LJ FB: Tino mentoring

Tino Mendez, number 58, during the National Anthem
prior to the Vikings' home scrimmage against
Mission Bay. (Photo by Ed Piper)



By Ed Piper

If you're around La Jolla High football, you still might not recognize "Martin Mendez".

"That's my legal name," says the Viking senior lineman who goes by "Tino".

"Martin Mendez" is the name listed for uniform number 58 on the new Vikings football roster.

There might be something else you don't know about the 205-pounder: He loves mentoring some of the freshman football players.

"I've gotten close to all my freshman kids," he said prior to the Vikings' preseason scrimmage at home against Mission Bay Aug. 18. "I want to leave something after I go."

Don't worry, he's not talking about the ultimate departure, dying. He means after graduating.

And mentoring these younger players, as well as being out on the field playing football, means a lot to the amiable young man since he experienced the agony of a torn ACL and meniscus on his right knee two years ago.

He remembers it was in a game against Country Day as a sophomore. He played on the knee last year as a junior after rehabbing it over the offseason, but he has continued to work out and improve his strength to get to the healthy point that he is now.

"I thought of quitting football," he reveals, after the injury and the operation that repaired the ACL and the meniscus. "I didn't have the speed I had. I was so far behind the others," that he became very discouraged.

But he loves the game, and loves being with his brothers, appreciating both of these as he looks out over the Edwards Stadium turf from in front of the video room in head coach Tyler Roach's office, which is situated in the equipment room at the northwest corner of the complex.

"I'm glad that I didn't quit," he reflects. "It has been worth the work."

A year ago, the summer of 2016, while others were taking part in spring football drills for then-new coach Matt Morrison, Tino was on the fringes of the field at Muirlands Middle School working with trainer Matt Bridges to rehab the knee.

"Max Smith is one of the freshman I mentor," he says. "He is solid. He plays linebacker and running back."

Mendez reiterates the importance mentoring the young guys has for him.

"High school went by so fast.

"I've been mainly working on conditioning. We've been running extra after practice, the backs and the linemen. We're ready."

And showing a special quality, his true interest in people, he asks his interviewer, "How have you been?" Most interviews never get to this point, but with this young man, a player Roach and the rest of the coaching staff are looking to for leadership, it does. He's sincere. That's some good modeling by his parents.

In Spanish, it is called calor. Warmth. Tino has it. A true warmth for people. No wonder the freshman guys love chatting it up with him. He's real people.

"Coach has been doing a great job," he offers. "He's posting a lot of photos on Instagram. He had the Alumni Game. That's the first one of those. He's doing a lot of good things."