Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — More than 200 enthusiastic local high school and elementary football players received valuable life lessons from New England Patriots Wide Receiver “JuJu” Smith-Schuster on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at the Veterans Memorial Stadium. He was the PFHF’s camp’s special guest to inspire participants with his message about growing up in a Samoan household and how football has enabled him to help his family.

The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, in collaboration with the American Samoa Government hosted the one-day Polynesian Hall of Fame Football Clinic 2024.

The clinic is part of the PFHF  program that includes interactive football clinics, providing aspiring athletes with hands-on training and guidance from seasoned professionals.

“JuJu” is a Super Bowl Champion from Kansas City Chiefs ’23, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a new member of the New England Patriots.

He is one of the prominent players of Samoan heritage in the NFL, and was on-island this week accompanied by co-founders of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame (PFHF) Seiuli Jesse Sapolu and Ma’a Tanuvasa for the one-day football camp.

As a player, he emphasized the importance of resilience, stating, "It's hard to be great every day. Champions are those who rise after being knocked down. Your response matters."

“This sport is such a blessing,” said the one-time Super Bowl winner with the Chiefs. “It is an opportunity for you to lift your family’s quality of life, but you need commitment, sacrifice, faith in God and good grades.”

He reminded the youngsters that good school results were equally important because one cannot play football if you don’t have a good GPA score. 

JuJu also talked about growing up in a Samoan household and how the culture has shaped his mindset about life in general, because of the genuine love he was exposed to ever since he was young.

“Living in a house with a big family was never boring,” he recalled with a smile. “We didn’t have any money, I used to share my shoes with my sisters! But now, I have the opportunity to give back to them and our people, because of the sacrifice my mom made by making it a point every single day, to take me to practice no matter what the situation was. And it’s paid off! Now I give my family everything they want.

“I thank God for the opportunity He has given me to help my family because they have been there for me since day one. My step-father entered my life when I was four and he has been a father, mentor and a friend. Also, my grandparents and the love and support they’ve always had for me, and our culture is nothing but strong powerful love.”

He concluded with a spiritual note, reminding every one of the importance of faith, saying, "Never forget God, our redeemer and Savior."

Juju’s father, Lawrence Schuster is from Laulii and Apia while his California born mother Sammy Toa-Schuster has family in Taputimu.

In an interview with the person who raised and instilled in him the Faasamoa values that have molded the man he is today, JuJu’s mother, Sammy Toa-Schuster told Samoa News that it is through God’s grace and guidance that has made her son’s dream come true.

“It has been a blessing seeing your four year-old son running around with a football pretending he was an NFL player, and through God’s grace, His guidance and protection, my son’s dream has become a reality,” she shared. “So all I can say is to God be all the honor and glory!

“My parents raised me to always remember our Samoan values of respecting your elders, honor and service and that's also how I raised him and all my children. And I’m so glad I raised JuJu that way because now he’s in a position where he can make a difference in the lives of our young generations by being a role model and by giving back to the community, which is why we’re here today.”

Mrs. Toa-Schuster revealed that she met her husband Lawrence Schuster, when JuJu was four and he was the only father he knew. She said that when JuJu was eight, he wanted to add “Schuster” to his last name, but she explained to him that he couldn’t do it legally because he was underage.

“So as soon as JuJu turned 18, he called me and said that he wanted to add “Schuster” to his last name to honor his step-dad,” she recalled. “So we went to the courthouse and did all the necessary requirements to make the addition to his last name.”

John Sherman “JuJu” Smith-Schuster was born on November 22nd, 1996 in Long Beach, California.

He is the second of seven siblings. He started playing football at the age of eight and changed his name in football listings in 2012 from “John” to “JuJu”, a nickname an aunt gave him when he was young.

He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School where he played wide receiver and safety for the school’s Jackrabbits football team.

He then played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) from 2014 to 2016 before being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2017 NFL draft. He was the youngest player selected in the NFL draft that year.

After five seasons with the Steelers (2017-2021), Smith-Schuster signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 which culminated in their 38- 35 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

Then on March 17, 2023, he signed a three-year $33 million contract with the New England Patriots. The down-to-earth 27 year-old has accomplished two NFL records. First, the youngest receiver with 1,500 receiving yards, and secondly, the only player to score 2+ touchdowns of 97 yards.

During the opening ceremony of the one-day football camp on Wednesday, JuJu presented a #7 Smith-Schuster Patriots jersey to Chief of Staff Loa Tuimavave Laupola who spoke on behalf of Governor Lemanu P.S. Mauga who could not attend.

Chief of Staff Loa also serves as the Samoa Bowl Chairman.

NFL legend Seiuli SeJesse Sapolu, a four-time Super Bowl champion with the San Francisco 49ers, highlighted the Polynesian Hall of Fame’s significance in honoring Polynesian heritage and excellence in football.

A donation of 10 Microsoft laptops from the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame was also presented to the Department of Education by PFHF co-founder Seiuli.

Seiuli commented in an interview with Samoa News on how far the summer football camps have progressed since its inception in the 1990s.

“I’ve been coming down for these camps since Lutali was the governor,” Seiuli said. “And it’s important that we bring our Samoan NFL players so that they see what we are doing behind the scenes, and they realize the value of giving back to our community by just being here to inspire and offer advice for our generations of players.”

He pointed out that in the past before the advent of modern technology, young local players going off to the mainland to play college football and hopefully make it to the NFL, get intimidated with culture shock because of the change of environment.

“Those days, you felt really isolated when you went to the mainland communicating through letters and phone calls to your parents and family here,” he said. “But now with modern technology, you can see your parents and talk to them. The mainland is not so far away as it used to be, and that gives our players more confidence.

“They just need advice from players already in the NFL and college football on what to expect and what not to do because it would spoil your chances of an NFL career. JuJu gave a really good speech today and I hope the kids have learned something from him.”

This is the first time JuJu Smith-Schuster has visited American Samoa having traveled here via Samoa and he stated that it has been a real eye-opener for him. He was also happy that he had the chance to visit his Schuster family in Apia and here and also his mother’s family in Taputimu.

Also accompanying the PFHF delegation are JuJu’s aunties and girlfriend. Asked if he and his fiancé were going to tie the knot soon, he laughed and said, “Sometime this year.”

The group, which arrived Wednesday morning, left for Apia that same afternoon on their way to Australia to conduct another camp there.

Before coming to American Samoa, they had completed a football camp in Auckland, New Zealand last weekend.