Catching Up With QB Velocity Coach Jake Mola
Recently we were able to chat with QB Velocity coach Jake Mola!
Jake has been a valuable asset to the team since this September. He has been involved with training sessions, social media posts, blog writing and more!
Jake is originally from Milford, Connecticut. He graduated from Law High School in 2017. He was a multiple sport athlete and his senior year he was a team captain and exceled at the linebacker position.
Jake is currently a senior at Nichols College, where he majors in General Business with a minor in Criminal Justice . He also has been a member of the golf team for all 4 years
1.What was it like growing up in Milford, Connecticut?
"It was good, Milford was always good to me and I met so many people from here that I’m going to be in contact with for a long time and I’m grateful for that. The thing is Milford is the town is divided by high schools, you have one side and the other. Foran Vs Jonathan law and you were basically born on one side and that’s usually where you stayed. To say the least it was a football town, you were told to hate someone or a certain high school just because that’s how it’s always been.
People take pride in what side of the town they were from and that bond carries throughout every sport. But my childhood was a good time, I used to skate around my town and bike with all my friends. Milford has a really nice downtown and we would always go hang out there In the summer or when it was nice. Milford has many festivals and live music where they shut down the whole downtown area and it’s a blast. "
2. What Sports did you play growing up?
"Growing up I was born into golfing and bowling. My father has played golf his whole life and bowled since he was in his early 20’s. Then I found another sport to add and it was football. "
3. How was your football experience in high school?
"My experience in high school football was different than most people. I had 3 different head coaches through 4 years of school and didn’t win a game till my senior year. My freshman team, JV team and varsity lost basically every game till my senior year. When I was a freshman our varsity won 1 game but I didn’t play or do anything so I never really counted that. But the longest coach I had was from my sophomore and junior year and he basically got kicked out by parents for not winning.
So for my senior year the 4 captains and I interviewed coaches and had a huge say in who we felt was right for the job. We ended up choosing a coach from Bacon Academy where he helped them go from 1-9 to 7-3 for the first time ever I think.
After losing for so long we finally won our first home game in like 3 and half seasons, it was on a 2 minute drill from the 50 and ended on a touchdown pass with 15 seconds left. That moment of finally winning a game after all the stuff we had to deal with as seniors and as a team was something I’ll never forget. Also the whole student section stormed the field after and honestly we just one a game but it was a turning point in the football program. After I graduated the very next season my high school went 6-4 and made the playoffs for the first time in School history. So we made the right choice."
4. What position(s) did you play and what were some of your stats?
"I always played defense, I just understood it more than offense. I played mostly Linebacker both outside and inside. I played a little safety but I was good at stopping the run. On offense I was a slot WR and running back but always paid more attention to defense. Also I was a kick returner and that was very fun. My best stat in Highschool was my senior year I had 105 tackles and made All conference which was really cool."
5. How has playing football benefited you?
"It has taught me to be resilient, you never know what’s going to happen in life or football. The same philosophies apply to both sides. Without football i don’t think I would be the same person or have the friends I have today. From playing football it taught me how hard you have to work to achieve your goals no matter what they are.
Also even if you do everything right you still can get bad breaks but football taught me how to think on my feet quickly. Playing linebacker you need to adjust and conquer what they are doing just like in life. "
6. What advice would you have for a young Linebacker?
"I would say to learn as much as you can about your position and every position on the defensive side. I found knowing what everyone is doing helps you because you can start to figure out how a team will react to a certain Formation. Also you know where you have help and where you don’t so that helps from giving up big plays. I would always say watch the linemen and watch their footwork, learn how linemen move and block that’s what I did before my senior year and it helped so much.
Especially in high school, I watched the guards more than anything bc where they pulled was most likely where the ball went. Lastly I would say use your size to your advantage, I was always smaller being able to be faster than the linemen that were coming to block you was very important plus MOVE AROUND don’t stand in the same spot keep the offense on its toes so they have to guess what your going to do."
7. What’s it like to be a college golf athlete?