Tom Martinez, QB mentor to Tom Brady, dies

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During the Patriots first-round playoff bye last month, Tom Brady felt his throwing motionneeded some tweaking. So he went to California to his palatial, newly-completedresidence in Brentwood. There, on thekelly greensod, Brady threw to Wes Welker. Watching Brady throw was the man who had cultivated the most fundamentally perfect quarterbacking form in football, Tom Martinez. Martinez had overseen thousands of throws startingwhen Brady was a pudgy 13-year-old in San Mateo. The legendary football, women's basketball and softball coach at the College of San Mateo - despite being in need of a kidney transplant and undergoing dialysis - gave Brady what he needed that day, according to someone who was there. Then, a little more than a week later, Tom Brady tied an NFL record with six touchdown passes in the Patriots' rout of the Denver Broncos. That day in Brentwood was probably the last time Brady and Martinez worked together in person. Martinez died Tuesday, reportedly of a heart attack while receiving dialysis. The San Jose Mercury News reported the 66-year-old's passing first. "It's a big loss but he's been very, very, very sick," said Brady's father, Tom Brady Sr., on Tuesday night. "I've known him for 50 years. He was a terrific coach and terrific mentor to a lot of people. Hundreds, if not thousands of people, hehelped develop into caring mature, responsible adults. He touched a lot of kids who are now adults and teaching their kids in same manner he taught their parents. There area lot of sadpeople in San Mateo County tonight." A well-done piece in The Boston Globe recently detailed Martinez' need for a new kidney and the donor process. While Martinez' death becomes a bigger "story" because of the accomplishments of his most famous student, the glory - Brady Sr., said - belongs to Martinez. "He was a loving mentor who would do anything for Tommy," said Brady's father. "As Tommy said many times, 'There would never have been a Tom Brady with the Patriots without Tom Martinez.' It's a great loss to his family. But his legacy will continue on through the people he's touched over the last 45 or 50 years of coaching."

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