Woodbridge Sophomore Must Wait a Little Longer

IRVINE —  As do many boys his age, Ian Dominelli dreams of playing high school varsity football.

And, by all accounts, he could. He has the talent. He has the size. He has the will. What he doesn’t have is a birth certificate that shows he’s old enough to play.

Dominelli is a 14-year-old fullback/linebacker on the Woodbridge High sophomore team who, according to his coaches, is physically capable of playing varsity football. But he must wait a few more weeks to do so because of his age.

The California Interscholastic Federation requires varsity football players to be at least 15. Those younger must play on the freshman, sophomore or junior varsity teams, whichever level the school offers.

It is a rule intended to protect players, to keep them from being pushed by over-eager coaches into situations they might not be able to handle.

Dominelli, a sophomore who turns 15 on Oct. 26, says he hasn’t become frustrated while waiting for a promotion to the Warriors’ varsity. First of all, he’s the team’s finest defensive player and seemingly always in the action. Plus, his attitude hasn’t been warped by his success.

“I just feel that as long as I play, it’s fine,” Dominelli said. “If I was up in varsity and sitting, I’d come down (to the sophomore team) or whatever.”

When Dominelli makes the varsity, probably for the Oct. 29 Sea View League game at Newport Harbor, it won’t be as an understudy. Woodbridge varsity Coach Rick Gibson plans to use the 6-foot, 190-pound Dominelli at inside or outside linebacker, depending on where the team needs help at the time.

“No doubt about it. We will use him,” said Gibson, a strong supporter of the rule that keeps players under 15 off varsity rosters. “He’ll be up for at least three games and hopefully, if we are competitive, into CIF (the playoffs).”

Sophomore team Coach Gene Noji, who coached the Woodbridge varsity from 1980-87 and in 1989, says he has seen few players with Dominelli’s skills at that age. And Noji should know. He has been a prep football coach--and an assistant at Saddleback College in 1990--since the mid-’70s, when he was at Long Beach Poly.

“He’s a total football player,” Noji said. “He has a natural instinct for finding the ball. I had another kid like that at Poly (former Arizona State free safety Mike Maloney). He and Ian are so close. . . . I definitely think that down the road he’s going to be there with Jimmy Burke and Mike Yurkovich (former Woodbridge All-Southern Section linebackers). He’s potentially in that category.”

Dominelli, who doesn’t dispense words with the same frequency he does ballcarriers, apparently has the disposition for the position. He likes playing fullback, but given an option, defense is where it’s at for this young Warrior.

“I like punishing people rather than having myself being punished,” Dominelli said. “Running back is OK, but if you’re just getting your butt kicked, it’s no fun.”

Noji hasn’t compiled the team’s statistics for the first three nonleague games, all Woodbridge victories, but even without looking at the numbers he says there’s no question Dominelli is the leading tackler. And that’s despite missing the last game, against Trabuco Hills, while he sat out a suspension for missing a practice without an excuse.

“He was at the (Trabuco Hills) game and was a big help to his replacement,” Noji said. “He actually coached his replacement. He told him what to look for, how to react. He’s a good kid.”

Dominelli has been advanced for his age, at least academically and athletically, because his mother enrolled him in kindergarten early. He started playing football in Irvine youth leagues in the fourth grade and was a linebacker on the Woodbridge freshman team last season. Even last year he might have been good enough to play varsity.

He will get his chance in late October, when Dominelli debuts with the varsity just in time to spark a little family rivalry. Twelve days after he becomes eligible, Woodbridge plays host to Tustin, where Dominelli’s father, Jeff, is an assistant coach. The two already are needling each other about the game.

“Around home, we are giving each other (the business),” Dominelli said. “I think we (Woodbridge) might have a chance (to win the game). He’s saying that Tustin will win. I guess we’ll see.”