[2] He is an alumnus of Santa Monica High where he starred as a player on the 1982 CIF football champions and was teammates with Sam Anno and USC standout Keith Davis on the team that beat Long Beach Poly 21-8.
He was also teammates in high school with fellow Santa Monica defensive back Junior Thurman who eventually along with Sam Anno transferred to USC after playing football at West LA College.
The Sun Devils were the 1986 Pac-10 Champions and beat both USC and UCLA in Los Angeles and a 16-9 win over the Bruins on October 4, 1987, would prove to be the deciding game in the conference.
Van Raaphorst passed for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the game, out-dueling the Wolverines' Jim Harbaugh, and capturing Rose Bowl MVP honors.
Willis holds a degree from Arizona State University in Kinesiology and has successfully developed personal workout plans for High school, college, and NFL football players to maximize their athletic potential.