To Know This Notre Dame Smart Alec Is to Like Him

By ERIC SONDHEIMER

June 30, 1999 12 AM PT

Seventeen years ago, a baby boy was born to two high school students. The mother was 15, the father 16 and neither was ready to become a parent.

Within hours of the birth, Don and Alexa Moss adopted the boy and named him Alec. To his new family, he was a gift from heaven.

“There isn’t a day that’s gone by he hasn’t made me proud,” Don said.

To those who know him at Notre Dame High, Alec Moss is a leader without ego, an athlete without fear and a teenager without enemies.

Friends treat him like a brother. Parents invite him to stay for dinner. Coaches introduce him to sons and daughters.

He is an example of everything a 17-year-old can be. In football, he was an All-Del Rey League outside linebacker last season as a junior, recording nine sacks and causing six fumbles.

“He’s one of those kids who’s always upbeat and seems to be having fun whatever he does,” football Coach Kevin Rooney said.

In baseball, Moss batted .618 in Mission League play and had two hits off Chris Cordeiro of Thousand Oaks in Notre Dame’s 4-3 playoff loss. Afterward, while many of his teammates were in tears, Moss held his head high, seemingly preparing for the next game.

“I don’t like to lose, but I think I can handle it,” he said. “Maybe because when I was younger, I cried a lot over the little things. Now I realize it’s not the end of the world and there’s more to life than just sports.”

But athletic competition inspires Moss. His first word wasn’t mama or dada--it was ball. He was riding a two-wheel bike at 3, making diving catches in T-ball at 5 and trying to walk to Dodger Stadium at 7.

His father promised to take him to a Dodger game but forgot the family was expecting company. With tears in his eyes, Alec told his father he understood but he was committed to going to the game. Alec got his baseball glove, walked out the door and took off in the direction of Dodger Stadium. Don chased after him and they went to the Dodger game after all.

“I am convinced to this day that Alec would have gotten to that game by foot, by bus or by dad,” Alexa Moss said of her son’s determination.

Baseball Coach Tom Dill wonders if the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Moss is really an adult hiding in a teenager’s body the way he leads his teammates into battle.

“I can’t even begin to say enough about him,” Dill said. “He’s just very special. He is a born leader.

“Whatever you tell him, he does it and it becomes the law. His intensity is as high or higher than anybody I’ve coached.”

This summer, Alec is once again juggling football and baseball. He’s lifting weights and practicing football in the afternoon, playing in several passing-league games a week. In addition, he plays first base and catcher for Notre Dame’s American Legion team.

“It’s pretty tiring,” he said of his schedule. “It’s hard to balance. I go to every game, every practice, every scrimmage with a positive attitude.”

Moss interacts easily with adults. When he asks a teacher, “How are you doing?” he really means it and listens to the response.

When he asks an elder Notre Dame fan why he missed a game, he sincerely wants to know.

He acts so comfortable around adults that they treat him almost as an equal.

“I look at everyone with a certain amount of respect,” he said. “I just try to take what they have to say and learn. Some things may make sense, some not, but I listen with an open mind. I’m not intimidated by anyone.

“I respect [adults]. They’ve gone through a lot more than I have and their experiences can help me.”

Every Feb. 24, Moss celebrates his birthday. He doesn’t think about who his birth parents are, nor is he interested in meeting them.

“I’m blessed,” he said. “If [the adoption] had not happened, I don’t know where I would be.”

It’s going to be quite a year for quarterbacks, with Zac Wasserman of Westlake and Matt Cassel of Chatsworth having already accepted scholarships to Penn State and USC, respectively.

Casey Clausen of Alemany is close to choosing Colorado, and Brandon Hance of Taft is being recruited by Boston College and Clemson, among other major schools.

But co-coaches Darryl Stroh and Tom Harp of Granada Hills claim Jason Winn, a 6-2 senior, deserves equal respect.

“I think his name should be mentioned with all of them,” Harp said. “He’s proven he deserves to be there.”

Winn, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds, led Granada Hills to the Best in the West passing tournament title last week at Santa Monica High. He looks better than the quarterback who passed for 2,728 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior. . . .

Randy Austin, former Canyon and UCLA tight end, is a mechanical engineer living in Valencia. Russell White, former Crespi and California running back, is a probation officer working in Sylmar. Both were All-American in high school who used their college scholarships for more than a football education--they earned their degrees. . . .

Starting Thursday, college coaches can contact high school seniors by phone. Pitchers Jamie Shields of Hart, Matt Harrington of Palmdale and Cordeiro better have their answering machines in working order, along with softball standout Oli Keohohou of Newbury Park.

Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or [email protected]