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Once a water boy for a semi-professional football team in Schenectady, Johnny Villanueva now calls the plays for the varsity team at the city's Notre-Dame Bishop Gibbons School.

This season, the junior quarterback hopes to surpass the team's 6-3 record and lead the Golden Knights to more victories at the playoff games. A three-sport athlete, Johnny also strives to maintain his grades and fill the shoes of last year's record-breaking quarterback.

"I just want to do what he did," Johnny told The Evangelist. "If I couldn't, at least I tried."

This attitude pervades his life on the field, in class and at home. "He has done pretty much whatever we've asked him to do," said Tom Pallas, Johnny's coach for the past three years.

Johnny previously played wide receiver and halfback, positions he says require less strategizing than quarterback. The last time he played quarterback, on a junior varsity team in eighth grade, the coaches ran alongside the players, shouting directions.

Now, Johnny has to rally his teammates on his own and know when to throw the ball. His carefree, strong demeanor makes being a leader easy, according to his coach.

Leadership qualities
"He's certainly someone they look to," Mr. Pallas said of Johnny's teammates. The quarterback tends to lighten the mood by cracking jokes or, during one practice, jumping over the head of a slightly shorter, standing teammate.

"He gets along with anybody," said Tamara Armstead, Johnny's mother. Though Johnny's teachers often comment on his loquaciousness, Ms. Armstead says they can't resist his charm and positive outlook.

That drive shows. In addition to daily football practice, Johnny runs and lifts weights three days a week at home. He can bench-press up to 250 pounds and squat up to 315 pounds. He plays basketball in winter, usually averaging about 10 points a game. In the spring, he runs track.

That spectrum of sports bolsters his football skills, making him a dynamic, fast and aggressive athlete, Mr. Pallas said: "Any well-rounded athlete is aided by playing other sports."

Sports upbringing
Johnny's passion for football stems from his younger years. From the age of five, he played catch with Dad and his older brother at home. He played flag football at about age six and Pop Warner youth football during middle school.

"After a couple of years of pee wee, you could just see he was going to be natural athlete," Ms. Armstead said.

Johnny's father, Thomas Richards, played for Schenectady Metro Magic. Johnny followed the semi-pro as far away as Utica and Syracuse to cheer and help at games until Mr. Richards left the team to work for the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

When it comes to sports, Ms. Armstead is confident that Johnny will follow in his father's footsteps. "I think he has a great opportunity to go far - and hopefully surpass the semi-pro and go pro," she said.

Johnny hopes to attend an NCAA Division 1 school and then either play for or manage a professional football team.

Family man
The student's work ethic extends beyond the field and into his home, neighborhood and classrooms. His mother said he happily loads the dishwasher, sweeps the kitchen floors and wipes down the counters, which lightens the chore load for his working parents.

Johnny once volunteered to help a friend's family move on a Saturday. And when he spotted a neighbor struggling with a lawnmower, he helped to start it and then decided to take over the job.

His name is well-known at ND-BG, too.

"I try to be a leader in school," Johnny explained. "I try to make sure I get all my work done. The grades are first," especially in his favorite subject, science.

Though Ms. Armstead reminds her son to keep academics in mind, Johnny takes the initiative to seek extra help before football practice and finish homework after practice.

"I don't even really need to say anything," Ms. Armstead remarked. "He's on it."

Mr. Pallas even changed the team's practice times in part for Johnny's extra help sessions.

Johnny and his mother attribute his academic success in part to the small classes and extra support at ND-BG, where he transferred in eighth grade after attending public schools.

Said Ms. Armstead: "It was the best thing that I could have ever done."

(10/07/10) [[In-content Ad]]

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