A record-breaking athlete credits the San Quentin SQUIRES program for helping him turn his life around. Today he is a successful football player for Laney Junior College in Oakland.
“I believe the most life-gaining experience that I’ve had was when we took a trip inside San Quentin Prison,” said Tiapepe Vitale, a strong safety for Laney. “I learned the only person that can control your actions is you, nobody else.”
Vitale first came into San Quentin at 14 as a guest of SQUIRES. The program features inmates, some convicted of murder, and some hosting troubled youth. The youngsters see what prison life is really like.
The mentors warn them what could happen if they don’t stay on the right path. They do so by telling their stories and giving the youngsters a tour. The teens are shown prison conditions uncut: actual cells, the showers, the yard and the dining room.
“It really impacted me to see those cells and hear men yelling. I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a cell like that,” said Vitale.
He applied what he learned and channeled his actions into football. “Playing football is how I express myself,” said Vitale. He expressed himself very well his senior year. He ended it breaking De La Salle High School’s rushing record with 2,100 yards to go along with 33 touchdowns, according to a Dec. 27, 2012 story by the Bay Area News Group. On top of all his accomplishments, Vitale maintained a 3.4 grade point average.
His team, the Spartans, won the 2012 California Interscholastic Federation Open Division state title under coach Bob Ladouceur. Ladouceur has won 399 games in 34 seasons, including five unbeaten and five championships.
His first San Quentin experience was difficult. He feared the bad things he heard about San Quentin. He also expected the “get in your face” attitude from the mentors, but became settled after hearing the men’s stories. He wasn’t able to open up, but the mentors eased his way.
Four years later he had became someone kids look up to and came back to San Quentin to inspire others. He told the other youth, “Don’t be afraid to open up.”
On his return trip, he was able “to appreciate the mentors and understand the commitment they expressed to us in the SQUIRES program…I like the way men talked about forgiving ourselves and about a chance to change.”
He recommends his 15-year-old brother, Tofiga, come to the SQUIRES program.
“We can never blame others for actions we do, and as people, we learn to understand that we have the responsibility of controlling our own actions and creating a positive outcome in every situation that we face,” Vitale said during a speech during a Terrance Kelly Youth Foundation dinner.
“He is a humble kid,” said SQUIRES sponsor Ernest Pullman. “He didn’t even know he made the newspapers,” Pullman added. Vitale gets most of his news off Youtube, Pullman also said.
Vitale found his way to the SQUIRES through the Kelly Foundation’s EAGLE program, which helps troubled kids. Known as the TKYF, Landrin Kelly, the father of Terrance, founded it, says Pullman.
Terrance Kelly was another De La Salle football standout running back who was murdered. He did everything right and was killed for nothing the day before he was set to start at the University of Oregon, said Pullman.
Landrin became Vitale’s role model after hearing him speak at schools.
Vitale said he chose to attend Laney because he wanted to stay close to home to be near family. His dream is to play for the 49ers. In the meantime, he would like to see more programs in the community because many kids don’t have support from their parents.