Because he weighs 50 pounds, alcohol affects him faster than people who weigh much more. 7324680: 08/31/22: 03:30 PM: Match: Elk Grove High School. "It's 37 stretch, right? I mention that it seems as if anything that reminds him of his physical challenges bugs him. Preston Gannaway for ESPN . "Screw that," he says. In the months that follow, Mendez unplugs from football. Martindale has been the Prospect boys' athletic director since 2005, and has been teaching at the school for 20 years. It is hard for college coaches to obtain rosters from high school coaches, and even harder to get them to hand over contact . It's a testament to his ability to be comfortable in any surrounding and put strangers at ease. To feel comfortable. Later, she would cover Rob in blankets when they went in public. Email Ditas Faraon Buhler. Next year you'll be back in it, believe me." Neither team has moved the ball all day, with the game's only points coming on a 35-yard Sobrato field goal three minutes earlier. He towed his friends around the neighborhood on their skateboards. Its classrooms are a melting pot. I was a little nervous about it," Cable says. I might take two steps forward and then one step back. Without his wheelchair working properly, he can't raise its height to sit next to me at the bar. It confirmed how much he despises losing. Instead, Mendez repeats two words over and over and over: thank you. How are you going to get there?" "I'm not the perfect guy. There is nothing to break his fall. Things like that happen all the time. This one is simple, there's no reason to attend a showcase camp with nationally ranked D1 programs and pro scouts if you play at the D2 level. The players jog back to their positions. A few days before Rob was born, doctors walked his father, Robert Mendez Sr., through the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. "I kept thinking, 'How can this guy possibly coach?'" Prospect's lone highlight came on defense when, just before halftime, the Panthers stonewalled Sobrato on four straight plays from the goal line to keep the game scoreless. I turned around, took two to three steps and then I heard it.". "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. But coaches on his staff says he only used that as an opportunity to teach and motivate once again. "I just wanted to coach football.". With the pen, Mendez draws the X's and O's of what the play is supposed to look like and why. ", Mendez makes a trip to a nearby shopping center for coffee. But other than the tetra-amelia disorder, his son Rob was born a healthy baby boy. After. Still does. To feel comfortable. And 26 percent of the school's students are economically disadvantaged. He demanded respect, eye contact and accountability. Mendez calls his last timeout. He absorbed everything he could. "This is a defining moment for our program," Vierneisel said. This is why WVU has already extended an offer to the Pickerington Central High School product from Ohio. I stuff a pad between him and the chair back -- paranoid he could fall. "I was drinking to forget. Mendez acknowledges that his presence has had a positive impact on people. Tournament Game 2022 Illinois High School Football Playoff Brackets: IHSA Class 7A Reavis 13 Prospect 62 Final Box Score Tournament Bracket Oct 29, 2022 @ 2:03am Eric Frantz Friday, Oct 28, 2022 I think back to something his pediatric physical therapist told me. But I don't know what else to say. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/02/rob-mendez-football-coach, Why hiring Sean Payton will require NFL teams to make an expensive trade with the Saints, Win or lose, the Bengals can prove Joe Mixon's 'big dog of the AFC' claim right against Buffalo, Trevor Lawrence revealed his Waffle House order after the Jaguars wild comeback win over Chargers, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Earlier in the day, Mendez flew home from Las Vegas, a 48-hour escape before the insanity of the season begins. I put Mendez on my shoulder, turn and then set him in the chair next to me. Good s--- you've done with those kids. The time away from football has given Mendez a chance to reflect on his first season as a head coach. It's all good.". Preston Gannaway for ESPN "Let's get to the bottom of it. It confirmed how much he despises losing. But those who stayed learned about their new coach. SARATOGA, Calif. (KGO) -- Bay Area high school football coach Rob Mendez was born with a rare disorder called tetra-amelia syndrome, leaving him with no arms or legs. There have been opportunities over the years to pursue prosthetic limbs, but he has turned them all down. "Anything in the world that is worth doing, he's done it with his mind," Bob says. Shaving. They sit in front of us, untouched, for nearly 10 minutes. He has lived his entire life without arms and legs. "I think every parent worries about their kids when they leave this earth," Bob says. And Mendez had the title he had achingly sought: head coach. ONE WEEK LATER, Prospect finishes its season 8-2 with a 19-13 victory over Yerba Buena. But on this late July night, 30-year-old high school football coach Rob Mendez has a taste for sushi. Fore was named to the Hudl Top 100 in 2017, and the Top 5 Best High School Football Coaches to follow on Twitter by MaxPreps in 2016. The pain of the loss hurt, but it did not stop his fire. I don't focus on it." Nor did he and Josie have any idea how to take care of this baby. I just want to prove them wrong. . It showed him how much energy he draws from the kids. "The Super Bowl of JV football," he says. This is the opportunity he has waited 12 years for, the one he long felt he deserved but worried would never come. But I'm 30 years old and a JV high school football coach. The more we talk that night the more one word keeps popping up: How. A young boy holds open the door as Mendez approaches his favorite spot. 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. "Hey," he says, "Would you mind giving me a hand and putting one of those in my mouth?" He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn.com. ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals all rank the 5-10, 170-pound receiver as a four-star prospect but his high school coach, former UK defensive back Maurice "Moe" Douglass, is not sure that does him justice. The next generation of basketball legends will rock uniforms by New York City-based streetwear designer Eric Emanuel. It happened at the end of his senior prom, when he tipped over the wheelchair ramp as he and his classmates were leaving. "It brings out the best in people. Finally, after 13 years, he was able to get a job at Prospect High School in California as their high school football coach. And swimming. Combing hair. Michael Furlong CTE Teacher, AVID Elective Teacher. His torso pushes against his belt. He finished second. But seven? Is that you?" The football team won the 7A State Championship in 2001, 2002, and 2005. . When the players met their new coach, the whispers began. I said, 'oh yeah? "But even before he could talk, I said, 'Somewhere, somebody is going to open a door for this kid and he's going to shine.'" I just want to prove them wrong." Mendez hopes to someday have the opportunity to coach varsity. They sit in front of us, untouched, for nearly 10 minutes. I ask whether that thought bothers him. I am currently a senior at Texas Community High School and I will be attending college in the fall semester of 2009. But Mendez doesn't care about that. Quote of the . I'm not beautiful at all. Now the entire Prospect program circles around Mendez at midfield. "But I don't think about this the same way everybody else does," he says. But it isn't that simple. Football coach without arms or legs inspires teamBorn without arms or legs, Rob Mendez was never able to play football, but that didn't stop him from pursuing his passion for the game as a coach.ESPN He asks his quarterback for a hug. What if I drop him? ", Mendez leans forward in his chair. How does he eat? I mention that one of the themes I'm thinking about for his story is this idea of a beautiful mind. He put the name into Google. Complaining is my No. The left side of his face slams into the concrete floor of the garage. I don't sign up for being inspirational Rob." Prospect High School Football team golf tournament and smoked BBQ fundraiser! Mendez gives me directions. It gives me hope for the world." You're different. What do you want out of this year? There, he drives his chair into the living room, where his roommate and caretaker, Mike McAvoy, waits on the couch. But Rob refuses because the upper belt limits his ability to access his phone and draw plays. No way. Mendez is hungry. When the players met their new coach, the whispers began. "That's how humans are -- they adapt. 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. "Oh whatever," Mendez answers. Brushing teeth. The season begins in a month. By Tuesday afternoon, he's back at Prospect for practice, apologizing to his players for Monday's absence. This can cost you more than just money. This ensures that the coaches can spend quality time with all players attending and are not overwhelmed with large camp numbers. "Just focus -- you got this.". No way." When his friends went out for football his freshman year of high school, Rob became the team manager. And because of Rob's lack of limbs, his father says he retains 30 percent more heat than someone who has arms and legs. McAvoy has been Mendez's caretaker for the past six years. 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. But Rob refuses because the upper belt limits his ability to access his phone and draw plays. The battery on his wheelchair is dead, and he wants to charge it at school overnight. In his chair, he is constantly shifting, twisting and adjusting his posture. Mendez is hungry. Some newborns survive only a few hours or days. "I'm sitting right there at the bar next to you. The quarterback removes the cap from a blue dry erase pen and puts it in Mendez's mouth. the driver asks. "There was one word my dad never liked -- special," Mendez says. Mendez rolls over to his dejected quarterback. They tell Rob he can't coach for at least four weeks. I just knew he was the right man for the job.". How does he sleep? "But I don't think about this the same way everybody else does. I pick up a fork, stab it into the roll, drag it through a puddle of soy sauce and put it in his mouth. His comes with a straw. As much as he doesn't want this syndrome to define him, at the same time there's a part of him that loves the fact that it sort of does. "Bugs the s--- out of me," he says. Mark Fisher 3D Design Teacher. It showed him how much energy he draws from the kids. I'm sorry. "Great job, Coach. He tumbles forward. In less than a minute he introduces himself, then me and strikes up a conversation. Prospect's Amazing and Dedicated Coaches! My dad would tell me, 'You're not special, Rob. "I've always been someone to be not afraid of failure," Mendez said. He scoffs. "There's no way," he says. "I got it. I panic. The battery on Mendez's wheelchair is dead, so two Panthers push him onto the field. I don't want to be put on a pedestal. David Chisholm Science Teacher dchisholm@cuhsd.org Michael Furlong CTE Teacher, AVID Elective Teacher mfurlong@cuhsd.org Benjamin Gilmore SAI Co-Teacher bgilmore@cuhsd.org CTE Teacher & Department Chair fmedina@cuhsd.org SAI Co-Teacher, Special Education Department Chair NCAA ELIGIBILITY Check out Bay Area safety tracker, Bay Area Life; Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7, Football coach born without arms or legs to receive Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at 2019 ESPYS, Rob Mendez accepts the 2019 Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPYS on July 10. "I'm not going to let that happen. And 26 percent of the school's students are economically disadvantaged. His older sister, Jackie, pushed her brother to try new things and one day tucked a PlayStation controller under his chin. In the morning, he will coach the biggest game of his young career. Eighteen players from each playoff class were named to the team. He's a great guy and I'll go to the end of the earth for him.". On this night, on the same field where this journey began, Mendez gathers his team one last time. I love him. Watch Later. But I learned that I can be a leader. We offer the best pricing for sports recruiting videos on the internet and our turnaround time is usually 48 hours or less! Every morning, he helps with just about everything. He needs to use the bathroom. I mention that it seems as if anything that reminds him of his physical challenges bugs him. But later he acknowledges he hated having to ask for help. was something that was very much for me to always stick with and I hope people take away from it in a positive way where they are comfortable to motivate themselves to do whatever they want in life.". Doctors recommend surgery. If I'm sitting there and don't smile or say hello, I just feel like that's rude." Work Environment Part-time work is common for coaches and scouts. "It was just it was horrible," Bob says. It's all good." But as soon as I met and spoke with him, the chair disappeared. He tells the story of his father putting him on the stairs when he was 9 years old, demanding that he climb to the top. The battery on his wheelchair is dead, and he wants to charge it at school overnight. And how does he deal with such a challenging life? Afterward, Bob says doctors and nurses would walk by and stare. Rob would set his chin on the ledge of the next step and use that to lift his entire body. For now, he's still glowing from the impact his team had on him in his first JV season. He put the name into Google. The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder completed 60.1% of his passes last season for 5,275 . When his players ask what happened, he tells them he got into a fight with the pavement. "There you go!" Aleksic, Danilo ( Fr.) Copyright 2023 KGO-TV. It's society that imposes that grief. For now, he's still glowing from the impact his team had on him in his first JV season. "I'm not afraid to be myself," he tells me later. "When I first met him, he blew me away with his personality," Prospect Football Varsity Head Coach Mike Cable said. In most cases of tetra-amelia, death occurs before birth. Later, she would cover Rob in blankets when they went in public. After his speech, Mendez asks for a ride home. Wilky DenaudDefensive Line - High School: Four-star prospect along the defensive line who as a senior helped the John Carroll Rams and Coach Mickey Groody to a Those who do survive often end up with significant intellectual disabilities. Those who do survive often end up with significant intellectual disabilities. 2. ", Born without arms or legs, Rob Mendez was never able to play football, but that didn't stop him from pursuing his passion for the game as a coach.ESPN. On convenience alone, it would have been the perfect place for him to coach forever. He can be stubborn. Mendez picks a spot at the bar next to two women. But here, he's in his element. He knows what he has given his team. 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