Football forces a former class clown to ‘get it together.’ Now he’s taking a serious look at college

Berdale Bernie Bernard Robins, known as “Dale” at home, grew up as a youth football standout in South Los Angeles.

But when he got to high school, he said, “I didn’t think it was possible for me to play college ball.”

He was the class clown, focused on listening to friends instead of teachers. He got three Fs. Since he was playing youth football during his ninth grade year at View Park Prep, it didn’t matter whether he was academically ineligible to play high school football.

By his sophomore year, he learned an important lesson.

“I didn’t really start loving football until I couldn’t play,” he said.

He became eligible for the final two games of the 2014 season as a sophomore, then transferred to Los Angeles High.

Now he’s one of the most versatile players in the City Section, making leaping catches at receiver, shutting down receivers as a cornerback and returning punts and kickoffs for the City Section Division II champions. And he’s getting A’s in science and English.

His story is not unique. For every teenager who enters high school knowing what they want to do, there are others in need of guidance and searching for a path forward.

The requirements to play football forced Robins to stop being distracted. “I wanted to play,” he said, “so I had to get it together.”

He’s 5 feet 9 but with good speed, agility and leaping ability. He’s headed for All-City honors in his senior season.

“He’s fast,” Coach Eric Scott said. “We can match him up against anybody.”

Last week, facing a group of players from Hawkins High with college scholarship offers and glittering writeups from Internet scouting websites, it was Robins winning the battles again and again in the Romans’ 36-6 victory.

“That kid deserves a scholarship,” Scott said.

Robins has certainly turned things around in the classroom. He has made up classes from ninth grade and is close to being an NCAA qualifier. He even discovered a possible future path without football. He loves technology and makes videos using his smart phone.

Guess how he learned? By creating and posting his own football highlight videos.

“Friends think a professional did it,” he said. “I did it on my own.”

He believes he can go to college now and leave his neighborhood.

“I had to challenge myself,” he said. “It can happen. You can’t know if you don’t try. I had to think differently.”

Los Angeles plays Chatsworth Sierra Canyon on Saturday in a CIF state championship Division 2-A bowl game at Granada Hills.

A different success story

Carlos Hernandez couldn’t play for Reseda last week in the City Division III championship game because of a knee injury he suffered in a semifinal, but he didn’t stay down about it.

“Football saved my life,” he said before the title game. “It means everything to me right now. I can’t play right now, but … I’m still a big part of this team. I’m still happy for the team because we’re in the championship game.”

With the help of Coach Alonso Arreola and his assistants, Hernandez made a turnaround. He got into trouble off the field and spent time in the juvenile justice system until the lessons he learned in football began to take hold.

“When I was younger, I did something I shouldn’t have done and then I got stuck in the system,” he said. “After football season, I went back to what I was doing.”

His coaches kept giving him the chance to change his life.

“It gave me something to do,” he said. “It gave me possibilities. It gave me another family. It gave me discipline. I got to meet a lot of great people.”

Hernandez, who scored 17 touchdowns this season, says he’s learned some hard lessons about getting in trouble off the field.

“I’m 18 years old now,” he said. “I don’t have time for that.”

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter: latsondheimer