Transcript: Gianni Fedeli on Brotherhood, Overcoming Adversity, and Finding Purpose

Good morning, and welcome back to the show. We are here with senior football linebacker and McKinley brother Gianni Fideli. How are you, Gianni? I'm fantastic.

It's good to be here. I'm excited. That's great to have you on the show. Great to have you.

You know, you told me just the other day that you started U.S. in first grade. What was it like to join this school, and how do you feel U.S. has kind of just changed your life? Yeah, it's a good question. So when making my decision to come here, there was a lot of factors that went into it.

I looked at NECL and Gilmore as well, and the one thing I found about U.S. is that it's different, and that might come off as bad or good, but I think it's the best choice I picked because there's been no community like U.S. I felt so good to be around. There's no cliques. There's no groups.

Everyone's just friends, and when I actually went to U.S., I found that immediately because you said playing football. I mean, the first day of school after playing football in the summer just made me have so many friends on the first day, and I don't think I'd have that relationship anywhere else. So honestly, I think it was an easy transition going to U.S. like that. Besides workload and everything, the community was just fantastic.

You know, going to your football point, you played all four years of football at U.S., which is something that not everyone can really stick with and dedicate their time to. What made you stay committed? Yeah, so I honestly don't think that... I would be the kid I am today if I didn't play football here for four years.

Going back to the friends aspect, I mean, I don't even think I can call them my friends anymore. Those are literally my brothers. I've been playing football with them for four years, and those four years just isn't in the fall. We start in the summer in June, and then we end in October.

So you're with those guys 24-7 all four years, and that really added to being able to manage my time because you go to football until 8 p.m., and then you have to do your homework, and you know how hard the workload is here. So those four years of football, I mean, really just helped me and guided me through my four years here. So pretty essential. And I believe you started out as a wide receiver and then transitioned to linebacker.

So how'd that transition kind of come about? Yeah, that's actually... that's a crazy poll. So coming into freshman year, I was probably about 5'2", 120, 130 pounds. I wasn't the biggest kid or the most striking football player to the naked eye.

So I switched to linebacker going into junior year because from sophomore to junior... I grew a little bit. I probably got to about 5'7", and I was honestly just tired of sitting on the bench for too long. So I am a four-year letterman.

So I was on varsity four years, but I didn't play. So I want to dedicate myself. So I gained 30 pounds in about a month and a half in the offseason. And coincidentally, I grew.

So junior year, I was about 5'10", 210 pounds. So that's when I switched. And honestly, it was a hard switch because all my life I played wide receiver and running back. Two graceful positions.

You're laying on your feet. You know how to move. And linebacker is the complete opposite. You're literally a brick wall.

You have to stop people. You're not always going to make a glorious tackle, but you've got to destruct something. So it was a really hard switch at the start because I'm not a kid who's just going to go in there and crack heads. I'm a kid that's going to try to find a smart way to get the ball and stuff like that.

So that transition really threw me for a loop. But what I will say is that my friends that I had there who were with me that entire summer... It really helped me to become the linebacker that I eventually became senior year. Yeah, it's completely different minds that I can imagine.

Last season, well, I guess it would be your junior year, unfortunately tore your ACL. And that's something no athlete wants to do, a season-ending injury. But what was the process like, your initial reaction and working your way back? And what did you learn from that?

Yeah, so that game, it was about week four. Three week four. So it was really early in the season. And I just shared my growth and I really gained weight and I was dedicated that season.

So when that injury happened, it just stopped everything. I mean, I couldn't my entire life, like I said, was playing sports, being an active kid. And that was my compensation for the workload, like I said, when I transferred to U.S. So when I got injured, everything kind of just stopped.

It's like time stopped. So I didn't really know what to do. I didn't know how to compensate with this tough work if I didn't have any activity. So I really...

I'd say that point from when I got injured, it was a low point in my life. And that was very hard for me to go through that injury. And in that moment, I was kind of just thinking, like, am I done? Like, I've gotten hurt freshman, sophomore and junior year, junior year being obviously the worst.

So in that point, I was really just thinking, like, what's next? Like, what am I going to do from here after having a season ending, maybe career ending knee injury? What are some things that kind of helped you through that? Like I know you mentioned it kind of took away your athletics, which was an outlet for you.

Where did you find some other outlets? That's a good question. So in that dark time, I mean, I'd say it took a lot of trial and error. I got really close with a lot of new people, which I think that was honestly God's doing.

And I'm a very religious person. So another huge factor in that was my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I got really close in my religion. I started praying every day, reading the Bible, bringing a notebook to football.

And I was injured just of Bible quotes to lift me up, make me feel like there's something wrong. There's hope, there's something I can do next than just sit here and watch my team win and lose without me doing anything. And then with that religion came even more closer friends. I know Krishimo in the summer when I was getting really close to my religion, he also wanted to.

So then when we came together after my injury, that religion aspect kind of just brought everybody closer together. And that really helped with getting out of my downward spiral with my knee. Yeah, that's great. You know, on the team, there's so many different people.

I still call friends. From being on the football team, even for only one year. There's so many different like personalities on the team and locker room personalities. Who is just the funniest guy on the team?

That's a great question, because looking back, I'm thinking of so many instances. And my first thought was Thomas Hedden. And the reason I say that is because if you're on the football team, you know, but I'll explain it a little bit is we have a game on Friday. The Thursday practices are called Fast and Furious because for a practice before a game, you obviously don't want eggs are way too.

Much energy. You don't want to hit people, get injured. So it'll be a quick 30 minutes to an hour practice. You run through everything really quick, really quick, and then it's really fast and it ends.

But in the ending huddle, Coach Malbasa stands up and he goes, Thomas Hedden. And Thomas comes to the front and Coach Malbasa will ask him a crazy question about the team we're playing mascot. So if it's like an eagle, be like, what would you do if you're walking down the street and you see an eagle coming at you? And Thomas would usually say some crazy outlandish thing and just really like brings the mood back for the game the next day.

And kind of takes all that pressure and anxiety off of it. So Thomas is the first thought that comes to my head. You know, now that's all said, Don, what does U.S. Football really mean to you?

I would say U.S. Football really taught me discipline and brotherhood. And that was our motto this year. We have a motto every year and our seniors was brotherhood.

And I think that sums up U.S. Football perfectly because going through the four years, I mean, freshman year, we were one of nine horrible sophomore year. We were, what, ten and two went to the playoffs. That's a huge slip.

And then it's kind of just that up down. Up down my entire four years. And that shows brotherhood perfectly because it shows that there's not just superstars in the team that carry us to a win. It's that one in every two seasons, we're all going to lock in, come together, and we're going to beat teams because of our connection, because of our teamwork, not because of one superstar making a touchdown.

So, I mean, it just taught me that the importance of teamwork and like you need people around you at all times to get success and get to your end goal. You know, another aspect of teamwork that we have at U.S. is the house system, right? You, me, and Jack, we all have the honor of being part of the best house, McKinley. What has been your favorite part of it and how do you think the house system has kind of helped U.S.?

Yeah, that's a great question. So I guess I'll just start coming into U.S. again. I'll be really quick on this. The houses were the first thing that jumped out at me.

I'm not going to geek out right now, but I love Harry Potter and the Harry Potter episode, you know, they have the four houses. So coming here was like it was just a little crazy, like, oh, my gosh, like there's houses. Here. And when I got placed in the McKinley and just seeing like that, how I explained, there's no cliques, no groups.

Everyone's kind of just friends with everyone. But then you get in the houses and you go into house competitions and you have friendly competitions and you just you get to see your friends on a sports team. You get to play against them in a different sport. And it just really brings in that friendly competitiveness that I think is needed at an all boys school.

So the house is just adds. I think it's essential at our school for an all boys school like that. And I mean, something cool. About U.S. is how competitive it can be, but friendly competition, you know, there's always always competing on something.

So what's been your favorite house win that we've had, whether that's Founders Day house competition? What's your favorite house win that we've had? That's another good question. I mean, Founders Day is the easy, the easy answer.

Winning Founders Day is kind of surreal because you have the lower school there. And as a freshman, you feel like you kind of feel weird because you're an underclassman under sophomore, junior, senior. But then you get eighth graders, seventh graders, sixth graders. And you kind of feel like a high schooler.

So getting a win in Founders Day is like a win for not only like your high school house, but just like the entire house. So like winning a Founders Day just feels good. Like you just have an upper hand on everybody in the school, lower school and upper school. So definitely Founders Day.

And if you could create your own house competition, what would it be and what do you think? Have a perfect Founders Day event would even be my initial answer again would be basketball. And I say that because, A, if you go to the. Fieldhouse, I don't even want to say during lunch, if you go to the fieldhouse at any time, there's probably someone or people there playing basketball.

And not even to mention, we have our own organized CBA Lunch Basketball League. So I think that's just a perfect spark to start a competition for house basketball or even like house soccer or something like that. So I think there just needs to be something in there that is already like a part of U.S. everyday life. So like basketball, soccer, stuff like that.

Yeah, I know this wasn't a house competition today, but I think we need to give a shout out to Mr. Summers memorizing $460. That's a lot of digits. Definitely.

Might be the most electric moment. That was impressive. All right. So shifting gears again here, you recently announced that you'll be going to John Carroll University next year.

So what made JCU the right choice for you? Yeah. So my dad, my mom got her MBA at John Carroll. My dad went there.

My uncle, a lot of my cousins went to John Carroll. So already I have connections there, not to mention it's 15 minutes away from here and pretty much everyone's house around university school. But when I shadowed there, I felt different than any other school. And I think it's mainly because of the programs.

When I went to John Carroll, I met with the head of psychology. And when I went to other colleges, I kind of stayed around business. And when I went and met with the head of psychology department, I just felt like I could see myself studying this and like go in there, go into classes, focusing on my major. And everyone always says when you visit your colleges, you'll know, like you'll have the feeling you'll know.

And I didn't know when I first saw it. I was like. I didn't know when I first saw it. I was like.

I didn't know when I first saw it. I was like, OK, like this is just a college like I'm going to go here like I went to high school for four years. But it wasn't until I had to make my decision like you're sitting there after getting your acceptance and declines and defers and you're like, wow, like I'm going to be here for my next four years without any of these kids that I've been with and gotten close with. So really just made me think like I what's important to me, my family's most important, my religion is most important and my friends are most important.

And those three just fit John Carroll perfectly. It's a Catholic university. Close. My family, my friends are all going to be near.

So, I mean, it's just outweigh the best options. You know, you picked a major psychology child and family says it's a really meaningful field. What inspired you to go down that path and what do you kind of really want to do after college? I'm really.

Yeah, it's a really good question. So what started my psychology kick was Dr. Yoder's history class, I think like freshman year. And it started just with simple TED talks because I don't know if you guys have ever had Dr.

Yoder, but it's a big TED talk. I and just watching them, I always felt like inspired and it's kind of sounds cliche because like the TED talks are pretty much all similar. But from that point, I just fell in love with the brain, like the brain is so interesting to me from those TED talks. So that lead me to take a class this year, study the brain and bias behavior also taught by Dr.

Yoder. And just by the way, I recommend that class to you guys, anybody who's listening, if you ever want to take a class on the psychology. But that class kind of just took me. On a roller coaster.

I mean, I went into rabbit holes and stuff like that, and it just brought me really down to childhood and family studies because I think there needs to be more men in child therapist field. And I say that because men struggle have the highest percentage of mental health illness. And I think as a kid, if I'm thinking of me and I'm struggling with mental health, with parent trauma or whatever it is, I'm not necessarily not going to want to talk to a female therapist or any other therapist. But I think having that boy.

To man connection of someone who went through those pubescent years or someone who went through that mental illness is very important and essential in the childhood's growth. So I just really want to, I guess, increase men in that field. So then after college, I'm going to stay postgraduate school, get my bachelor's or my Ph.D. And become a child psychologist or a child psychiatrist.

That's great. Yeah. Well, you've talked a lot about your family. It's obviously very important to you.

So can you talk to us a little bit about what your family means to you and how they've supported you? Yeah. Definitely. So if we're talking about U.S., my cousin, Mikey Fideli, he went here, I think he graduated 2019, 2020.

He's probably my biggest motivator to go to U.S. because I was actually like a week before making my decision to go here, I was going to NECL, like I was fully committed to go there. But then I realized 24 kids from my small Catholic school were also going there. And I was like, I don't want a repeat of what this is. So I looked at U.S.

And I was like, you know, my cousin went here. I liked how it looked. I was like, you know, I want to go here. And when I went there, my family instantly was like, yes, that's the best choice.

We were going to pick that for you. We didn't want to like sway you. So I had no idea. Like they didn't want to influence me to pick a certain school.

But when I did, I knew it was the right choice because they just overflowed me with like praise and congratulations on my decision. So huge role in my commitment. Yeah. You know, we were talking about before, but with your ACO tear, you not only had to kind of postpone, but you also had to kind of make sure that you were doing what you were supposed to be doing.

But with your ACO tear, you not only had to kind of postpone football, but you also had to kind of stop playing baseball. What did baseball and some of your other sports activities that became a lot harder once you tore your ACL really mean to you and how you try to recover some of those old activities? Wow. It's another great question.

So, I mean, baseball, I was we chatted before we started. I would say it was my best sport as in I played it since I was in preschool. I mean, T. Ball, coach pitch, kid pitch.

It goes that goes down the line. But being my my best and almost my favorite sport, when it got taken away from me, I wasn't I was kind of relieved, to be honest, because there was so much pressure with, like I said, committing to football. And I gained all that weight that almost just felt like now, like now, like I have baseball now and I don't want to be this big fat kid that can't run the bases and can't hit the ball. So when I got injured, I was like, OK, this is fine.

But now it's after the fact. I'm kind of missing baseball. I miss the team and the kids that I get close with in the season. So how do I cope with that now?

I'm trying to be a manager for lacrosse. So I was started with them as I play lacrosse. But then I was like, no, I probably just manage. So managing lacrosse league is really going to help me with that missing baseball because it's going to help me be around kids in the spring, be around a team.

And yeah, just help me with recovering about the missing feeling of baseball. Who were some of your favorite coaches from, you know, your sports, whether that's football, baseball or any of the other sports that you played? Initially, I remember a JV baseball coach freshman year, sophomore year was Coach Joey, and he's still the current JV baseball coach, I think. But I mean, he had the biggest impact on me because one thing I lacked in the U.S. baseball program, at least, was confidence, because, as you know, you play baseball, there's so much competitiveness.

I mean, even when I was here, there was kids throwing 97 as a junior. And I've never seen that before. And as a catcher who used to catch. During low 70s, that was like the MLB to me.

So I really lacked confidence. But Coach Joey was the one who kind of brought my confidence up and told me, like, you belong here. Like, don't let people tell you that since there's good kids here, you can't be a good catcher. And that kind of just locked me and had me get a chip on my shoulder was kind of what I need in all sports.

I tend to just lack confidence. So Coach Joey initially, Coach Henderson, he's a linebacker coach for the football team. And as I explained, my transition from receiver to linebacker, it's difficult, but he I mean, I can't say enough good stuff about Coach Henderson. He's ex-military.

He's coached massive football teams. And when I struggled with that, switching to linebacker, he he allowed me to open up to him and be vulnerable to him. And to see that from an ex-military, huge, scary linebacker coach. I mean, that just opened my eyes like, wow, like a man can be so tough and so strong and scary, to be honest, but then to open up to a teenager about mental health issues.

I mean, that's that's amazing. So those two people as a coach not only helped me in sports, but they helped me in life. You know, going to teachers that impacted you, who is the teacher who made the biggest impact on you or really just like made sure your success was shown? I have a definite answer.

It's Dr. Stryker. I don't think you guys know who that is. My freshman year, he was an English teacher and then he left when we were sophomores, so I don't think you guys would have seen him.

But for those who know Dr. Stryker was he kind of everybody had the same thought of him. He was kind of a chill guy, like he wasn't really a strict teacher, wasn't like a hands off teacher. He was a good guy.

But then I remember specifically why he's my most impactful teacher is because after Christmas break, his mom died and he came back to school and he shared that with us. And he was like visibly like sad compared to the classes before. But I found so interesting. Is that no matter how sad he looked or he was or he said he was, he always just found a way to make someone feel better.

I remember so many instances of him just taking kids out of class, like talking, like not asking and not pressuring them. And kids would just talk because I've never seen open up to their friends, open up to a teacher. And then when he left, he had a painting on his like above his desk that I always loved. And he gave it to me when he left.

And like I that shocked me because I mean, I wasn't really close with any teachers as a freshman. I didn't know that. Like at U.S. you could really. Be friends with the teacher kind of took me four years to realize that.

So looking back now, I'm like, wow, like I would I kind of regret not getting closer with him. But he really impacted my life at U.S. And made me realize that you can actually have a nice relationship with a teacher and not just have a student teacher connection. Do you have any funny moments that stand out?

I know there's probably a lot might be hard to remember on the spot, but do you have any funny moments that stand out looking back on your time in the U.S.? Yeah. Yeah. Like you said, there's so many.

I mean, like every day I could I can go throughout my week this week and it'll be the funniest moments. But one that stands out specifically since we play basketball every single day. I remember the hoops in the field house were a little low one day. It was about eight feet, nine feet.

And we were just running like one on ones and stuff like that. And then we got into a dunk contest and it was Tristan Jackson and Xavier McGee. And we were hyping them all up. And Z missed the first one.

So we're like, oh, you got to get your grip back. Oh, we're all messing around. And then Z jumps, pulls a windmill, dunks on T-Money. And everyone's like, oh, we're going crazy.

And you know how that works with T-Money. I mean, like he'd be still clowning to that day. And this was like sophomore year. So that was just such a funny moment in my head.

You know, what's one thing looking back as a freshman you really wish you knew now? And what's kind of advice that you would give to any upcoming freshman next year? My biggest takeaway to any freshman would be what I did wrong, what I regret, is that I tried for success. And I didn't do it for so long.

I wouldn't really say to fit in. I didn't do stuff that I wouldn't do in order to gain popularity. But I would try to just stay under the radar, meaning that I would suppress my emotions in order to just be a chill kid that everyone likes rather than being me, if that makes sense. So my biggest regret is if you're feeling scared or embarrassed to do something in front of upperclassmen or be yourself, just do it.

Because when I was a senior, I looked down at freshmen. Like, these seniors, like, they don't want to talk to me. They don't want to be friends with me. Like, they're up there.

They're doing their own thing. But now as a senior, when I see a freshman be themselves and talk to me and have a real conversation and not try to just, like, make a joke or something, it really means a lot. And I'm like, wow, like, that kid's going to be something when he's a senior. He's going to have an impact on this school.

So my biggest regret is not being myself and trying to be someone that I thought other people would like. You know, did you have any other clubs or activities that really did change your time here or certain just kind of things that you found that were really important to you? That were really, really cool and would kind of wish were expanded more, brought more into the light at U.S.? Definitely.

My main thing is the arts, the entire art program at U.S. I'm not a very artistic kid when it comes to, like, drawing, painting, sculpting, stuff like that. But that's why I think the arts needs to be more because I know there are other kids like me who went to a private small school with 200 kids that never had, like, a maker space or something like that open to them. So when I came here, I saw these classes like guitar and, like, intro to applied engineering.

Like, I had no idea what that stuff is. And I kind of wish I did. But I know that other kids are just like me that also would love to do stuff like that. So I really think the arts at U.S. is a huge thing that needs to be pushed more to new students.

Speaking of guitar, I know you play guitar, correct? So what's your favorite part about playing that instrument? And do you just play for fun or do you do any games? Yeah, that's a good question.

I started playing guitar. I got my first guitar in sixth grade and I wanted to be self-taught because I love playing music. It just interested me. So I try to self-teach myself on YouTube.

And I just remember specifically the day in the summer I was playing, trying to learn on YouTube. And when you play instruments, you get roadblocks where you progress so fast and then you just get stuck. You can't progress anymore. Like, you get so frustrated.

So I remember sprinting outside. I just got home. I, like, made her get out of the car. I was like, I'm going to play guitar lessons, like, right now.

I'm not struggling with this. I need to get this now. So I got guitar lessons, boom and boom. I did a couple of, I don't want to call them gigs, but I played for my church at my old school a little bit because they forced me to.

Yeah, but I just play for fun now. And my favorite thing about guitar, as you asked, is I guess the feeling I get when I play it, as in when I'm stressed or I'm anxious or I have a lot of schoolwork, just playing my guitar just calms me down. And it's not something I could channel. I play guitar and it calms me because I can get so frustrated if I do play it.

But in those little instances where I'm stressed out and I just pick it up and just start playing off my head and not trying to think, I mean, it just gets you in a whole other, like, world. Like, you kind of just zone out, like, if you're in the flow state. But I mean, I just, music does that to people. So I think that's my biggest thing about guitar.

You know, we always ask this question on our podcast. What is your why? You know, Jack and I constantly talk about what motivates ourselves to keep pushing forward. And life, I mean, football or just any other activities, when things get tough, Johnny, what keeps you going?

That's a deep question. So my answer to that question is what keeps me going is myself in the future. So we'll say myself in 10 years. And this can sound a little philosophical to people.

But what I mean by that is in any instance where I'm struggling or I need that motivation, like, why? Like, why do I need to do this? Why do I keep pushing? Like, when I have my knee injury, why?

What's next? Stuff like that. It's looking at myself in 10 years and being able to say, I got better from that point. So in this moment right now, I'm struggling.

I look, hey, 10 years, if I get better in this moment and I figure out how to attack this situation and how to work at it and be the best person I can be in this situation, that motivates me. Just sitting there being, you know what, in 10 years, not even in 10 years, give it a week. In a week, I'm going to fix this. I'm going to be a better person.

And that's just what keeps me going. Yeah, that's great. Well, finally, to wrap it up, what's the biggest thing that you're going to miss about U.S. as you move on to college? Biggest thing I'm going to miss, it kind of sounds cliche, but everybody says this, but it's just going to be the community.

What I mean by that is like not the instances where you're in class and you're laughing with the 12 people, but it's when you go to the bathroom, when you walk down the lower commons and you see those six people in sophomore, junior and senior all sitting at one table and you just talk to them and they're like, oh, you're free right now? Oh, I've been in class for 20 minutes. I got to go back. And you just forget about stuff like that because I know it's just not going to happen in college.

I mean, you're going to have your time. You're going to meet new friends and you're going to hang out with them. But you're never just going to come across like your random ten group of friends sitting at a senior table all talking about like the new trades that are going on. So I'm just really going to miss the sense of brotherhood and community here 100 percent.

Well, Johnny, it's been great having you on the show today. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your stories, thoughts, experiences with us. To our listeners, thank you so much for listening to you, for tuning in. And we hope you'll join us next Wednesday.

The next episode of The Lead Start Show. Thanks for having me. Thank you.