Please ask for help, you are not alone

He was 17. He was about to enter his senior year of high school.

I didn’t know Scirpo personally, I only interviewed him a couple times following water polo matches. He was one helluva polo player and his future in the sport was extremely bright.

The M-A Chronicle, the school’s student newspaper and reporters Ben Siegel and Tessa Ellingson (another M-A student-athlete who thrives on the tennis court), did a wonderful job of covering this sensitive issue (you can read it at this link: https://machronicle.com/community-mourns-student-dylan-scirpo/). I can attest it is no fun having to talk to family and friends of someone who died and I hate doing it. The fact he was still a teenager about to enter his senior year of high school makes it that much more difficult.

According to his friends and family quoted in the M-A Chronicle story, Scirpo was one of those people who would help out anyone, who put others before himself, all while silently battling his own demons.

While no one has come out to say it and it hasn’t been reported by anyone, it appears he took his own life. As a father, I can’t think of anything more heartbreaking than to know your child harbored some deep secrets, despite knowing he was loved and showing the outside world that apparently everything was fine. To those reading this — especially students — know that it gets better. If you’re feeling like this, talk to someone, anybody: parents, friends, a teacher, a school counselor, call the suicide hotline, call your doctor. You don’t have to go through this alone and you’re not alone having these feelings. Millions of people are feeling the exact same way right now. It’s not unusual nor are you broken.

High school can be a trying time for everyone, especially in this day and age when a person’s self worth gets tied up into their performance at school and the pressures of finding the “right” college.

It’s been 30 years since I left school and things were certainly different than they are now. The competition and pressure back then was nothing like students endure now.

But your school life is a blip on your life’s timeline. Right now, it may seem like the world in on your shoulders, but know there are a lot of people willing and able to help you shoulder the load. Reach out to them, let them know you’re hurting and you’ll be amazed at the compassion people have.

If you or someone you know is thinking of suicide, I implore you to call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Or you can text “TALK” to 741741.

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A couple weeks ago, I wrote a story about former Aragon basketball player Sam Manu signing a professional contract in Taiwan. In the article, I mentioned a number of former Peninsula student-athletes who went on to play professionally.

A Daily Journal reader sent me an email the next day, with four more players to add to that list — all from Half Moon Bay.

Jacob Salinero, a 2016 HMB graduate, who went on to play collegiately at Skyline before finishing up his college career at Sonoma State in 2022, is currently playing in Germany. Another 2016 HMB grad, Tommy Nuño, started his college career at Fresno City College before transferring to Colorado Mesa University and is currently playing professionally in Mexico.

His older brother, Rico Nuño, a 2014 Cougar alum, started his college career at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill before finishing up at Eastern Washington University and St. Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington. Like his younger brother, Rico Nuño is playing in the Mexican pro league.

And rounding out the quartet is another 2014 HMB graduate Corey Cilia, who played collegiately at UC Santa Cruz. He spent the 2023 season playing in Vietnam.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.