Current Rome City Institute Graduate-Assistant JoeMack Leonardo is a pure representation of the generational relationship between Italy and America. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California to his parents Mark and Jeanie, Joe has his roots strongly planted in America, but none of this would have been possible without the immigration that his Great-Grandparents took part in in the early 1900’s.

Tracing his family back to their Italian roots, we travel back to 1895 when his Great-Grandfather Benedetto Leonardo, moved to San Lucido, Calabria from Enna, Sicily to work as a bricklayer. Benedetto then married Carmela Rosina Molinaro and in 1905 the couple, like so many others, made their way across the Atlantic to America, by way of Ellis Island.

The couple settled quickly, and moved their life to Detroit where they had three sons, while they worked Blue Collar jobs. One of the sons, Joseph, would go on to be the grandfather of JoeMack, of whom Joe was named after. Joe’s grandfather Joseph left school as early as the 8th grade to work at the GM building, to make enough money to help the family. After years of hard work, Joseph became an entrepreneur selling parts to Ford, which was a big step-forward for the Leonardo family as they continued to settle down in the United States.

Joseph’s son Mark (JoeMack’s father) would grow up in Detroit but later move to Los Angeles to attend law school at Pepperdine, becoming the first of the Leonardo family to embrace schooling to the fullest. During Mark’s time in LA he met Joe’s mother Jeanie who had moved from Cleveland to LA to pursue a career as an actor. Mark and Jeanie then married and had their oldest child JoeMack, followed by three younger siblings, Christiana, Cavan, & Mackina. JoeMack spent most of his formative years in LA until he moved with his mother and siblings back to his mother’s hometown Vermilion, a suburb of Cleveland Ohio for the last 3 years of JoeMack’s high school experience.

JoeMack embraced his American upbringing, and like so many others, found a love for sports in his early years. Even though JoeMack himself was generations removed from his family that was born in Italy, the Italian influence in his heart was strong, as he realized Soccer was his true calling. Finding love for this sport amongst many Americans who typically gravitated towards Baseball, Basketball or American Football, JoeMack was determined to find a role in the soccer world.

As a player, Joe made sure to take his game to the highest level. JoeMack took full advantage of his move to Cleveland, as he attended St. Ignatius High School, to continue his athletic path. St. Ignatius, an all-boys prep school, located in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland, is notably the most successful High School Soccer Program in the US.

After his High-School career, Joe was determined to continue his playing career at the highest level. There was some early movement in his early Collegiate career, as he spent his freshman season at San Francisco State University, before transferring to Santa Barbara City College for one and a half years. After his first two full seasons, JoeMack was still looking for a different experience, and that’s exactly what came when he received the opportunity to play overseas, in Leeds, UK. After playing a season of non-league football in the West Lancashire League for RIASA and Osset Town, Joe took his game to a new level, having to play foreign competition quite different from what he was used to. He also found a love for the Premier League club Arsenal, and continues to support and attend matches at the Emirates Stadium as often as possible.

After his season abroad, Joe was awarded a scholarship to play for Division One program Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA. At Cal Poly, Joe played under the management of previous USMNT, LA Galaxy and Costa Rica National team coach, Steve Sampson. While he truly enjoyed his time as a player, his experience under Steve Sampson gave him new inspiration. When he was ready to finish his career as a player, and was determined to start his career as a coach.

After graduating from Cal Poly in 2020 with a Bachelors in Business Administration, Joe returned to Los Angeles to take a few years off of education, before setting out for his next adventure. Joe was ready to return to where the Leonardo family name began, and Joe jetted off to Rome, Italy, in January 2023, to attend Rome City Institute.

Now 6 months in at Rome City, JoeMack is the Grad-Assistant coach for the Men’s and Women’s soccer teams, as he works towards earning his Master’s Degree in Sports Management. The strides he has taken in such a quick time is wonderful to watch, as Joe continues to hone his skills as a newfound coach, while getting to work with top-tier coaching talent who have experience from all aspects of the Italian calcio world, ranging from coaches for Professional Men’s team, Italian National Team coaches, as well as youth coaches from professional academies.

Taking his steps in the coaching world and receiving an international education was not the only goal that JoeMack had when he set out on his Italian adventure. He was determined to take pride in his Italian roots, and set out on a journey to track down his family's footprints.

Not too long ago Joe took a trip to the motherland of San Lucido in Calabria. While there, he had to do the hard work of tracking down old documents proving the origins of his Great-Grandfather. Considering there was no electronic paperwork at the time, this was a difficult process, but after meeting locals, going to the Town Hall, and proving his relationships, Joe got the documents he needed and is following through on the process of gaining his Citizenship.

Soon enough, JoeMack Leonardo will be the first of his Leonardo family to obtain Italian and American citizenship. JoeMack has always followed his heart on his life path, and at the moment, his heart led him the way of his family.  Family that moved from Italy to America over one-hundred years ago, to ensure JoeMack’s life was as successful as possible. Joe now is eager to make that sacrifice count, as he works towards his higher education in the sports world while getting to be a part of the sport that he loves, and doing so by honoring his family in the best way possible, by keeping the Leonardo name alive and well in the native country of Italy. Rome City is eager to follow Joe’s journey as he continues to go down the path untraveled, and seek adventures that yield great rewards. The future for Joe is limitless.