Joe Spivak '17 Recruiting Profile

Dreams. So many people today have them but how many are willing to "pay the price" to make these dreams a reality.  But dreams without a plan are just that, dreams. When a plan is formed, you now have a goal. Ever since I was in the fourth grade my goal has been to play division 1 football. Hello, my name is Joe Spivak and I am a student-athlete at Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, Illinois. I began playing football in the fourth grade and immediately fell in love with the brotherhood and hard-nosed mentality with in the 100x52 battlefield. My career has progressed since then from being a two-way-starter and captain of multiple U15 all american games to being a three time captain and three time two-way-starter at one of the football dynasties of the Chicagoland Area. 

Along with football I have also wrestled since I was in the first grade. Throughout these years I placed in the state finals twice (the highest being second) and have competed on a national level (placing third my eighth grade season). I was also apart of Montini's wrestling team my freshman year and was on the seventh consecutive team to win a state championship. These countless hours in the wrestling room and innumerable morning runs have enforced on me even more the vicious mentality and never say die motor that football must be played with and how to "impose your will".

All of these competitive stages have led to where I am now. My junior season took place this fall (2015) and I helped in leading the Montini Broncos to win our sixth state championship, and, for the first time in school history, go undefeated. This was my second season being named captain and my second season starting on both sides of the ball. I also recieved multiple accolades including: All-Conferance, All-Area, All-State Special Mention (Sports Gazzette & Chicago Tribune), and First Team Academic All-State.

I believe that football and life must be played with ATTITUDE, CHARACTER, and ENTHUSIASM, or as my family refers to it ACE. I focus on living every day as a “meaningful specific” with as much ACE as possible, whether it is in the classroom, weight room, or on the football field. Values of ACE and much more have been enforced on me since I was born as I have grown up in a family built around athletics and hard work. My father was a 2x captain and all American on Illinois State’s football team and also spent a year and a half under contract with the Chicago Bears. My cousin, Michael Hoomanawui, has also been in the NFL for the past 6 years, playing with the Rams, the Patriots (Super Bowl 49), and, most recently, the Saints. Two of my three older sisters swam collegiately, one for the University of Illinois and the other for the University of Missouri.  These people have shaped me into who I am today and are constant role-models to me of what an athlete really is.