SLIPPERY ROCK Valentino's road has rocky start

The former Sharon High standout's path has taken him from Kent State to Slippery Rock.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- When he completed his football career at Sharon High School, there was no doubt in Jeff Valentino's mind as to how he wanted to continue playing.
He wanted to play Division I college football, and Kent State University was his choice.
"Coach Dean Pees came in and sold me on the idea of trying to rebuild the program and I bought into it," recalled Valentino. "I went there with my eyes wide open. I wanted to become the starting quarterback and I was able to accomplish that goal."
So then what happened?
Not his style
"When I got there, their offense started to go a different way and as it turned out, things didn't work out for me. It just wasn't my style of game," explained Valentino of his decision to transfer.
Determined to continue his athletic endeavors, Valentino left the KSU scene and wound up at Slippery Rock.
"Slippery Rock had always been in the back of my mind," said Valentino. "If things didn't work out at Kent State, I kind of wanted to give Slippery Rock a good, hard look.
"They recruited me right out of high school and coach Lutz [SRU recruiting coordinator Shawn] told me that if things didn't work out for me elsewhere to keep them in mind," Valentino said. "My dad was good friends with [SRU head coach George] Mihalik so for me, my decision to go there was a no-brainer."
When a player comes into a program as the "new guy" on the block, fitting into the new mix can sometimes be a problem. However, in Valentino's case, that wasn't even a question.
"I didn't want to come in with the attitude that I was the Division I transfer and had plans to just take this job as mine," noted Valentino. "I kind of backed off a bit and let them [the SRU players] accept me instead of me bullying my way in. I had a lot of people giving me advice on how to handle the situation, and as it turned out, I let them accept me and I think they did."
Since making the move to SRU, things have been somewhat rocky for Valentino. During spring ball, he suffered through the daily workouts with a sore arm that didn't allow him to really "strut his stuff." Then after a solid start to the 2002 campaign, he got "nicked" in the conference game with Shippensburg that slowed him down somewhat.
"I wasn't able to throw one pass all week," said Valentino after Saturday's 33-9 win over Millersville. "It is a long season and sometimes injuries just pile up on you.
Games take toll
"In addition to the problem with the arm and now the shoulder, I still hurt when I sneeze due to sore ribs and I don't even recall what game that happened in," he said. "Football is a long season; you just have to keep at it and sometimes you have play hurt. You just have to suck it up and go out there and do it."
Valentino has been fortunate in his career to have played for two of the best coaches at their respective levels in Sharon High's Jim Wildman and SRU's Mihalik.
"I have the most respect in the world for Coach Wildman. He was a great, great coach, I love the guy and I wish him well in his future endeavors," Valentino said.
"As for Coach Mihalik, his respect in Western Pennsylvania just speaks for itself," Valentino said. "Wherever he goes, everybody knows who he is and the good things he stands for. Not only is he a great person, he is a great coach, as well."