Colts trade for fullback brings added benefit for Pacemate fans

If you saw Sasha’s report earlier this year that one of the Pacemates had previously danced for the Utah Jazz and LA Clippers, last Sunday, the Indianapolis Star featured Pacemate Jocelyn and her husband, Colts fullback Stanley Havili.

Colts fullback Stanley Havili and his wife, a Pacemate, juggle marriage, baby and unique jobs

By Jo-Ann Barnas, Indianapolis Star

A trio of fans stood up in front of him, suddenly obstructing his view of center court. But Stanley Havili didn’t panic. He adjusted.

The Colts fullback shifted the grip on his 13-month-old daughter from his right hand to his left. Sitting on the edge of his seat, he leaned forward with his right shoulder and tilted his head slightly to one side. If there was a sliver of daylight to be found in a wall of bodies, Havili was going to find it.

Just as the music started, he did.

And in full view, she appeared.

It was during a timeout, 4:55 left in the third quarter, Pacers ahead, 56-51, over the Chicago Bulls. Paul George had just lit up the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a sweet swishing 3-pointer from 24 feet.

But those details meant little to Havili. He doesn’t go to Pacers homes games for basketball. That was especially true on this recent Wednesday night after a nine-hour day at the Colts practice facility.

“There’s mommy,” Havili whispered to his daughter, Holiday. He kissed the crown of her head.

Music blaring, Jocelyn Havili and more than a dozen other members of the Pacemates dance team began performing a routine choreographed to the Nelly rap song “Hot in Herre.” Her long blond hair sweeping from side to side, Jocelyn wore a smile almost as big as her husband’s, who sat across the court — seventh row, section 15 — with Colts linebacker Lawrence Sidbury.

Later that night, a familiar conversation would take place. It’s the way most game days end for Stanley, in his first season with the Colts as starting fullback and a bruising special-teams performer. And for Jocelyn, who’s hitting her stride again as a veteran NBA dancer after taking a season off to have a baby.

“After her basketball games, she does the exact same thing I do after my football games,” Stanley Havili said. “She’ll say stuff like, ‘Did you see me mess up?’ Or, ‘Did you see me on that kick?’

“It’s just like me after football games when I say, ‘Did you see me on that block?’ How do you think I did?’

“It takes her a little bit to unwind after a game, just like me. For both of us, because what we do is so different, it’s like we’re speaking another language. Bottom line, though, is we support each other in all of it.”

* * *

There are all kinds of football families on the Colts; Stanley and Jocelyn Havili’s is just one of them.

“There’s nothing else I’d rather do than play in the NFL, and I’m thankful everyday that I play for the Colts,” said Stanley Havili, who turns 26 today. “But when you have a family, you also have that added responsibility. Our goal every day is to make it a blessing.”

Sweethearts since high school, Stanley and Jocelyn Havili have been married since March 2012, the year after the Philadelphia Eagles made the Southern Cal fullback their seventh-round draft pick.

Both grew up in close-knit Mormon families in Utah. The son of Tongan immigrants, Stanley remembers his father working three jobs, mostly driving buses and other vehicles, in Salt Lake City. As a youngster, Stanley often tagged along on his routes, keeping his dad company.

The sixth of Tevita and Elva’s eight children, Stanley said there weren’t enough beds in the house for all of the kids, but he never considered his family less fortunate than others.

“My family was very close, and that’s the most important thing,” he said.

Now in his third season in the NFL, Stanley Havili’s football career has been growing like his family: Jocelyn gave birth to their first child — Holiday — on Oct. 2, 2012.

After spending 2011 on the Eagles practice squad, Stanley played 15 games at fullback last season, predominantly as a blocker for running backs Bryce Brown and LeSean McCoy. He was acquired by the Colts in a trade last March for defensive end Clifton Geathers.

In a season marked by highs and lows — the Colts are 7-3 after Thursday’s victory at Tennessee — Havili said he’s playing his best football right now. Their head coach would agree.

“It’s not the most glamorous position, we know, in the NFL,” Chuck Pagano said of being a fullback. “It’s one of those that there’s only a select few that will sign up for that job and that duty. He (Havili) loves it and relishes the opportunity to slam himself into linebackers and defensive ends and those types of things. And he’s also athletic enough to catch a ball out of the backfield and run wheel routes and be displaced in different formations and things like that.

“But then again, his production on special teams has been outstanding. He’s just one of those guys that’s really selfless. Anything we ask Stanley to do, he’s more than willing and never says a word.”

On Oct. 20, when Colts running backs coach David Walker told Havili before kickoff in their game against Denver that he “plays the game the way the game is supposed to be played,” the compliment gave Havili an extra boost of confidence.

That night, he scored his first receiving touchdown of the season, a 20-yarder from Andrew Luck. He also played lights-out on special teams, forcing a fumble on a Broncos punt return that led to Darrius Heyward-Bey’s touchdown on the next play. The Colts won, 39-33.

“It’s funny because when you talk to him, he’s very mild-mannered,” tackle Anthony Castonzo said. “But on the field, he has complete reckless abandon, no regard for his own well being, which is pretty awesome.”

Colts tackle Gosder Cherilus said Havili often works out with the offensive linemen. That’s not the only reason he has earned their respect, though.

“A lot of times we’ll say, ‘Hey, Stanley, why don’t you come out to dinner with us?'” Cherilus said. “And he’ll say, ‘Man, it’s time for me to come home and give my wife a break.’ Or, ‘Sorry, but I can’t; I have my daughter for the night.'”

Cherilus shook his head and smiled.

“He understands what it’s like to be a professional athlete, and be married to a beautiful mother of his child,” Cherilus said. “He’s extremely unselfish. Team guy. Family guy. That’s the type of person he is. That’s Stanley.”

* * *

It’s a Tuesday — the Colts’ typical day off — and just about every square inch of kitchen counter space is occupied in Stanley and Jocelyn Havili’s home in Carmel.

A can of tuna fish has been made into tuna salad for lunch. A half dozen eggs are waiting to be boiled on the stove. In the next couple of hours, salmon will be roasting in the oven followed by chicken breasts, which are defrosting in a plastic bag.

Jocelyn douses bite-sized pieces of broccoli with olive oil for a turn in the oven. Her husband grabs a can opener to pry open a can of black beans.

“This is about all I know how to do — open the can, drain the beans,” Stanley said with a chuckle.

The amount of food being prepared is deceiving; the Havilis aren’t expecting company for dinner. In fact, Jocelyn has Pacemates practice on this evening. But since she won’t return home until 10 p.m., she’s bringing a meal to eat later at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

For Jocelyn and Stanley, cooking meals in advance has become their preferred alternative to carry-out — or dining at restaurants — because it’s healthier.

She said poor eating habits initially contributed to her inability to lose the 50 pounds she gained during her pregnancy.

“People see me now and no one believes me,” Jocelyn Havili, 25, said of her fitness level. “I gave away all my old clothes.”

She said she became dedicated to making lifestyle changes this past summer when Stanley was in training camp and she and Holiday went to Utah to spend time with her family.

“I used that time to eat more healthy,” Jocelyn said. “I began drinking more water and then started going to the gym twice a week.”

By mid-summer, she said, the weight started “falling off.”

Jocelyn and her daughter returned to Indianapolis in August. When she saw that the Pacemates were having tryouts, she didn’t take it seriously at first despite her years as a dancer in the league.

“I thought, ‘I’ll take it like a dance class,'” she said.

Jocelyn was a member of the Utah Jazz’s dance team for three years, beginning in 2007, before she moved to Los Angeles to be closer to Stanley when he was at Southern Cal. While there, Jocelyn tried out for the Clippers’ dance team on a whim, made it, and performed for two seasons, including in 2011-12, during Stanley’s first year with the Eagles.

Michelle Duggan, dance team coordinator for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said she had no idea of Jocelyn’s level of experience when she showed up for tryouts. Duggan also wasn’t aware that the dancer was married to a Colts player, or that she had given birth to a baby nine months earlier.

“I didn’t know her at all,” Duggan said. “But I could tell there was a certain maturity about her. In our showcase, with live (judging), they all scored her high. I noticed a calm, sweet, confident personality out there. She’s beautiful and she’s a great dancer.”

The Pacemates, who practice twice a week in the evenings, perform at home games. Jocelyn is the only wife and mother on the team.

“My sixth NBA season, but third time a rookie,” she said with a smile. “I love the team. I’m a mom and I’m out there dancing and doing what I love.”

That’s why she sometimes gets frustrated when she reads or hears negative comments on social media about her choice to be a Pacemate while also being a parent.

“They say, ‘Why would a mother want to be involved in something like this?'” Jocelyn said.

Stanley says his wife doesn’t need to apologize for being a professional dancer anymore than he does for being a professional football player.

“Watching her dance, it’s amazing,” he said. “It’s so fun watching her do what she loves. And it’s kind of an escape for her, too.”

Sitting at the kitchen table, Stanley bends forward and opens his arms for Holiday, who’s racing toward him. He picks up his daughter, and, with one hand, begins pumping the 22-pounder above his head. She squeals. He tosses the girl in the air and catches her. Holiday squeals again and again.

Not today, but on other off days the Havilis sometimes get together with defensive end Fili Moala and center Samson Satele, and their families. The players live in the same neighborhood.

“Three boys — we’re way behind,” Stanley says of Satele’s three sons.

Jocelyn playfully rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

“We want more kids — at least four,” Stanley says.

“Four more?” Jocelyn responds.

“They bring so much joy,” he says.

“It’s a lot of work,” she says.

“They grow up, and I’ll help you,” Stanley replies. “They’ll all be like our Holiday.”