Lupo Benatti '15 Recruiting Profile

My name is Lupo, I'm 19-years-old, and I'm from Verona, an old Italian city nearby Venice.

Since I was a kid I always excelled in sports such as soccer, gymnastic, rugby, boxing, and football. Especially by being so quick, fast, aggressive, committed, and constantly dedicating 100% in self-improvement and discipline.

After more than three years of playing for my city's rugby team, I began to play American Football for a team called Agsm Mastini Verona, the 'mastiffs of Verona'.

I played several roles including Running Back, Wild Receiver, Cornerback, Safety and Linebacker. I love the feeling of force and adrenaline on the field, soon discovering that this that this sport was for me, wildly more fast-paced and aggressive than rugby. 

I used and developed my experience as a Football player for one and a half years by working with our Italian team, and later decided to move in the United States- specifically in California- to play football at higher levels. 

This year, as soon as I came to school, I asked Coach Frank Galvan (Hollywood High School Varsity Coach - Elected coach of the year for the CIF, Los Angeles City Section*) to join the team and was soon placed on the field within the first weeks.

By the start of the first games, I played only the Kickoffs and Kickoff's Returns, thanks to my abilities to tackle from rugby and to run faster than others. 

Then the coach started putting me in as a Running Back for the second team, as I kept giving my best in every single practice or match. 

The last game of the season, against our rivals (Bernstein High School), was crucial to secure our position into the playoffs. For the first time in four years, my team qualified and crushed the opponents 32 to 13 and I rushed 311 yards. I was personally nominated for the 'MVP of the game' title. 

I came to the United States only one year ago, but I've put all my effort into school and sports relentlessly. Today, my GPA is 4.0 and I managed to balance my grades while being active in both in the Varsity Football and Soccer teams. 

Because of what I've past, what I left behind me to come here, I'm determined and committed to succeed in whatever I do, especially to accomplish my biggest dream: to play football here in the United States. I'm aware that I'm committed more than everyone to earn that extra yard, to never give in front of hard challenges even when the situation could seem desperate.

Every day I do my best to pursue my dream, for myself and for the people I care about. Now that I'm facing a new challenge in my life, I want to make the difference. Someone once said- "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but if the drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less, because of the missing drop."

I know that I can be the drop this institution has been waiting for.