Joe was sent to us by Tesoro's then Special Team's Coordinator Coach McKnight (Now at Jserra) before his Junior season. He was fresh off the soccer field and had not kicked a football before. He was raw, but he had a big leg and was hungry to learn. Extremely competitive by nature, he saw the best around him and wanted to be better. He committed himself to developing solid technique. Joe had an immense amount of pride in his ability to perform under pressure, under the lights, on the big stage.
Joe's best moment in training came during a Sunday session where it began to pour rain. The wind picked up and all of the other kickers retreated to their cars to stay dry. Not Joe... he stayed out in the rain and kicked for another 30 minutes unwavered to not let the elements effect his performance. You could tell he was determined to do the things othors wouldn't, in order to be the best.
Joe is the only WCKA kicker to be selected 1st Team All-County and All-CIF in both his Junior and Senior Seasons. His senior season, he was a remarkable 19/21 on FG's with 3 over 50 (league championship, CIF championship games) earning All-State recognition. He committed to CAL and played in 2 All-Star Games (5-5 on FG's). Unfortunately, Joe hurt his knee on his last kickoff in the OC All Star game, requiring surgery.
In my mind, Joe is among the few who deserve much of the credit for how good Southern California kickers are today. He showed that with hard work, the right training and internal drive to succeed, an athlete can turn himself into one of the all time greats! Joe garnered a significant amount of press during Tesoro's run at Back to Back CIF titles, helping to show the importance of the kicking game at the high school level.
Brad Bohn
West Coast Kicking Academy - Director
