It’s not often that a high school football player spends three years at the varsity level and even experiences game action as a sophomore. Not only is this player everything you want in a quarterback, but he’s also given back to the community at such a young age as a senior in high school.
Senior Gavin McLaughlin, the starting quarterback, safety and occasional running back for the Mineola Mustangs comes from a football family. He’s not a stranger to playing above his age group, because that’s where it all started for him at an early age – playing with older kids. It wasn’t just football for the three-sport athlete, as he plays at the varsity level in both basketball and lacrosse.
“I know he’s a physical education leader,” said Mineola head coach Timothy Wienclaw. “He teaches swim lessons in the community, helps with fundraising for all the sports and he’s a respected member of the senior class and his group. He grew up playing youth sports in Mineola as well, so he’s definitely a really respected member of the community and he’s going to go on to do great things in his college career.”
“I started playing football for the Mineola Chiefs when I was six years old,” McLaughlin said. “I was playing up a grade with the seven-year-old kids because my dad was the coach for my brother, so he was already established in the program.”
The dual-threat quarterback knew it was love at first sight with this game. It was him, his father and his brother every step of the way.
“Before I was even eligible to play, I would be throwing the football around with my brother, my dad and my cousins,” McLaughlin said. “I just fell in love with it as soon as I knew what it was. My dad was always my coach for the Mineola Chiefs, so he was always at every game, at every practice, making sure I’m doing everything right and to the best of my ability. I always have my brother to compete with, even though he’s a little bit older than me. I would still go out there and give him my all, even when I’m just playing against him.”
Every athlete has a favorite sports memory. For McLaughlin, it was more about how people around him felt, rather than how he felt himself.
“My favorite memory is probably last year’s senior night,” McLaughlin said. “We won our game and I just felt really good about that. I gave the seniors one last good win for them and they were all really excited about that.”
Wienclaw first saw McLaughlin play in middle school, as he put himself on the map for his future varsity head coach.
“When I took over the program here in Mineola, I knew right away Gavin was an athlete that we needed to keep an eye on in the future for us,” Wienclaw said. “He’s a free safety, wide receiver, a quarterback, so I knew we had an athlete coming up. That was the first time I really noticed who Gavin was and what he was capable of doing on the football field, then in the school and in the community as an athlete.”
His athleticism and talent aren’t in question, but his growth as a leader from sophomore to senior has only improved.
“Gavin’s definitely grown in tremendous ways,” Wienclaw said. “He’s taken on more leadership roles and this is his second year as a captain for our team. He’s taking command of the huddle and helping others get lined up. He’s really working to include everybody and everything that we do and he’s just a tremendous person and a tremendous athlete.”
High praise from a head coach can only help a young athlete. It can take some pressure off a player’s shoulders in order to succeed to the best of their ability.
“I would say I’m a good two-way player, playing both sides,” McLaughlin said. “I’m able to run the ball and throw the ball so I feel like I’m a dual athlete. As a safety, I feel like I can cover some ground, fit the run when I need to – do everything I’m asked to.”
McLaughlin, like most young adults, models their games after a favorite athlete or player they’ve looked up to either in the same program, college, or in the pros. For McLaughlin, it’s his favorite quarterback who used to play for his favorite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers.
“Extending plays, making something out of nothing, and converting on plays that should go nowhere into at least a positive play,” McLaughlin said regarding his biggest skill set as a player. “My favorite player is Aaron Rodgers. He’s such a great quarterback, fundamentally sound, and he threw the ball better than anybody.”
Football isn’t just a sport to McLaughlin.
“It really defines who you are as a person outside of football,” McLaughlin said. “It really makes you a man and it makes you mature. It definitely makes you a person that people want to be around, and you can be a really good role model for other people.”
