

exactly where he was in all of this. I don’t think I’ll ever forget sitting in the local

Chipotle, each eating a chicken and black bean burrito, when I asked the kid to write

down his goals. I told him to say each one out loud as he wrote it down.

“I will start for the Varsity team.” Check.

“I will get a D1 scholarship.” Ok… this is getting interesting. I can see it.

“I will play in the NFL.” So, he said it out loud. What the hell, kid? You’re 14. Why am I

taking you seriously when you say this?

At that moment, I committed to helping him check each one of these goals off his list.

The problem was, I didn’t know how.

We had recently been introduced to a team of recruiters whose sole purpose (we

thought) was to get young football players noticed and recruited into college ball. We

had signed up with them, gotten my son an NCAA number, and listed them as his

recruiter. What I hadn’t realized at the time was how much help they could offer in

navigating the next four years of his “career” (it still feels weird calling it that). Meeting

Coach V (Adrian Valenzuela) changed our perspective completely. In him, we found not

only a recruiter and advocate for our athlete, but someone who could help guide his

coaching – both physically and mentally.

The cost for this service was expensive up front. It took a while to make the decision to

sign up, but when we realized that we’d be paying not only for 4 years of help with

getting him recruited, but also 4 years of having a personal coach – having another

member of the home team that knew what the hell he was doing – it became clear that it

was worth the investment.

We started working intensely with Coach V between that goal-setting session and my

son’s first season of tackle football on the Freshman team at his school. Coach helped

us clarify goals, mentally prepare, and set a workout schedule that prepared my son to

show out on the Freshman team – which is exactly what he did. Through the ups and

downs that come with any season, Coach was there to break down game film, analyze

technique, give advice on recovery and nutrition, and just in general guide all of us

through the beginning of this experience.

Since we started working with Coach V, I’ve seen my son progress significantly. There’s

been a physical transformation owing to not only his age, but to the workout and

nutrition regimen Coach set out. He’s become dedicated and disciplined beyond

anything I’d ever expected having known him the previous 13 years. His high school

coaches have told us that he’s “one of the most coachable kids” they’ve ever worked

with. The head coach of his high school program told us that if he did the work, he’d

have no problem “going to school for free and playing football” pretty much anywhere he

wanted. That’s an insane jump from 10 months earlier, when we had no idea how to

move forward.

My son, Coach V, and I have a group text that hardly ever goes a day without being

used. Video calls are scheduled at least weekly. My son reports aspects of his routine

daily and both Coach and I are able to hold him accountable. Coach V is obviously

invested in my kid – almost as much as I am – and you really can’t put a value on

having someone outside the family believe in him like that. He’s literally become the

“coach” of our home team, helping us to guide our son in the right direction to meet his

aspirations.

I know there have to be parents out there thinking the same thing we were a year ago –

“My kid can do this. How do I help him get there?” As things stand now, I would easily

recommend that any of them reach out to Coach V and get him involved. It’s made all

the difference for our future D1 athlete.

X: @pantherlinemen @CoachLanceo @LANCEOSRN