When Foothill senior John Lynn isn’t playing cornerback for the varsity football team, he’s guarding for the varsity basketball team, refereeing CYO basketball games or taking AP classes to maintain his 4.04 GPA.
It’s because of these great accomplishments that Lynn has been named a recipient of a scholarship from the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, an esteemed nonprofit organization.
Lynn joins 23 other scholar athletes from Northern California, and will be honored at an awards dinner Feb. 21. As part of the recognition, the local chapter will award $1,000 to Lynn’s college of choice.
“I was really surprised, a little shocked and happy,” Lynn, who was Foothill’s Student of the Month in December, said. “Coach (John) Mannion had given me a paper to fill out because he had nominated myself and one of my teammates and I saw it on the community television channel, the ‘Dr. B’ sports show.”
Lynn’s football career started just four years ago, and he’s played for Foothill for all of them.
In addition to football, Lynn also plays guard for the Foothill varsity basketball team. And if juggling two sports didn’t take up enough of his time, he’s also refereed for the CYO basketball league for the past two years. Sports aside, Lynn also keeps busy with a heavy load of classes, including an AP calculus class.
“It makes for some long nights sometimes, but I enjoy it,” Lynn said. “It keeps me busy.”
Every year, the foundation selects outstanding athletes based on their on-the-field performance, scholastics and leadership/community service achievements. Lynn had the trifecta.
An unbiased committee of coaches and educators for Alameda County request submissions from every school in the county, according to Ron Sacchi, vice president for the foundation’s Northern California chapter. The submissions include data presented to the committee from the principal, coach and counselors at the school. The committees meet between November and December and select nominees from submissions. The young men with the highest ratings in all three categories (athletics, academics, community involvement) are then selected to receive the scholarships.
When Lynn graduates, he wants to go to UC Davis and major in exercise biology–the study of muscles in the human body and how they work.
“I just really want to be involved in sports or athletic training for a profession,” Lynn said.
As for whether he’ll play football at Davis, Lynn said he’s “going to see how I feel. I would like to be able to walk on at Davis.”
Lynn said he wouldn’t have received the scholarship without the help of teachers, dedicated coaches and supportive administrators at Foothill.
“In particular, I am so appreciative of the time and support of Matt Sweeney, Kevin Johnson and Burt Dixon and especially varsity assistant football coach Willie Brown, who has been instrumental in my development not only as a football player, but as a person.”
Lynn added that it has been his teammates who have made his athletic experience so memorable and successful and his parents and brother who have always encouraged and supported him.
For more information about the foundation, visit www.footballfoundation-norcal.com.
