Junior Justyn Martin will be the new quarterback for the Inglewood Sentinels football team for the 2020-2021 season. He has a mind to lead on and off the field.
Martin is eager to succeed former Sentinels quarterback Jared Heywood; he has studied and became familiar with their style of play and has developed a relationship with his new team.
“I already know we’re gonna win everything,” Martin said. “I watched their film, basically just to see how Jared took throws … he was very successful. I just want to emulate what he did.”
Martin spent his first two years playing for the Serra Cavaliers. He recalls his first start with the Cavaliers as a fond memory.
“I was nervous,” Martin said. “But at the same time, I felt like I belong here and I belong in this position to play varsity.”
During his sophomore year at Serra, he took honors classes. Martin mentioned how the classes prepared him “for higher level situations in life.” His favorite class was a biomedical science class.
“You learn about how diabetes works, how certain diseases work, what they do to the body, how the body responds to it and why,” Martin said. “I never learned that much about basically life in general and how things work.”
Martin knows what it takes to lead a team and is ready to lead by example and be a positive influence on his teammates. Being a good person and making responsible decisions are his priority.
“I always push myself to be the best,” Martin said. “I like to bring everybody on the right path and always do the right thing.”
The Quarantine gave him time to train and put on more weight. He also spends time watching film of his favorite quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans.
“I was basically given more time,” he said. “I’ve been throwing, running … I’m enjoying this period and I’m thankful that I can get more time.”
Martin also excelled in his schoolwork during the quarantine.
“School was real good,” he said. “I had all A’s, so everything just went as planned.”
Over the summer, Martin took a Spanish class at El Camino College and plans to take a history class there.
Martin comes from a family of athletes and his father also played football. Since he was seven years old, Martin played as a quarterback. He played for the Santa Monica Vikings and the Baldwin Hills Bruins.
The mental and physical challenges that football brings is Martin’s favorite part about the sport.
“The smarter you are, the more experienced you are, the more fun the game comes as you get it,” he said. “You have to be there as a team, so you control the locker room, you control the field, you control everything.”
While concentrating on his academics and athletics, Martin had time to make a positive impact on the community by volunteering.
“We make sandwiches for the homeless people and we delivered them to them,” he said. “I helped kids in need [at] a basketball camp for kids with special needs.”
The best piece of advice Martin received is to know and understand the game.
“When you know where you want to go with the ball before the play even begins then you’ll be very successful,” Martin said. “If you understand the defense and you understand what you’re doing, then everything else will come right along.”
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