Notre Dame’s Pallini a natural leader
Max Pallini is never the biggest, strongest or fastest player on the field.
The impact the Green Bay Notre Dame senior has on his team can’t be measured by tackles and receptions.
Pallini is simply a leader. He’s the kind that will have you ready to run through a brick wall for after listening to him speak.
“He’s a kid the other players rally around,” Notre Dame coach Michael Rader said. “He’s our vocal leader. He’s our spiritual leader. Our program is based on faith, family, fundamentals and football, and he’s all of those.”
If you’re looking to gauge the pulse of the Tritons heading into their WIAA Division 3 second-round game at undefeated Kewaskum, you need to look no further than Pallini.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder’s roll on both sides of the ball is no doubt crucial to what Notre Dame is capable of doing between the lines.
However, the intangibles he brings will go a long way in determining if the Tritons can make a run at state for a third straight year.
“He’s a leader, hands down,” Notre Dame senior Andrew Gruesen said. “He picks us up when we’re down. He calls guys out when they need to be called out. He really just does a phenomenal job, and we wouldn’t be the same without him.”
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Pallini, a three-year varsity player, wouldn’t be the same person he is today without some pretty solid role models to look up to.
The Notre Dame captain is the youngest of four children. His three older siblings – Samantha, Adam and Vinny – all played on state teams in high school.
Samantha won three WIAA state titles with the girls tennis team. Adam went to state with the boys golf team and was one win shy of a state trip in soccer. Vinny played a critical role in the football team’s run to the 2015 D3 state championship.
“It all starts at home,” Pallini said. “My parents always taught us to be respectful and treat other people as you would want to be treated.
“You definitely have your ups and downs whenever you’re the youngest kid in the family. I definitely have a lot to live up to. Growing up we were always really competitive. Even though Vincent was two years older than me, and would easily beat me in all the small games, I still tried to keep up with him and he always made me get better.”
Pallini has a 3.9 GPA and wants to be a business major in college. It’s not uncommon for him to lead prayers at school or in the community.
Despite his somewhat smaller stature, he’s the stereotypical player Notre Dame regularly builds its program around. He’s a two-way starter that seemingly is never out of position.
“Honestly, 100 percent of the success our team has comes from our coaches,” said Pallini, who was named an honorable mention all-Fox River Classic Conference linebacker.
“Coach (Paul) Ihlenfeldt is one of the leaders on our defense and he specifically works with linebackers. He’s helped us so much with the little things. Whenever you’re facing someone so much bigger than you, you need to learn to do the little things so much better than them. They just do a phenomenal job teaching us to do really well at the little things, which turn out to be the big things in a game.”
Notre Dame is hoping it will have a few more pre-game speeches to enjoy from Pallini this season.
“He’s a good, solid kid and does everything right,” Rader said. “You’re not going to win games by his individual play, but if you have enough of those guys you’ll win games because you have kids that have the heart, drive and effort.”