The 4-year-old St. Joseph’s super fan is a coach in the making.
This past weekend, the St. Joseph’s Hawks beat the VCU Rams in the Atlantic 10 Championship to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament — their first since 2008.
It was a great moment for the small Jesuit college in Philadelphia and their longtime coach Phil Martelli. But the real star of the game was a different Phil — Philip Stephen Martelli, the coach’s adorable grandson.
Throughout the back-and-forth championship game the CBS camera focused on the precocious 4-year-old as he screamed, paced, gestured, and drew up plays just like his grandpa.
Dressed in a blazer and an adult-sized tie, little Philip was a spitting image of his grandfather — right down to the handkerchief in his jacket pocket.
Needless to say he stole the show.
Philip even celebrated like a veteran head coach.
Of course Philip quickly became a media sensation following the victory, scoring a wonderful little feature with Philadelphia’s local ABC affiliate.
Hopefully little Phil gets a front row seat for the Hawks’ game against the UConn Huskies in Buffalo this Thursday night, because it looks like he has some great plays up his sleeve.