High school athletes at a Northern California gym trained through a pandemic to pursue their dream as professional football players, and it paid off. 

Rico Flores, a high school sophomore, has been training his whole life to make it to the pros and said he was not going to let COVID-19 get in the way. 

“I’ve been training since like first, second grade with Lem Adams and just been putting in work and hard dedication every day,” Flores said. 

His trainer, Lem Adams, has at least 10-years of experience playing arena football and has even worked out with the San Francisco 49ers. Adams said it’s now his time to pay it forward. 

“Really, it’s just kind of like a vision God has given me, to be honest with you,” Adams said. 

The former football player started his gym, Game-Fit, in 2012 and trains everyone from youth, high schoolers to pro athletes.

“It’s been fortunate, it’s given me an opportunity to help them get better and help them reach their goals and whether it’s in-season off-season,” Adams added. 

He and Flores did not let COVID-19 stop them from pursuing a dream. The 16-year-old was recently offered 13-scholarships from PAC-12 colleges.

“You always want to keep working hard. I want to be better than I was the day before, as a whole human — football-wise and out of football-wise — and I’m always working to be better,” Flores said. 

The National Collegiate Athletic Association said about 2% of high school students earn athletic scholarships for college, and only 1.3% receive a full ride. 

Flores said he’s thankful he’s part of that 1%. 

“I want to go to a Division 1 college and then get my degree and go to the NFL and take care of my family,” he said. 

The young athlete said he couldn’t have done it without Adams by his side. 

“Without him, he trusted me, and I trusted him, and now look at what’s happening.”

While Flores is still only in high school, he said he’ll continue to work hard because there are no days off at Game-Fit.