Photo by Denis GostevJesse Bongiovi's dad knows how to rock. He knows how to win faceoffs for Poly Prep.
It's refreshing to hear prep athletes credit their parents for their success or at least their work ethic.
Photo by Denis GostevJesse Bongiovi
This one is a gust of fresh air considering the parent is a rock star.
Total generality here folks, but rockers don't often get credit for being "parent of the year" material largely because they tend to be caught up in their own fame and fortune. But the way
Jesse Bongiovi tells it – or he
told the New York Post - his dad Jon Bon Jovi taught him the key ingredients to be a successful prep athlete.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound junior is a starter on the
Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn, N.Y.) lacrosse team and is also a member of the football team.
"He has an unbelievable commitment that I look up to," Bongiovi said of his father to the Post. "He always (works) hard at the musical stuff. It inspires me to come out here and work hard."
Like many teens, Bongiovi likes to sleep in on the weekends and he hears about it from his dad.
"He'll be like, ‘I just ran 5 miles. What did you do today?' … My dad is always a big believer in working hard. If you work hard, you kind of get what you work for."
Bongiovi, 17, is a junior faceoff specialist for Poly Prep, the defending NYSAISAA champion. According to the Post, he scored his first goal of the season in a 12-6 loss to Fieldston on Friday. He's won 33 of 65 faceoffs this season, including 13-for-17 against Collegiate. He's fielded five ground balls in three matches.
He said his dad attends most of his games, but Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea Hurley have tried to keep Bongiovi and his three siblings out of the spotlight. Or at least dad's spotlight.
Like the handful of celebrities I've talked to who have athletic children - like
Denzel Washington here - the last thing they want is their kids' potential acclaim to be overshadowed by their own fame. But, at least for a while, it comes with the territory.
Bongiovi has plenty of time to make a name for himself. And by all indications, he's on the right path.
Photo by Denis GostevJesse Bongiovi