SEAN STELLATO

Certified NFLPA Agent, Certified Personal Trainer, Motivational Speaker, 

Former Arena Football Player, Coach, Marathon Runner & Author.     

Stellato fulfills pro football dream

“John Fourcade is the coach of the Firecats.

He was a backup quarterback for the New Orleans Saints.

They made me the best offer. He felt I had a lot of potential.

— Sean Stellato

by BILL KIPOURAS

News Staff

Sean Stellato hasn’t forgotten all the small criticisms. Like he was too short and not fast enough to play college football. That he wasn’t strong enough. He heard that, too, back when he was quarterbacking Salem High.

            “It was almost the same thing when I prepped at Gunnery School. I had a great year there. Ran and passed for about 1000 yards and that’s where I got great direction academically and expanded my horizons, the 23-year-old Stellato said. “But there were people who had their doubts abut my abilities.”

            The same Sean Stellato, now a wide receiver, is about to sign a professional contract with the Florida Firecats of Estero, Fla. in the Arena Football League. He was All-Academic, a 3.55 GPA student at Marist College, a Division I entry in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., but it didn’t matter that he wasn’t an all-conference field selection in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

            “I’m pretty sure that I was the only wideout to get 100 yards against Duquesne University, a bowl team, and I had some good games my senior year. I think they figured out I scored a TD for every fifth touch I had. I started two years and I got some nice responses when I sent out all those tapes,” he said.

            Stellato’s personal video highlights covered three years in college and were filmed by his father Patrick. The tape went out to 16 Arena League clubs and four responded. He also thought about spreading his tape around the Canadian Football League, but deemed the Arena League a better springboard.

            The 5-foot-9 Stellato majored in Communications and public relationship with a minor in business at Marist, but obviously knows something about marketing because he did a great job of selling himself as a legitimate prospect.

            His athleticism was this calling card. How many athletes play both football and basketball to the Division 1 level? Stellato did. He didn’t log much playing time on the court. A minute here, a minute there. However, Stellato said he felt pretty cool about the varsity hoop uniform and pointed out there were only 12 spots.

            “John Fourcade is the coach of the Firecats. He was a backup quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. They made me the best offer. It was a good deal and he felt I had a lot of potential. I loved his enthusiasm and he’s driven. He also has a lot of contacts. To play football has always been my dream. What I’d really like is chance to play in the National Football League. I think the tape has shown my growth.”

            He got some positive feedback from three other Arena League clubs, the Carolina Rhinos of Greenville, S.C., the Chicago Rush and the Norfolk Knighthawks. The Rhinos made an offer. The Knights invited him for an evaluation.

            Stellato said he’ll attend Chris Carter’s Fast Camp in Boca Raton, Fla., Feb. 1, and report to the Firecats, March 18.

            His passion to excel and relentless work ethic made all this possible, as well as some remarkable improvement in his development as a player. Most notably in his speed and strength. Over the course of three seasons all Marist, Stellato went from a 4.65 to 4.45 in his 40-yard dash time. He upped his bench press from 270 to 320, went from 275 to 500 in squats and from 29 to 38 inches in his vertical jump.

            Stellato hails from an extremely supportive family. He is not kidding when he says if he played a game in China that his folks, Patrick and Gloria, would be there to watch him. His parents are his role models, Stellato said. He’s also quick to point out that his two brothers, Eric and Mike, who is the football coach at St. Mary’s of Lynn, have also had a huge impact on his life. Mike was the one who started him in football. Eric was the one always available to play catch.

            “My father used to toss me bricks to toughen up my hands,” Stellato said.

            There are others in what he calls his “Circle of True Believers’ who comprise his support system.

            Folks like Mike Lovett, the well-known physical therapist; Stellato’s girlfriend, Kirsta Lantych, a former star gymnast at Danvers High; and Ron Jones of North Reading, a Florida native who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers after a stint at Northeastern. Stellato makes it sound like a stroke of luck that he hooked up with Jones as a personal trainer two years ago.

            “I was working out at Nautilus (Plus) and had a football with me. This woman asked me about the football and I said I played at Marist and she said I should meet Ron Jones. I give him all the credit for making me faster and stronger,” Stellato said. “You need some luck to get to the next level and meeting him was certainly a stroke of good fortune. He pushed me in the right direction. He’s helped me in a lot of ways. I have a better understanding of my faith from my association with Ron.

            “I got confirmed and I read the bible daily. He also helped me separate myself from negativity. The last two summers I was doing 8-9 hour days training, double sessions in the gym and three hours as Wakefield High. I don’t feel the Arena League is a reach,” he said. “I’ve always believed in myself and I’ve matured as a person. I don’t think anyone has worked harder to prepare himself than I have. I didn’t have the most talent, but I kept working hard and it paid off.

            “I eat, sleep and drink football,” Stellato went on, “and Ron Jones gave the training guidance that I never had before. I also kept remembering all the putdown about lacking size, speed, and stuff back in high school. That was motivation for me, to prove the skeptics wrong. I also want to mention that it was a great experience to play for Ken Perrone at Salem High. My junior year (the infamous teacher strike season) we had all those close games and went to the Super Bowl. Ken Perrone was a great, great coach.”

            Stellato also made a great decision after his sophomore year at Marist when Coach Jim Parady switched him from quarterback to wide receiver. Parady said he did it because he wanted Stellato’s athleticism on the field and felt his talents, as a QB didn’t mesh with the Red Foxes’ offense.

            “I had a sour taste about a new position. I thought about leaving. I even got my release (to transfer),” Stellato said. “I was thinking about Holy Cross, Albany and Richmond. I had an offer from Richmond out of prep school and spent a couple of hours with the coach, Jim Reid, down there. Marist came back with more money (financial aid) and I also considered the opportunity I had to be part of the Marist basketball program.

            “The chance to play football and basketball made my college career special,” Stellato said.

            “I also had to think about my parents, since Marist was much closer to home and it would be convenient for my parents,” he reflected.

            Marist isn’t exactly a launching pad to the NFL, but as Stellato said, everybody is entitled to their dreams and didn’t Kurt Warner come out of Northern Iowa and the Arena Football League?