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This weekend is the Jacksonville Jaguars Play Football Game which will recognize the impact 5,000+ plus athletes and coaches impacted in 11 counties that cover the Jacksonville Jaguars market as they take on the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night at EverBank Stadium in downtown Jacksonville.
While there is a team that is behind in the outreach the Jacksonville Jaguars do, there is no single person more than that of Adriel Rocha, Vice President of Community Impact and Football Development, who has put the Jaguars on the map with their initiatives behind youth football including high school football and girls flag football.
With this weekend’s final preseason game for the Jacksonville Jaguars, we put the spotlight on Adriel that way you can get to know him and let him tell you about his story. Some of the information supplied Adriel is used directly and edited lightly for clarity and grammar.
FLORIDAHSFOOTBALL.COM Q&A
Q: Tell us more about yourself including your own personal involvement in high school and college athletics and your career in the sports industry?
A: I got promoted to Vice President of Community Impact and Football Developments. I will continue to oversee Legends (Jaguars Alumni), Football Development (Youth and High School Football), NFL Initiatives, and strategic growth planning for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation. (See more in Adriel’s bio about his personal background). A big part of my role is football development and below I’ve provided a link to how much we’ve grown in this space since I took over 3 years ago. We are now a top 3 team in the NFL in this space (link below). We have made our Jaguars PREP brand very popular in the High School Football space by collaborating with you (FloridaHSFootball.com), 6 Points Jax, FHS7v7A, FHSAA, County AD’s and much more as well as getting legends way more involved
PRESENTATIONS
Youth Football Presentation
Legends Presentation
Florida Times-Union Feature Story
Q: What goals did you initially set when you were first hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020?
A: I was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016 for Community Relations. I didn’t take over Youth and High School Football until April 2020. I now oversee community relations, youth and high school football, Legends (Jaguars Alumni), and the Jaguars Foundation. I’ve always been someone to set personal and professional goals for myself. My first day arriving with the Jaguars I created the following goals which are both professional and personal: I wanted to become a director by 2020 (hired as a manager in 2016), I wanted to take Jaguars Community Relations to be considered a top performing club and I wanted to create Hispanic Outreach initiatives for the team. Those were my four year goals and plans for myself when joining the team in 2016. I’m excited to share I accomplished all three in that time window I set for myself.
Community Relations
- Salute to Service
- Crucial Catch
- Hispanic Outreach
- Halloween
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
- My Cause My Cleats
- Play Football
- Salute to Service Nominee
- Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominee
Q: What were the challenges you experienced in your new role as the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down in 2020, especially in working with the goals you had initially?
A: We share a lot of our event if not all of them with our football operations and football team so it was difficult to run events due to limited or no access due to COVID NFL protocols. Once the off season hit the next obstacle was finding ways to run events that athletes and parents felt comfortable attending and that were setup to keep them safe. It was a lot of obstacles but it forced us to do a lot of out of the box thinking which led to more innovation but then also a bigger appreciation to access to our facilities and hosting events which I had taken for granted before the COVID restrictions but once we lifted them I made sure to appreciate all that was available.
Q: Now that we are in 2023, how many of those goals have now been realized and how do these goals inspire new goals?
A: Seeing the excitement we brought in Fort Walton Beach for our Nike 11-On event there in the Panhandle really showed me how big of an impact we made on bringing the excitement of Jaguars football to them. Also, hosting a girls Nike 11-on this summer and having an original goal of eight teams for the first time tournament and seeing so much interest from Florida and Georgia teams and it growing to 12 teams me want to grow that summer tournament to 24 teams next year. Lastly, the amount of South Georgia interest we got from high school football teams for our varsity boys Nike 11-On and for our girls flag Nike 11-On Tournament just shows how impactful Jaguars PREP events can be. We had several teams travels from two, three, and even six hours away for those tournaments. That commitment from athletes and coaches drives me to create bigger and better events each year.
A: Jaguars PREP shifted under my leadership at the same time I got promoted to Director with the Jaguars which was in April 2020. It was something I was fully open to taking on and I believe the team saw an opportunity to have it grow under my responsibilities due to my experience and history in youth football during my time with the New Orleans Saints, my success in generating revenue and creating programs in the Community Relations space and my ability to strategize and build a program.. these are all things that I believe led to the team entrusting me with the department. During my first 4 years with the team (2016-2020) I was involved in Jaguars PREP but only in the NFL FLAG space and creating player summer camps in Jacksonville and in their hometown markets. I think the growth of both of those and the passion and impact I showed in just those two categories was enough of a sample size for the team to see what I could do if given the full opportunity.
Q: When you arrived in Jacksonville and learned that girls flag football was a huge high school sport in Florida, what was your initial reaction and how did that reaction help you in getting the Jacksonville Jaguars to step into a more supportive role behind the growth of the sport?
A: When I was in New Orleans with the Saints, Girls Flag was not a space that had much participation. We would assist with hosting 1 to 2 district championships in our indoor facility with minimal fans. When I got to Jacksonville and saw the amount of teams and level of involvement from the schools, coaches and county AD’s it was great to see. It wasn’t looked at as a sport where you have to ask girls to give it a try, it was one where the top athletes at the schools wanted to play and compete. It was a complete 180 on how I had seen this space from my previous sports stops. Seeing the excitement and level of competition here got me interested in finding ways to help amplify those female athletes experiences and giving them more opportunities to play at the next level in college.
Q: Getting into the core focus of what you do, you have put together a staff that has really helped you focus on the Jacksonville community and to a certain extent beyond the Jacksonville Jaguars’ core market. How important was it to you to get the team you needed together to make things happen and how did you accomplish that?
A: I have a great team and I lean on their strengths to assist me with event logistics, story telling, onsite execution and more. I’ve learned to delegate specific tasks to certain members of my team and provide them everything they need to succeed. The recent hiring of our Legends Coordinator will help me develop stronger relationships with our former players, many of whom are youth and high school football coaches or having children that are participating in our Jaguars PREP activations. We hope to have them more involved in our Community and Jaguars PREP events moving forward.
Q: So far in 2023 you and your staff have hosted many events that reached and impacted many high school student-athletes both in tackle football and girls flag football that have gained a lot of attention not just in Florida, but across the country. Talk about how the events come together and why it is important to host many of the various events including quarterback showcases, flag football combines, preseason jamborees, Nike-11 On events, media day, and more?
A: The vision and ideas is a little bit of everything which includes: hearing what the community says is needed, vision I have for certain events, experiences I’ve had in other departments on knowing what is impactful for the team, partners, sponsors and athletes and its mixing all of those and sitting down and reviewing my budget to figure out what I can achieve and do for the year for our community and athletes.
Q: When it comes to what you and Jaguars PREP does, community partners have been a key part of the growth to the events you host. How important is it for you to have community partners and how do you continue to grow with community partners now and in the future?
A: It’s very important. To have the partnerships and trust with groups such as the FHSAA, 6 POINTS Jax, FHS7v7A, and city streets to student athletes, county athletic directors, and local coaches helps with solidifying our missions and brand in the community if we have their trust and buy in, we can all increase our impact!
A: Our Friday Night Lights partnership with Action News Jax that is sponsored by Whataburger will take a big leap in 2023. We plan to have more onsite activations and involvement from our ROAR cheerleaders, Mascot (JAXSON) and staff with on field signage, student section props, t shirt cannons and more. Most NFL Clubs only activate Coach of the Week with a small percentage highlighting Player of the Week. We are proud to be one of the only, if not the only club recognizing all 3 (game of the week, coach of the week and player of the week).
Q: Do you have anything else you would like to add that I might not have asked here or would like to promote about yourself, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and/or Jaguars PREP?
A: I don’t see VP of Community Impact and Football Development as my final stop. I am the youngest to attain this role in the NFL among all 32 clubs and just like Jaguars PREP, I want to grow and continue to impact others and more of the organizations. I’ve noticed one NFL Club created a Chief Player Experience Officer and that is the Carolina Panthers. I know I have that information that a role like that exists and I will do everything I share in my messaging to athletes and set the goal, envision my steps to get there, continue to work hard, and apply myself and in time, I know I’ll get there.
THEY SAID IT
“Adriel Rocha’s commitment to youth football is remarkable. The level of passion and creativity he deliver at events is unmatched!” – Craig Damon, Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Executive Director
BIO ON ADRIEL ROCHA
Information supplied by Adriel Rocha
AGE: 36
FAMILY: Martha Rocha (Martinez) and Esteban Rocha; Youngest of four children (2 older brothers and 1 older sister). My parents came to the United States in the 70’s from Durango Mexico. They came to this country not knowing how to speak the language, without much money or resources but were able to find steady work, invest in properties and my mom opened up a restaurant that is still open today (El Mexicano Restaurant – Gulfport, Miss.). It is still open to this day and is the oldest Mexican restaurant on the Gulf Coast (over 45+ years).
EARLY LIFE: I began playing football in 3rd Grade and it was something that I wanted to do because my two older brothers played and my friends in school were playing. My parents didn’t really know much about American football but since I wanted to play, they made sure to register me, get me equipment and drive me to practice. They both attended all my games to watch me play and cheer me on. My parents love soccer and following the Mexican National Soccer Team. My dad is a big fan of boxing.. I played soccer from 6 years old until I was 12 but football was always my passion so I stopped playing soccer in 7th grade to focus on football. I did try boxing at the age of 12 years old to give it a shot but I did not stick with the sport as I didn’t connect with it like I did with American football.
JUNIOR HIGH & HIGH SCHOOL: My mom really wanted to give me all the opportunities I could have, especially in sports so she was very supportive of my hobbies which were collecting football cards as a kid and wanting to attend youth football camps. It was this hobby and the attendance of youth camps of NFL Players that really got me to become obsessed with football. Once I was in high school I began focusing more on becoming the best version of myself so I could compete at a high level and help my football team win.
COLLEGE: Attended the University of Southern Mississippi knowing I wanted to work in sports but I wasn’t really sure at the time what role or team I would have a chance to work for. I focused my time and energy on getting my degree in Sports Management and hoped that I’d get an opportunity to prove myself with a team or organization. I was fortunate to receive an internship with the Orange Bowl Committee (Miami, FL) once I graduated College.
MENTORSHIP: I’ve always had great mentors in my sports career who have shared information and strategies with me so I do the same and have a mentee who I’ve tried to assist in his sports journey. His father is Cuban and we have a similar upbringing. I enjoy being a mentor and helping the younger generation achieve their goals.
FUTURE GOALS: You asked what I think the next steps for me are and I don’t really know what that may be but I know I want to make the most of this great promotion and opportunity the Jacksonville Jaguars have provided to me as the VP of Community Impact and Football Development and I know if I apply myself and do great work, more opportunities will present themselves to me and if I had to give myself a lofty goal to one day get to, it would to become a Team President of a Sports Team in 12-15 years. Again, not sure what my next goal is as of now with the promotion being so recent but I think a Team President is one that I could always have as a possibility down the line at some point.
HISPANICH OUTREACH: Since joining the Jaguars in 2016 I’ve made it a point to build relationships with Hispanic/Latino business and community leaders, I’ve ran free youth football camps for hundreds of Hispanic/latino youth, I’ve coordinated the Jaguars lead presence of the FCHCC Achieving the Dream Gala, sponsorship of student scholarships, creating and coordinating food distributions, supporting Hispanic/latino artists with murals.
