If you’re a fan of prep sports in San Diego you have probably heard of Team Makasi , you have probably wondered what is it ? Makasi meaning “strong” in Lingala, their mission is simple to mentor and empower the youth for the purpose of maximizing athletic and academic achievement . The Organization started in 2015, the founder is Verlain Betofe also known as Coach V . Coach V started his coaching career at his alma mater Madison who he helped win 2 state titles and 2 CIF Titles , then in 2017 he took over at Lincoln and averaged over 40 points as Lincoln became one of the most prolific offenses in the county that year. In 2018/2019 he became the Assistant HC/OC at Kearny, led the county in points and broke every school record at Kearny. He is now the Offensive Coordinator at Mater Dei . Betofe played collegiately at Indiana state . Coach V started the organization with his Childhood friends Terrance Long also a Madison Alumni who played DB at Saint Francis University, Meech Hasley a UNLV Alumni who is a writer for the team , other coaches on the team include TJ McKay who played Safety for SDSU and is the current DC at Montgomery High School , Coaches Tom Shawcroft , Greg Baker , Eddie Amon , Adan Zermeno , Kyle Brown , Marc Quinlin , Brandon Buriss , Coach Braswell and Aaron Jones are also on the team . The Team started with 6 great athletes Brandon Lewis (Air Force) , Erick Buchanan (RCC) , Isiah McDaniels (South Dakota) , Elijah Thomas (SD Mesa) , Shaheed Madyun and Marc Quinlin . Team Makasi do everything from training athletes to teaching them new techniques , helping over 200 kids with scholarships offers and the recruiting process , mentoring them off the field so they can grow as great individuals in their community , growing up in the Southeast part of San Diego Coach V and his staff understand the difficulties that some athletes may face in their daily life thats why they emphasize mentoring them outside of football .
As Team Makasi continued to grow they started their 7 on 7 Team and hit the circuit ready to dominate the competition. Their first team included studs like Chris Olave (Ohio State) Carson Baker (SDSU) , Rashad Scott (SDSU) , Martell Irby (UCLA) , Michael Shawcroft (SDSU) , Tim Patrick (Utah State) , Jailen Bailey (Arizona) and Isiah Williams (Southern Utah) throughout the years Makasi has established themselves as a 7 on 7 powerhouse in Southern California winning 3 Major Tournaments and consistency finishing at the top in tournaments , they have received recognition from 247 Sports , Rivals and Daygofootball . Other talented athletes to play for Makasi include Shamar Martin (UCLA) , Kenan Christon (USC) , Duce Reynolds (SMSU), Keontae Springs , Darius De Los Reyes (SDSU) , Olan Cazad (New Mexico State) , Delshawn Traylor (Army) , Daniel Stokes , Scottie Young (West Virginia) , Asante Hartzog (Fort Lewis) , Jeremiah Fletcher (Arizona) , Daniel Amon , Gunnar Gray and many others . This past season the team had National Recruit Freshman Tre Edwards , Fresno State Commit Josh Meredith , Oregon Commit Darren Barkins , Idaho Commits Nico Estrada , Isiah King , SDSU Commit Jaiden Brown , Nevada Commit Dazure Paggett , Davidson Commit Alessandro Demoreno , Recruits Jaycob Hicks , Jordan Blondin , Christian Hall , Trevor Appleman , Richard Colmemero , Jerry Riggins , Justus McComb and many others . The current Makasi team was on a tear going 10-0 and winning The Pylon LA tournament the players were improving their games and showcasing their talents to colleges , unfortunately they had to shut down play due to the Coronavirus Pandemic .
While talking to many recruiters and coaches Coach V noticed that many of them would say the Inland Empire has the best talent in SoCal, Coach V knew that San Diego was the real deal and had equal or more talent so he took them to task and started the Makasi All Star Game , the game showcases the best talent from the Inland Empire and San Diego, both teams average around 30 Division 1 commits , the game has been played in San Diego and the Inland Empire , the result ? San Diego has gone 3-1 against the IE and has proven itself as a mecca of football talent . The atmosphere in this game is like no other its a must if you are a football fan .
Team Makasi has done a’lot of great things in the past five years , Coach V and his team took their vision and goals for this organization and produced a first class environment for student athletes to improve their game on the field and for them to become better individuals off the field . Be sure to follow Makasi because they have big things coming and catch the Makasi All Star game sometime in May .
