Optimist: All-Around All Star

Isaac Serwanga initially balked at the suggestion he attend Jesuit High School.

The youngest of Robina Serwanga's seven children loved the diversity at Sutter Middle School and thought about going with his friends to either Kennedy or McClatchy.

"The thought of attending an all-boys private school shook me up a little," said Isaac, who will play wide receiver and defensive back for the South team in Saturday's 52nd Annual Optimist All-Star Football Game at American River College.

But Robina, who had worked a series of menial jobs in Sacramento to help support her family after leaving chaotic Uganda more than two decades earlier, realized the opportunity unfolding for the youngest of her five sons.

"Isaac had the personality and the temperament for Jesuit," she said. "He was born a quiet leader, a responsible young man of warmth. So I felt that he would do well there."

The once-incredulous son now admits mom was right.

Serwanga thrived as a student, athlete and leader at the elite parochial school. In the fall, he will attend Princeton to play football and compete in track and field, with thoughts of one day becoming a doctor.

During his time at Jesuit, in addition to excelling in four sports, he served as student body vice president, president of the school's Black Student Union, a mentor to disadvantaged youth at the Lemon Hill Boys and Girls Club and maintained a 3.8 grade-point average.

Eighteen-year-old Isaac has a much broader view of the world than he did at 14 and, he admits, a heavier responsibility.

"I really have to say that I'm a product of my family's hard work," he said. "Because of them I felt it was my obligation to be the best I could be both academically and athletically."

Robina's astonishing odyssey set the tone. After finding a safe haven in the United States from the upheaval of Idi Amin's decimating dictatorship in Uganda, she put her children's educations and future ahead of her own ambitions, even after she and her husband separated when Isaac was 3 years old.

"She is my biggest role model," he said. "I've gotten my strength and motivation through her strength and struggles, being an immigrant and not having the chances we've gotten."

Robina's children have all had success in athletics and their educations/careers, including identical twins Kato and Wasswa, both of whom played in the 1994 Optimist Game after starring at Sacramento High School.

Isaac had watched his brothers compete in college and the pros – Kato at Cal and with the New England Patriots, Washington Redskins and New York Giants; Wasswa at UCLA and with the Minnesota Vikings and the 49ers – but didn't develop a true appreciation for what they did until he was older.

Isaac, who played soccer and basketball before high school, said it took awhile to adjust to football's physicality when he decided to play as a sophomore.

"But I enjoyed the struggle," he said. "It made me work harder to get better."

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Serwanga went from a reserve as a varsity junior to the team's top receiver and a key defender as a senior for the 8-3 Marauders.

Serwanga also proved a quick study in track, a sport he also picked up as a sophomore.

He set school records and placed in the state finals this spring in both the high jump and the triple jump. His 48-foot, 1/4- inch triple jump was fifth best in the state this year, even though he only recently started competing in the event.

It's that versatility – he was a member of Jesuit's 2006-07 Division II section title-winning basketball team – and willingness to experiment that strikes his brother Kato.

"He's a fun athlete to watch," Kato said. "But what's really impressive is he has been his own man. He's not a product of me or my brothers."

Kato remembers Isaac, who is 13 years younger, as quiet and observant growing up.

He often took Isaac with him to classes at Cal and Isaac made trips with his brother during his pro career.

"He's seen a lot, and he's obviously absorbed a lot," said Kato, who just earned a master's degree in education from Cal. "He's a very complex young man, an extremely impressive young man for 18."

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Bill Paterson, (916) 326-5506.