Our story
A father who didn't have a clue — and built something because of it
I am more of an athlete as a middle-aged man than I ever was as a child. I grew up never thinking I was good enough to play youth sports, much less college or beyond. I had unusual strength for my size, but nobody ever took the time to teach me process, routine, or patience — how to fine-tune your body and actually develop what you have.
Last week I finally slowed down my Arnold's shoulder press. I had been doing it in one smooth motion for thirty years — up and out, down and in. When I broke it into distinct phases, I felt the burn for the first time and realized I had been doing it wrong my entire adult life. Better late than never.
My kids are lucky. They have my strength and their mother's coordination. She is the real athlete.
Rey played softball in high school after years as a young gymnast. When we first started dating we played a lot of rec softball together. I had the speed and could track down almost any fly ball — just don't ask me to throw it back in successfully.
Fast forward and we have three sons. All studs. I am so grateful for the balance they found between athletics and video games and technology — it's a balance the world is going to need. All three played club soccer and Little League when they were young. Our oldest made the choice to focus on soccer around age twelve. Our two younger boys chose baseball and have played travel from an early age.
Three sons. Three paths.
Our soccer player grew steadily stronger through high school and developed into a solid right defender and wing. Physical, smart, and genuinely fun to watch — especially after age fourteen when the game gets real. If we had known earlier where to look for college programs, maybe he would have wanted to go further. It turned out that UNR, our hometown Division I school, doesn't have a men's soccer program — only club. He's been playing club there for two years now and loves it. But we didn't know that until he was already choosing a school.
Our middle son was the only player from his high school named to the all-region team his senior year. With the transfer portal changing everything and most players starting at a junior college, he chose to go straight to a four-year program — his 4.8 GPA gave him options that pure athletics alone wouldn't have. He's doing great.
Our youngest still has all of high school ahead of him. His passion is to play baseball at the next level and we are still figuring it out — tournament by tournament, showcase by showcase, leaning on his travel coaches and hoping we are pointed in the right direction.
I built this database so families like ours know where to start — instead of paying a recruiter to tell us where to go.
We may still go that route. But now we have a resource to research programs on our own terms, alongside all the traveling and competing and trusting that the right doors will open.
We know we are not the only family with this challenge. Every athlete — regardless of sport or gender or how much they think they have or haven't — deserves access to the same information. We hope Athletics Almanac gives you a place to start.
If something is broken or you'd like to see more, drop us a message. We are always trying to get better.