Just three years ago, Rene Rodriguez, played competitive youth football for the first time. Today, at 15, he’s the quarterback for the Pioneer Valley High School junior varsity team. It’s safe to say that Rene ’s skills progressed fairly quickly.
“Once he tried it, we were really proud of him, he really got it,” said Rene ’s mom, Isabel Rodriguez.
She said that Rene had focused on baseball for most of his childhood before making the switch to football just to try it out. Turns out he’s a natural, and he works hard—always showing up to practice on time or early, and living and breathing football.
He’s also just one of those guys who seems born to play quarterback.
“I’m more of a captain type and I don’t like to be bossed around,” he said.
Luckily, he’s got the skills to back that talk up. He was the quarterback of the freshman team last year, and he’s ready for junior varsity play. This sophomore said that he doesn’t expect a more difficult season this year—just the opposite.
“I expect this year to be better, and we have better players,” he said.
Rene ’s goal for the season, of course, is to take home the league championship. His team’s strengths, he said, can take them there. The Panthers have a great running game and strong defense. Rene knows this because he’s been practicing with his teammates since mid-July.
Now’s their chance to prove their talent: The Panthers’ football season is about to start. Their first game is Sept. 5 against Righetti High School.
This article appears in Sep 4-11, 2008.