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The Full Story
Meet the Founder
Nowoola Awopetu is a former Division I football player at Villanova University and an NFL Free Agent who knows firsthand the pressures of competing at the highest level. Drawing from his own experience as an athlete, he is passionate about supporting student-athletes in their mental performance, identity development, and life beyond sports. Nowoola holds a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision. As a Resident (Provisionally Licensed Therapist) in Counseling working toward full licensure, he is dedicated to empowering athletes with the tools they need to thrive—both on and off the field. Dive more into how this all came about!
Small Beginnings
I started playing this game at a very young age in an elementary schoolyard in Staten Island, New York; P.S. 57 to be exact. This is where my love for the game began. Ms. Brennan and Ms. Savuso , my gym teachers, would give us a bag of balls which included basketball, football, kickball, etc. and I always gravitated towards football. One day, these youth football coaches, Coach Vinny and his son Coach Chris, came to our neighborhood looking for kids to join their youth football league, the Richmond Boro Plainsmens football team. From there, they held tryouts after-school , and the rest is history.
I was a part of the team, but really, I was just a bench player enjoying the ride. It frustrated me to a point that I wanted to quit but I kept at it until my 8th grade year and then decided I needed a break from football. High school came around, and tryouts are here. A bit reluctant, I spoke with friends about joining, and afterwards, we all decided to try out. Good news, we all make the team!
Growing Pains..
The summer going into my freshman year I was under the impression that I would come in and immediately make an impact on the team. After all, I felt I dominated summer camp and competed everyday, so I thought I would play. Unfortunately, that year I only played maybe one snap the entire year. It was quite embarrassing not being to invite my family to games because I knew I wasn't going to be playing. Funny enough, I used to lie to parents when my games were just so they wouldn't come. (Terrible ik)
I would reach out to my JV coach at the time, asking "Can I possibly get special teams this week?" and his response was always "maybe this game", and so this cycle continued for the entire season. The result was always the same, I wouldn't play.
Once again, I felt defeated and wanted to just quit playing again. Instead, I took as motivation that I need to work harder and so that's what I did. This inner drive led me to joining the track and field team, where I began to see some progress.
Perseverance
My first year on varsity was accompanied by a lot of side talk from people who felt like I wasn’t deserving of the opportunity. I won’t lie to you, I was nervous and I didn’t know what to expect being on varsity. This was a kid at the time who only played a single snap of football the year prior, so I wrestled with thoughts of whether I belonged or could play at this level.
Still nervous as ever, 120 pounds soaking wet, I rose to the challenge. I was met with a series of adversity like getting scored on in the playoffs, but I didn’t allow that to detract me from just getting better and growing.
Preparation
Although practice was brutal at times, I enjoyed running track—at the meets, haha. But seriously, it was through running track that I began to build confidence in my ability and started to see how it translated to football.
The following summer, during football camp as I prepared for my sophomore year, I felt confident and ready for whatever I had to face. Finally, opportunity met preparation when, one day, the varsity team was short a few wide receivers for the 7v7 at Big Apple Games camp. My varsity coach asked a few of us from the JV team, including myself, to fill in at wide receiver. Little did I know that my performance that day would lead to me being moved up to varsity.
Tight circle
If there is one thing that has kept me going, it was having a group of guys that bought into the vision of getting better and we fed off of each other's energy. From running track together, playing basketball, to off-season workouts; it made all the difference when we stepped on the field together.
I certainly wouldn't have excelled without my teammates , more specifically, Naaman, Ade and Bliff.
Patience
Over the course of the next two years, I spent a decent amount of my off-season either training on the track and getting stronger in the gym. For some time, I was a bit discouraged because I saw other people getting offers, and kept wondering "Am I not good enough to play at the next level?". I remember wanting to settle for a walk-on position at a Division III school (no knock to D3), and I was still appreciative of the offer. However, my father reassured me to "just be patient", and that a full-ride scholarship will come.
Eventually, I started to see the fruits of my labor, as college coaches started to visit my school to inquire about my teammates and I.
I remember the day I told my parents I received a full-ride scholarship to Villanova University, it was a feeling like no other, just seeing everything come full circle. I couldn't help but reflect and thank God for everything because through it all he knew what I didn't!
I would be remiss if I didn't thank my parents, Coach Vesce, Coach Torres, my entire HS coaching staff at Port Richmond High School, Coach Trisciani, Coach Croaker, Coach Ferrante, and the entire staff at Villanova University for an opportunity that changed my life!
Slow Progress..
My first couple years at Villanova University I struggled with grasping the playbook, while also dealing with a series of injuries that started to affect my confidence. It was as if for every step I took forward, I was taking two steps back.
There's a bunch of things I found myself blaming why I wasn't playing but the truth was, I wasn't ready. It wasn't until I made the decision that I would devote the time and effort needed to get better and learn.
I was fortunate enough to have a coach that was brutally honest (maybe too honest haha) about my performance and my areas of improvement. Although, at times I didn't like the delivery, I listened because I knew it was for my own good.
Persistence
Fast forward a year later, I finally got my opportunity vs. Richmond University which became a record- setting game between my teammate Christian and I, 5 interceptions between us both in one game, two of which I returned for touchdowns.
I remember after that game, I broke down on the bus ride home, overwhelmed with emotions. Up until that point, I wasn't playing much in the rotation but I would just put my head down and give my best. Truthfully, this one game gave me confidence and became the epitome of working hard and trusting the process, even when I wasn’t seeing results.
From this point on, I fell in love with the process, on not just seeing results.
COVID-19 & Shift of Purpose
As I mentioned before COVID-19 was rough time for me mentally. I'm a graduate class of 2020 which meant after the lockdown, graduation ended up getting cancelled. Additionally I was coming up on what was supposed to be my last season at Villanova University, and so I had it in my mind that year would be my big "league year".
My teammates and I, who had also redshirted our first year, were all stressing about whether we would get an opportunity to truly finish our college careers or would it just end so abruptly? Needless to say, I was stressed, anxious, and frustrated.
Proverbs 19:21 says "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." It was during this time that Pressing Forward came about as I had months to reflect and contemplate on life and where I was headed. I remember just feeling a bit burned out from it all, athletically speaking.
I started to feel as though God was preparing for more outside of being a football player. During this time, I had a mentor who encouraged me to enroll in the masters program in Clinical Mental Health counseling and so I did. Eventually, we would get called back to return to school only a few days before the start of school but it was good news nonetheless.
NFL Dreams
Eventually, I came to the point where I had one semester left to complete my master's degree. The decision became do I stay and complete my degree or finish what I started and pursue playing professionally. While it may seem like an obvious choice to many, I wrestled with this decision for weeks. It had been a dream of mine to put on an NFL jersey and do all the things.. After many talks with God, family, and myself, I decided to just go for it. This led to short stints with both the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.
Oddly enough, there was a sense of peace in slowing down to gain clarity on the whole time. It became evident to me that football wasn't the final destination but really, it was simply a vehicle. It was a vehicle that thrusted me into purpose, a vehicle that taught me major life lessons, a vehicle that brought me lifelong friends.
re-direction
After a year and half as a NFL free agent, careful reflection and soul- searching, I finally decided it was time for me to return back to school and complete my degree. It was also during this time that more ideas for Pressing Forward came about! Therefore, the decision to finally step away from the game was made from a place of gratitude but also from a place of trust; knowing that this was just the beginning to a new chapter. A chapter that is still being written...
progress
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Perfection
The message here is "Progress over Perfection". In essence, life isn't this linear progression of upward trends. Rather, there is an eb and flow to life ; sometimes you are up, other times, you may be down. The true beauty along the journey is learning to continually progress while maintaining a state of gratitude for it all. In doing so, you find that even the most trivial experiences offer a level of insight and wisdom to continue pressing forward!
