Page 61 - 2020 Sollenberger

AZ College Prep’s Championship Mindset Helping Diaz Thrive
By Andy Morales azpreps365.com
We asked Chandler Arizona College Prep senior athlete Joel Diaz (6-1, 180) how he sees the coming season and his own progression as an athlete. He collected 92 tackles and three interceptions and also averaged almost 30 yards returning kicks as a junior for the Knights.
Diaz, a 3A Conference Player of the Year candidate, also has 11 college offers on the table.
Q: Your program went from 2-8 when you were a freshman to 8-2 last year and a playoff appearance. Tell us a bit about that rise and what do you attribute it to?
A: “Well it’s been quite the ride to say the least. Having very little success those first two years was tough, but we never stopped believing. Every player that stuck through those rough years believed that we were destined for greatness, and that pushed us to keep going and prove to everyone the team we could be. I attribute that mentality and a lot of our success to coach (Myron) Blueford. From Day 1, he never had a doubt that we’d be a great team. He constantly reminded us of our potential, our talent, and how if we just kept working and working we would be great. He’s quite the incredible coach. He got us all to buy into that belief, and buy into the team and the work. Everything he does he does with
a championship mentality, and he’s put that mentality not only in us, but our other coaches as well. He’s set the standard at a championship. Everything we do — our practices, workouts, even our yoga — is done with a championship mentality, and I think that’s really what’s gotten us to where we are now. Belief and hard work. Never giving up. Buying into the program and each other. We’ve always seen ourselves as a championship team, and we’re just getting started.”
Q: You have 11 college offers at this point and you carry and incredible 4.8 GPA. What will be your selection process and what do you plan on studying in college?
A: I’m looking to go into aeronautical engineering, but the majority of small schools won’t have that program, so I look for more mechanical engineering there. And when I’m looking at schools I look at their football program obviously, scholarship opportunities, location, and culture. My parents can’t afford to put me through college. So schools that I can get nearly all, if not all, of it paid for are my best options. I like more urban areas, but a location isn’t going to stop me if it’s the school for you. And most importantly the culture. I want to play for a program that emphasizes family and treats their players like family, coaches that treat me like family and show they care during the recruiting process. Because those are the coaches and programs I want to play for.”
Q: You were invited to compete for U.S. National Team in the International Bowl. Tell us about that experience.
A: “The week I spent in Dallas for the International Bowl was probably the best week of my life. There was never a dull moment, everything was go-go-go and football-football-football. We were completely immersed in the game the entire time, from meetings to practices to meals, everything was football and it was incredible. We had to learn our whole playbook in four days, which was actually pretty difficult but exciting, and it pushed me as an individual and us together as a team. Everyone there was your friend. You walk in and everyone accepts you as their teammate and it grows from there. I learned so much from that experience. I got to see many different coaching styles. I got to see different types of players. I gained a much deeper knowledge of football because we were always talking ball and having to learn an entirely new defense. It really grew my knowledge and understanding of the game and gave me a different perspective. It is defi- nitely one of if not the best experience of my life.”
Q: You also participated in the Under Armour All-America Camp at Williams Field in March. What did you learn from that experience?
A: “The UA camp was incredible. The level of coaching and competition really pushed me. The biggest thing I learned was that I can compete with anyone in the state at any level. It was also great to meet other athletes and see different coaching styles.”
Q: Tell us how you have been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic as a family, student and an athlete.
A: “As a family, we’ve been going on a lot of outdoor day trips, hiking and things to just get out of the house. I’ve got a lot of little siblings so they need things to do. For the most part just trying to hang in there, trying to do our part in stop- ping the virus spread. As a student, I had to just buckle down and get through
it. I had three AP tests to take, so I needed that last quarter of instruction. And even though grades didn’t count, I needed to be prepared for my tests. So I did all my needed classes every day and took extra care in prepping for my tests and did a lot of AP practice in order to get ready. It was certainly not ideal, but I did it. And as an athlete, I dealt with the pandemic by continuing to do field work and workouts on my own. I didn’t have a gym since the gyms were closed and I don’t have any weights at home, so I had to get very creative with my workouts. I put together high intensity mostly bodyweight workouts. And they were actually better than expected as once we finally did get back into the weight room I had increased all of my maxes. I am fortunate to have a huge back yard that I could set up cones and drills and work on footwork at home. All of my offers actually came during the pandemic, so I’ve also been spending a lot of time on the phone with coaches and whatnot. Right now COVID has kind of thrown a wrench in my recruiting, as well as my senior season. But I can’t control that, so I’m just going to keep working and hope things will sort themselves out.”
Arizona College Prep’s Joel Diaz participated with a U.S. National Team in the International Bowl in Dallas. (Photo courtesy of U.S.A. Football)
AZ College Prep - 3A Metro East Region
Head coach: Myron Blueford.
Years as school’s head coach: 3.
2019 record: 8-3.
Returning starters on offense, 2019 stats: Sr. QB Mark Chavez 6-1, 200 (1,851 yards passing, 24 TDs.); Sr. RB Richie Williams 5-9, 198 (1,688 yards rushing, 17 TDs.); Sr. WR Bryan Dyson 5-11, 155 (856 yards receiving, 11 TDs.); Jr. WR Bryce Chen 5-10, 165; Jr. OL Keaton Messerole 6-1, 255; Jr. OL Deven Kukreja 5-10, 265; Sr. OL Sebastian Ybrahim 5-9, 215; So. OL Marco Palafox 5-11, 210.
Returning starters on defense, 2019 stats: Sr. FS Joel Diaz 6-2, 190 (92 tackles, 3 INTs.); Sr. SS Caden Churnetski 6-1, 160; Sr. LB Kellen Gibson 6-2, 220 (129 tack- les, 4 sacks); Jr. LB Nathan Chumley 6-0, 175; Sr. DE Mario Duncan 5-11 (7 sacks), 175; Sr. DT Jakob Warren 5-10, 255; Sr. DT Aaron Barnes 6-0, 270.
Also keep an eye on: So. WR Jayden Diaz 6-0, 170; Jr. DE Carter Patten 6-5, 195; So. DE/TE Brandon Bowman 6-2, 175; Jr. LB/S Cameron McDonald 5-11, 180; Jr. LB/RB Andrew Stephens 5-9, 170.
Strengths of offense: Every stat leader is coming back this year with three college bound seniors. Offensive line is older and more mature. Competent and confident in our offense.
Strengths of defense: Two Division I bound seniors at key positions. More under- standing of the defense. We were a top defense in the 2019 season.
Team’s biggest question mark(s): Have key positions to fill at corner and line- backer. Adapting to new wrinkles in defense. Developing depth across our entire roster.
2020 expectations: We want to go deeper in the playoffs and contend for a championship. Win our region. Have the best statistical output on offense and defense in the past four seasons.
More about program: We predicted that we would have our first winning season and make the playoffs last year and we did just that. We had one of, if not the biggest single season turnaround from 1-9 to 8-2. All of our key players are coming back and we will be better than we were last year.
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