I love when the kids say 'nobody', because it's true. Pick a play, execute for a few seconds, take a break, pick another play and repeat. I swear. Steven O'Dell, a big class of 2024 prospect from Broome High School in Spartanburg, told The Clemson Insider that he's been hearing some from the Tigers via social media and communicating with Thomas Austin. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories Please give an overall site rating . "I got it. Rob's parents tried to integrate him as early as they could, putting him in preschool at 18 months. Coach Mendez. This is one of the worst falls. He is 50 pounds of head, neck, torso and waist. It's an accomplishment to the public because I have no arms and legs, but the reality is I'm not accomplished. Embrace it. I unbuckle the belt around his waist and weave it through the slits torn on the sides of his shirt. His friends stuffed pillows in his shirt and attached a board to the front of his chair so he could play goalie in street hockey tournaments. But I learned that I can be a leader. To request tickets, you must be an active football coach at the high school level and present either an active coaching member number/card or letter on school letterhead. I lean over, wrap my hands around him and lift him out of his chair. That's how I feel in my chair," he says. For the past six years, Mike McAvoy has been Rob Mendez's caretaker, roommate and friend, each morning helping him with everything from taking a bath and brushing his teeth to getting dressed and eating breakfast. "I think it always will." His team is a mix of freshmen and sophomores, some with a bit of experience, most with little to none. I couldn't tell you what it felt like to catch a ball in the flat, but I knew what it was and why it worked.". For the next 12 years, he worked as an assistant coach at five high schools, waiting for someone to believe in him as a head coach. "I'm not going to let that happen. But seven? "As he approached, I didn't know how he could be a football coach. The next day he spends almost entirely in bed, unable to open his eyes. But those who stayed learned about their new coach. For now, he's still glowing from the impact his team had on him in his first JV season. He scoffs. "It's just me." "That's what I'm talking about!" But I'm 30 years old and a JV high school football coach. I don't sign up for being inspirational Rob." Preston Gannaway for ESPN. I was a little nervous about it," Cable says. I just knew he was the right man for the job.". Elk Grove Village, IL. Prospect High School Football team golf tournament and smoked BBQ fundraiser! They gave me a feeling of importance. More award-winning storytelling from SC Featured, One dog's remarkable journey to find a home, "Screw that," he says. Because he weighs 50 pounds, alcohol affects him faster than people who weigh much more. "If I can go out there and power through four or five hours, then I'm OK.", Says McAvoy: "That's just him. I stuff a pad between him and the chair back -- paranoid he could fall. Instead, Mendez repeats two words over and over and over: thank you. It gives me hope for the world." It's a move he makes countless times a day. "I can guarantee you there is someone with no arms and legs living in the mountains somewhere with a whole different story who isn't as active as we are. Melissa Feucht English Department Chair. Cable obliged. With a dream of one day becoming a head football coach, Mendez worked for years as an assistant at various schools, until he was finally given the opportunity he'd been working for. I'm not beautiful at all. His parents connected him with Vujicic, who Mendez said told him he could make $25,000 per night as a motivational speaker. Make sense? Rob leans forward in his chair to reach his cell phone. He needs to use the bathroom. "I kept thinking, 'How can this guy possibly coach?'" THE DAY AFTER teaching his quarterback the 37 stretch, Mendez sits under the lights at the Prospect 50-yard line, exhausted. "It wasn't very polite or sensitive. So I try not to complain. Rob is no different.". "I've always been like that ever since I was young. "It didn't take long for me to figure out that alcohol is not the answer." The receiver is open. And that includes getting on the officials when something doesn't go his way. It doesn't lead to a good place. Blood runs everywhere. Prospect High School. "Yes!" Good s--- you've done with those kids. He talked about building a family. "You know how it is.". "The Sobrato loss still bothers me," he says in February. The team jogs over and surrounds him. He turns his face to the right, pulls his head back and prays. Is that you?" We make it to his home. "It wasn't very polite or sensitive. He knows what he has given his team. But here, he's in his element. Eventually you will come across your passion and for me it was football and working with people. By Tuesday afternoon, he's back at Prospect for practice, apologizing to his players for Monday's absence. If Rob sensed someone staring, he'd roll up and introduce himself. "You don't need to apologize," Mendez says. I mention that it seems as if anything that reminds him of his physical challenges bugs him. Still does. "It's just me." It's almost midnight. "Special is bulls---. The positiveness of your mind can get you to do unbelievable things and feats and that's what he does.". "You know how it is." He tumbles forward. There, he drives his chair into the living room, where his roommate and caretaker, Mike McAvoy, waits on the couch. The season begins in a month. This is why WVU has already extended an offer to the Pickerington Central High School product from Ohio. Im fighting to have something to drink. It's an image his brain can't compute. He says he would consider prosthetics only if he ever became a father. "When someone is born this way, this is their world," says Dr. Benjamin Mandac, Mendez's pediatric physical therapist who now is the head of that department at Kaiser Permanente in the Bay Area. And there's the reality of what he feels, but rarely reveals. A young boy holds open the door as Mendez approaches his favorite spot. They chose to stay with him. Mendez calls his last timeout. ", He acknowledges that the attention is often uncomfortable. And how does he deal with such a challenging life? But this time, he has no idea the belt around his waist isn't buckled. I've been a 2 year starter on the varsity football team. His father has long wished that Rob would wear an upper belt as well as the one that wraps around his waist. ESPN senior writer Wayne Drehs contributed to the documentary as a writer and reporter. Those who do survive often end up with significant intellectual disabilities. For the next 12 years, he worked as an assistant coach at five high schools, waiting for someone to believe in him as a head coach. And just like that, the man who so often projects like everything is fine rips off his facade. I ask whether that thought bothers him. There's the answer he feels as if he should deliver. He's like Norm from "Cheers." When the players met their new coach, the whispers began. I love it. I can work with people. Still does. He runs Eight Laces Consulting where he specializes in helping coaches nationwide in their job search process. He rolls in wearing a plain white T-shirt and faded red San Francisco 49ers hat. 1 poison," he says. In the months that follow, Mendez unplugs from football. You're different. And few at Prospect High School, some 40 miles up the road in Saratoga, can remember the last time its JV won much of anything. Along the way, Cable invited Mendez's two best players to move to varsity. The left side of his face slams into the concrete floor of the garage. Because he weighs 50 pounds, alcohol affects him faster than people who weigh much more. So I follow him in the bike lane, hazards on. The biography of Nick Vujicic, a 36-year-old motivational speaker from Australia who also has tetra-amelia, says there are just seven known people living in the world today with the syndrome. Mendez taught himself the game of football by playing Madden on a PlayStation, using his chin and collarbone to push the buttons. "Where you going, man?". He rolls in wearing a plain white T-shirt and faded red San Francisco 49ers hat. His friends stuffed pillows in his shirt and attached a board to the front of his chair so he could play goalie in street hockey tournaments. But those who stayed learned about their new coach. He says he would consider prosthetics only if he ever became a father. Luis Lopez, the JV coach who worked with Mendez at the school, hugs Mendez. But on this late July night, 30-year-old high school football coach Rob Mendez has a taste for sushi. Keep your heads up. He couldn't get enough. And that's special because sometimes in this world, on a day-to-day basis, I wish I could do more. When Mendez first took over the coaching job, many kids on the team were surprised to see a man with his condition coaching them. It isn't about what the players did right or wrong or what they need to clean up before the next game. He drew up game plans on Madden and took them to practice. 50/50 raffle will be available as well as over 20 beers on tap . Pick a play, execute for a few seconds, take a break, pick another play and repeat. Mendez tries to explain, but the kid doesn't get it. One player quit because of Mendez. The green mile marker signs fly past on Highway 101. Preston Gannaway for ESPN "He's an inspiration to all of us," Alvernaz, said. Andre Jackson gets instructions from Mendez during the team's first game of the season. Dear Coach Doe; My name is Joe Blow and I am asking you to consider me as a future prospect for the University Notre Dame football team. He says they need him, but you know what? Clemson Tiger Bryan Bresee returned from an ACL injury to become a highly rated defensive draft prospect. He has scoliosis, which makes his spine look far more like an "S" than the "I." I make mistakes. Aleksic, Danilo ( Fr.) We end up talking for nearly three hours. His older sister, Jackie, pushed her brother to try new things and one day tucked a PlayStation controller under his chin. Where do I put my hands? Class 8A Sean Allison,. Email Melissa Feucht. Livingston told me Mendez's presence is living proof of what humans are capable of. It took him more than a half hour - sometimes two steps up, one step down -- but he did it. One dog's remarkable journey to find a home The quarterback removes the cap from a blue dry erase pen and puts it in Mendez's mouth. How are you going to get there?". Come play a 9-hole scramble at Sunken Gardens in Sunnyvale on July 30th! We are all special. They just want to move, explore and live. It feels as if everyone is staring. The Illinois High School Association football playoff semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 20 and the championship games Friday, Nov. 26 and Saturday, Nov. 27. The receiver is open. You know how Ironman gets in his suit and he just starts flying everywhere? "Yes, Coach," the quarterback says. He doesn't listen. "I don't think I could do that to those kids," he says. When we pull into the driveway, McAvoy comes out and carries Mendez into the house. It's the second day of the team's sleep-at-school preseason camp, and the coach is trying to install one of his favorite plays: the 37 stretch. I tell him that's the most honest he's been in our time together. A few days before Rob was born, doctors walked his father, Robert Mendez Sr., through the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. "It sounds so ridiculous, but it's true," he says. Going to the bathroom. (2007-10), and Wake Forest Demon Decons (2010-14); currently an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. I know I'm good for the kids. Mendez calls his last timeout. "I'm not going to lie. On convenience alone, it would have been the perfect place for him to coach forever. "How in the world am I supposed to handle that?" "Thank you," he says to me after his first sip. Confirmation/Rejection emails will be sent out by 1:00 PM Thursday letting you know if you are awarded tickets. Rob would set his chin on the ledge of the next step and use that to lift his entire body. I might take two steps forward and then one step back. I suggest we move to a lower table and make things easier. How does he eat? And he doesn't like the idea I have for framing his story. Those who do survive often end up with significant intellectual disabilities. Jan 31, 2023 4:00 PM PST. A handful of schools reach out about head-coaching jobs, but he says he's almost certain he will return to Prospect to lead its JV squad again next season. With the pen, Mendez draws the X's and O's of what the play is supposed to look like and why. And there's the reality of what he feels, but rarely reveals. The day-to-day blanks are easy for him to fill in. "We are two very different people. "I just wanted to coach football." He despises the word "special.". They just want to move, explore and live. He says thank you. After his speech, Mendez asks for a ride home. That's not me," Mendez says. But I don't know what else to say. "They gave me the feeling of being the helper. It has given him a life otherwise inaccessible. "I'm not going to lie. Watch the 2019 ESPYS Awards only on ABC7 on July 10, 2019 at 5 p.m. PST. "Let's go!" He says if he had arms and legs he has no idea how his life would be different. "The Sobrato loss still bothers me," he says in February. Preston Gannaway for ESPN. At that point, she says, abortion wasn't an option. "They don't have the grief of losing a limb because they never had it. It doesnt lead to a good place. He has heard it from their parents and teachers. "I wish more people were like that. I think he needs them just as much." "I think every parent worries about their kids when they leave this earth," Bob says. "How in the world am I supposed to handle that?" Now comes the opportunity to prove the school made a mistake. Nor did he and Josie have any idea how to take care of this baby. It's only junior varsity. THE DAY AFTER teaching his quarterback the 37 stretch, Mendez sits under the lights at the Prospect 50-yard line, exhausted. "Get over here!" Keep your heads up. Rob leans forward in his chair to reach his cell phone. I suggest we move to a lower table and make things easier. Preston Gannaway for ESPN How to Be a High School Football Coach Download Article parts 1 Gaining the Necessary Skills 2 Landing a Job 3 Becoming a Great Coach Other Sections Related Articles References Co-authored by wikiHow Staff Last Updated: June 10, 2021 References Coaching high school football requires more than passion for the game. ", Mendez leans forward in his chair. 2021 IHSA Football Playoffs. "Great job, Coach. He towed his friends around the neighborhood on their skateboards. "If I can go out there and power through four or five hours, then I'm OK." I swear I buckled him in. And different is not bad. The pain of the loss hurt, but it did not stop his fire. I'm sorry." "Rob? Mendez doesn't buy it. Can you lift me out of my chair?". Tired. To feel comfortable. It actually came well before Mendez started coaching football. This is roughly the same player-to-coach ratio on a college football roster. A 10-story building hitting the ground. She says she couldn't look at her son for the first couple of weeks. There's a lot on his mind. "I like the way I am, really," he says. And just like that, the man who so often projects like everything is fine rips off his facade. We make it to his home. Otherwise there's the potential he'll need to use the bathroom without McAvoy there to help him. Scouts evaluate athletes as possible recruits. I am a junior at City High School. Key California high school football games, computer rankings, statewide stat leaders, schedules and scores - live and final. "Where you going, man?" "But I don't think about this the same way everybody else does. John Hersey High School Buffalo Grove High School Elk Grove High School Glenbrook South Rolling Meadows High School Saint Viator. To feel comfortable. Earlier in the day, Mendez flew home from Las Vegas, a 48-hour escape before the insanity of the season begins. Going to the bathroom. That man was Mike Cable. DeBoeuf could not be more honored to be chosen to replace Martindale. Rob is no different." Georgia Tech Football allows high school football coaches to request two (2) complimentary tickets to attend regular season home football games. There, he drives his chair into the living room, where his roommate and caretaker, Mike McAvoy, waits on the couch. It showed him how much energy he draws from the kids. Says McAvoy: "That's just him. "The one thing that I want people to see is just how hard work pays off," Mendez said. "Be bold and fail, be bold and fail, be bold and succeed. But most importantly, it's given him an understanding of his journey in this world, a path untethered to anything anyone on the outside might say, think or believe. Coach Mendez. "I use my neck like my arm," Mendez says. Getting dressed. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn.com. "I use my neck like my arm," Mendez says. His comes with a straw. The time away from football has given Mendez a chance to reflect on his first season as a head coach. In fact, he will be honored at the 2019 ESPY Awards as the Jimmy V perseverance Award recipient and was on the cover of ESPN Magazine's heroes edition. He can be stubborn. Combing hair. And he knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. It seems like no big deal. "There's no way," he says. Lewis Hamilton living the hell out of life, Jalen Ramsey: The man, the mouth, the legend. Please check your email for a confirmation. So I try not to complain. "It gives me this sense of independence. Three other players start chitchatting between reps. Mendez loses it. Along the way, Cable invited Mendez's two best players to move to varsity. On Feb. 23, Dan DeBoeuf, the former head coach at Johnsburg High School was named the head coach of Prospect. As he was not able to play football, Mendez taught himself the game by playing Madden football video games. Gradey Dick, a five-star Kansas commit, enjoyed one of the greatest shooting seasons in high school basketball history. Tears begin to fall. On this day, one of his freshman quarterbacks struggles to grasp the footwork on the 37 stretch. High School coach ticket pickup closes TWENTY minutes prior to kickoff. When we pull into the driveway, McAvoy comes out and carries Mendez into the house. And he knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. But later he acknowledges he hated having to ask for help. That night he can't sleep. DeBoeuf named new football coach February 23, 2018 By Jack Ankony, Executive Sports Editor A new, energetic face will be leading the Prospect Football program into George Gattas Memorial Stadium on Friday nights next fall. He hates talking about any of this. The battery on Mendez's wheelchair is dead, so two Panthers push him onto the field. We are all special. 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