Athlete Spotlight: Dominique Vidal
Senior Dominique Vidal was a two-sport athlete at ILS.
May 27, 2020
The ILS Athletic Spotlight continued this week, shining its light on senior Dominique Vidal, who was a two-sport athlete during his time with the Royal Lions.
Vidal was a key figure for the football this season. He was a huge disrupter on the defensive line creating havoc in the backfield and chasing down quarterbacks on the opposing teams. Vidal registered a team-high 53 tackles, including a team-leading 15.5 sacks. He was a vocal leader on the team overall, not just the defense.
Vidal’s career-high performance came during his junior season. In a game versus John Carroll Catholic, Vidal registered 12 total tackles, including nine solo stops. As a junior, he had three double-digit tackle games. He picked up two sacks in the Royal Lions victory over Somerset Silver Palms.
As a senior, Vidal’s game made a major leap. He picked up a team-high 15.5 sacks, including establishing a new single-game career high with four sacks against both North Broward Prep and King’s Academy. Vidal’s tackles-for-loss resulted in 85 lost yards for opposing offenses and he remained an integral part of the team’s defense.
Vidal helped the ILS defense register three opponent shutouts this season. His efforts this year saw him earn an Honorable Mention for the Miami Herald’s All-Dade teams.
As part of the Track Team for the past two years, Vidal competed in both running and throwing events. He ran the 100-meter, 200-meter and has helped in the 4×100 Relay.
Vidal also threw the shot put, including establishing a new Personal Record in the first meet Archbishop McCarthy’s Big Blue invitational. His third throw traveled 42’2″, beating his prior best thrown by five feet.
Vidal was starting to apply himself and work hard to improve in his events this year. He came to practice consistently and lifted and ran to increase strength and speed, which was needed both on the track and in the shot-put ring.
“He was always ready to do whatever we needed him to do and had a great attitude,” said ILS football coach Helder Valle. “He always came to work hard and compete!”
Vidal was part of the recent group of seniors to sign national letters of intent to play in college. Vidal’s football career will continue at Sewanee University in Tennessee.
