Joshua Ross was never the biggest quarterback on the field, and he knew it early. Over 15 years of playing at every level, he learned that a smaller passer had to win with his mind, so he modeled his game after Drew Brees. “I was a smaller QB and knew I would have to use my intellect to overcome some physical deficits,” he says.

What kept him in the game was never just the scoreboard. Football gave him a way to find out who he was and who he could become, and the part he loved most was leadership. “I embraced being accountable for 11 individuals and their success on the field.”

The road was not easy. He did not have the support many players take for granted, so he went looking for mentors he could trust and learn from. One of them changed his path. Kevin, his former offensive coordinator at Husson University, was the first person to truly believe in him as an athlete and the first to give him a chance to coach. “I wish he was here to see the journey I have taken and the success to this point,” Ross says. “I know he would be proud.”

Today Ross is a private coach with QB Vision Tampa Bay and VZN Performance, and he is also connected to South Sumter High School. His background in kinesiology and sport performance lets him help quarterbacks in many areas, and where his own knowledge ends he leans on a strong network of connections, because, as he puts it, “it truly takes a village.”

His goal, short and long term, is to give every quarterback he works with the best possible environment to grow, the kind of support he had to search for himself. Above all, he wants players to understand who they are and what they need to succeed from within. “Most importantly, it’s the ability to understand who you are and what you need to be successful within yourself.”

Follow Coach Ross at QBV_Tampa and JDRoss91.