Time Out with Trent Stoppello -- 1991 Justin-Siena High graduate

Vince D’Adamo: Whether as a student-athlete at Napa or Justin-Siena or being involved in coaching, what keeps you coming back to athletics every season?

Trent Stoppello: The love of the game, the competition, the strategies, the mental toughness and heart. Watching kids work hard and achieve things even they
didn't know they were capable of is what keeps me coming back.

D’Adamo: Though assistant coaches are not the first ones people think of, what do you believe their role is in terms of player development on and off the field?

Stoppello: As an assistant coach, my role was to develop players and be their biggest fan when they succeed and be their support when they fail. It was my responsibility to establish a bond between myself and the players so that they could respect and trust me, this allowed them to believe in the coaching and broke down any barriers which in turn allowed them to achieve greater success.  

There is no better feeling than having an old player walk up shake my hand before every practice or game I would look them in the eye, shake their hand and say hello. It was my way of  saying thank you for showing up. They all thought it to be strange at first but by the end of the season they would come shake my hand and say “Hi, Coach.”  These kids don't realize that I actually probably got more out of coaching them than they of me.

D’Adamo: Even if high school is the pinnacle of a youngster's sports career, how much do you believe they grow as adults as a result of competing in athletics?

Stoppello: Athletics teaches so many life lessons on and off the field regardless of how far they advance. Sports provides so many maturing elements at all levels. It is truly amazing to watch it unfold and be a part of it.

D’Adamo: How much do you believe being involved in athletics as a youngster has shaped you personally and professionally as an adult?  

Stoppello: I firmly believe that participating in high school sports for me has provided me with lifelong skills that I continue to utilize daily in my adult life. I learned to be a team player working together to achieve a goal or task. I learned how to make quick decisions. I learned camaraderie, loyalty, responsibility, discipline, hard work pays off, and that if I wanted to keep playing I had to stay out of trouble. All because of
sports. I am pretty confident that if needed, any of my former teammates would be there for me if I ever called on them and I would do the same without hesitation.

D’Adamo: Within your family, who have been the most influential people?

Stoppello: My Uncle Jon. He taught me gratitude and humility. He was diagnosed with MS and was a quadriplegic, he never once complained he always was grateful and humble through it all.  If he could be all of those things while facing life altering diversity then how could I not do the same.

D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet.  

Stoppello: Abraham Lincoln.