DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:Estancia’s Redding not that quiet anymore

Silence had always been Matt Redding’s virtue, but it was a big week and he ached to speak out.

The Estancia High football team was about to take on its rival Costa Mesa and Redding, a senior receiver, wanted to express to his teammates the importance of the game. No one had ever heard him speak so loudly.

“I’m not a very big talker, but Mesa was the biggest game of my life,” Redding said. “I challenged everyone to give 110% and if they would that we would win. I was pretty calm when I was talking, but it was a Braveheart-type speech, where it was soft and then it got loud at the end. It fired me up because I surprised myself when I said that.”

The Eagles went on to beat their rivals, 17-0. Ever since, Redding has been talking more and expressing his passion for the game. He’s also been letting his play do the talking. His performance last week definitely came across loud and clear.

Redding, the Daily Pilot Football Player of the Week, caught nine passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns, leading Estancia to a 49-12 Orange Coast League win over Calvary Chapel on Friday. He also caught two two-point conversion passes, scoring 28 points, the most by any player in a game in school history, Eagles Coach Brian Barnes said. The 271 yards is also believed to be a school record, but that wasn’t really a concern for Redding.

“I felt I could have had a better game,” Redding said. “I felt like I left yards on the field.”

The victory over Calvary Chapel was important for Estancia not so much for playoff seedings or league finish, but for its mental state. The Eagles were coming off a 21-14 heartbreaking loss to Laguna Beach on Nov. 3., and needed to respond. Redding also had words for his teammates after the loss to the Breakers, who won the Orange Coast League title. He told them he would do everything in his power to win games for the rest of the season.

Then when Estancia found out it would play former Newport-Mesa District rival Corona del Mar in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs, Redding said some more. He said there was no way the Eagles would lose to the Sea Kings.

That type of talking can be traced to the day he gave that inspirational speech before the game against Costa Mesa.

“I was really surprised,” said Tim Morley, a teammate who has been friends with Redding since they were 4. “That’s not like him. But that’s when I realized that this kid is for real, that football really meant something to him. It’s more than just a game for Matt. He wanted it to be more than just a game for us, too.”

Football really became big in Redding’s life during the off-season before his senior year. For about 16 weeks, he became involved with the strength and performance training program of Scott Prohaska, who works with NHL and Olympic athletes. Prohaska’s program is known to be rigorous and deals with reflexes, acceleration and peripheral vision, as well as standard weight training.

“He was diligent in coming in and doing the work, and now you see that it’s paying off,” Prohaska said. “It’s not an easy program. You have to really commit to it.”

Redding gained nearly 20 pounds, most of it muscle, and improved his speed. His 40-yard dash time went from 4.8 seconds to 4.6.

It’s not as if the training was the sole reason Redding became more serious about football. He wants to play college football, which is big in Redding’s family. Redding’s father, Bill, starred at Orange Coast College and went on to USC, where he started as a noseguard on defense in 1968 and then was the starting center in 1969.

“My kid is smarter than me,” Bill Redding said. “He’s playing receiver.”

Bill Redding has done his best to not put pressure on his sons, including Ryan, a junior who’s been on the Eagles varsity baseball team since he was a freshman. Coaching Little League and Pop Warner teams his kids were on tested Bill Redding, but he made sure to just coach and not go overboard.

“It’s actually good, because I don’t have to live through him because I did it,” said Bill Redding, who has season tickets for USC games and takes his sons.

Matt Redding watches and knows he wants to be a part of the college football atmosphere. But he also knows he must shave more time off his 40 if he wants to make it. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior also wants to refine his attributes, which right now would make him a possession-type receiver in college.

Over the summer, he visited the University of Hawaii and might go there next year and grey-shirt his first season. He likes Hawaii because he has family there. His mother, Bernie, is originally from Hawaii.

Matt Redding also said he might try to make the team at San Diego State. He has gained confidence from his senior season and from his coach. Barnes has been quick to depend on Matt Redding because he has earned respect from his teammates.

“He has been a great team leader,” Barnes said. “He has stepped up when we need him to step up all year long. He’s a great kid, one you love to coach.”