Kaepernick's father is proud, gratified COLIN KAEPERNICK

Recommended Video:

Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick is one of three children of Rick and Teresa Kaepernick. He's the only one who doesn't help churn out mozzarella and Monterey jack at Hilmar Cheese Co. in Merced County, where Rick is vice president of operations, and where he spoke in a telephone interview this week about his increasingly famous son, his upbringing in Turlock (Stanislaus County), and the expectations now on his shoulders.

On Colin handling the pressure of his first playoffs:

"Since he was little, he has had this unique ability to block things out and focus on the task at hand, and not let other things around him bother him. I remember when I dropped him off at the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana before his senior year in college. He said, 'Dad, it's not about luck any more - you've either prepared or you haven't.' "

On Colin's decision to play football at the University of Nevada in Reno - the only school that had offered him a scholarship - rather than pursue baseball, in which he was a prized prospect and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs.

"He basically sat in our living room and told a Major League Baseball representative, 'I'm undraftable.' He said, 'This is my dream, this is my goal, this is what I'm going to work for.' As parents, you try to guide him to the best decision. Everyone had an opinion, but he decided that day what he wanted to do and he never looked back. He has that tattoo across his chest ('Against all odds') for a reason."

On Colin throwing a seven-inning no-hitter in high school while seriously ill:

"We knew before the game he had a cold or something. He said, 'I don't feel real good, but I'm going to go to school today.' After the game, he came home, took a shower, laid on the couch, and started shaking. I said, 'What's the matter?' He said, 'I'm really sick.' My wife's a registered nurse. She took him to the emergency room (at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock). He had pneumonia. That's how focused he can be."

Rick Kaepernick is proud and gratified. Rick Kaepernick is proud and gratified. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Kaepernick's father is proud, gratified 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

On the response in Turlock to Colin's success:

"To me, the most gratifying thing as a parent is people keep coming up to me and saying, 'We love Colin because he hasn't changed. He's still Colin.' Most people say, 'We're so proud of Colin on the field, but more proud of how he's handled himself.' I think it would be very easy for most individuals to get very caught up in the publicity, but he's all about football and trying to achieve a goal. He's focused, and he's very good at putting that stuff aside. Everything he does is with a purpose. He hasn't become full of himself."

On Colin's competitive nature:

"He's very competitive. With anything and anybody. If we were to go outside and shoot HORSE, and if I were ever to beat him a game ... He has this philosophy - we're going to keep playing until I win, and then we can quit. Our family is like that in general. We're pretty competitive, but he's very competitive."

On Colin's leadership ability:

"When he was younger, in fifth or sixth grade, they had a GATE program for gifted students. If you were in the top 30, you go into the program at a different school, and he was like the top kid. We talked to the administrators, and they said Colin needed to be in there. Then we talked about it at home, and we decided to leave him in the regular school. They said, 'Why would you do that?' And I said, 'Listen, there's other things in life that are important.'

"One of the things we liked at the regular school was that Colin got his work done before anybody and then helped the other kids. And that was a leadership issue, even at that young age. He already was competitive enough. He didn't need to be competitive in schoolwork, too. I think it was a lesson to Colin that, hey, not everybody is as talented or gifted. It doesn't mean they're not good or important people. He was just one of the kids."

On Colin balancing confidence and humility:

"For me, Colin is a very confident young man. But I think his friends would tell you he's not cocky. He would tell you he doesn't think this is a big deal. He'd tell you, 'Everybody's good at something.' Some people are good at playing the piano, some people are good at dancing, and some people are good at football. "I used to tell him, 'If you have to tell somebody how good you are, how good really are you?' "