Got to see a professional athlete that I coached in high school last Sunday

wrestlingcardking · September 22, 2011 11:14PM

So this is not the first time that I have seen this athlete as a pro play. I also attended a Ravens game in Baltimore and a Raiders game in Oakland two years ago. I did not attend any games last year. I did watch one game when he was a senior in college and his team was ranked number one and somehow lost on the road playing at Oregon State. Anyhow, here are my seats.

I talked with him briefly before the game for a few minutes. It is a wonderful experience to know someone out on the professional field and to know that he came from the same small area that I continue to live in. I also met with him after the game and took a photo.

My experience as a coach with him was not football. Rey Maualuga played JV basketball as a sophomore. I would walk by him and tell him that he needed to wrestle. As a junior he did decide to come out a bit later in the year. It was amazing to work with an incredible athlete and even if it was just a short period of time I knew he would be quite successful. Unfortunately, shortly after joining our team, Rey's father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he left for a time to be with his family. He came back and joined our team but it was time away from the mat when he had little experience as it was. As a high school senior, I did not actively recruit Rey to be a member of the team as he was still "raw" as a wrestler and there would be too much for him to lose if he was injured. He had a scholarship to USC in hand and in my mind there was no doubt he would be a professional athlete one day. I can say that I had my way with the eventual Chuck Bednarik award winner as the top Defensive Athlete as a college senior despite being outweighed by fifty pounds :-) Unfortunately, Rey lost his father early as a college freshman. I really hope that the move to middle linebacker will be able to showcase his skills. Thank you Rey for a great time at the game.