Black History Month Alumni Series: Reggie Mitchell
When Reggie Mitchell came to Palomar to play football as a cornerback in 1996, he was shocked. Coming from National City, an urban city in San Diego, he was the only black person in some of his classes and he was surrounded by people with money.
"I wasn't used to that. I was used to people not having money," Mitchell said.
Realizing he was the only one who would get him to where he wanted to go, Mitchell decided to control his own destiny. If he didn't like a teacher, he changed classes. If he wasn't happy with himself on the field, he worked harder. Taking all of his hard classes as a freshman, he completed his AA degree in a year and a half, and his sophomore season he was Second Team All-American. He's still in the top 10 for most interceptions in program history (T-3rd with 7 in a season).
"I had to be disciplined enough because no one was going to help me," he said.
Mitchell committed to the University of Nevada, Reno on a scholarship where he was on the All-Conference team both seasons. He was on every team's draft board.
But then he didn't get drafted.
After sitting out and training for five years, Reggie was invited to the San Francisco 49ers training camp. It didn't pan out for him.
The year is 2003. Still, in control of his destiny, he decided to go overseas and play. As one of the first foreign players in the Japanese league, Mitchell had a decade-long career, which included a 2006 XLeague MVP award, and was a two-time champion. When he moved to Japan, he knew nothing of the culture or language, by the time he left knew it.
"Nothing is difficult for me. Anything is possible because I went through such hardship growing up and hurdles growing up. If there's an obstacle, I can handle it," Mitchell said. "Not let anything hold me back because I didn't have anything to go back to because when you don't have anything to go back to nothing can stop you from what you want to accomplish."
Since moving back stateside, Mitchell has settled down in Las Vegas where he coaches at Liberty High School. They won a state title in 2019. He also trains high school athletes to get them ready for the college level. He is still involved with the Japanese league after his retirement by continuing to recruit athletes to play overseas. That's his legacy.