I venture back to your 8th grade school year, when you were finishing up playing soccer. You told me that you wanted to keep on kicking and that you wanted to start playing football as a kicker. The summer prior to your Freshman year when you were going through summer workouts; you didn’t know if you wanted to stay with it or not. You decided to gut it out.
The many roads that you and I have traveled over the past eight years have molded our relationship into one that I will always cherish. All the drives to One on One Kicking Camps in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, I was giving you something in life that one could only hope for…an opportunity to live out your dream.
This was not only about you getting better as a kicker; but also, a chance for you to grow up into the young man that you are today. Learning that life is not always fair and sometimes that you just keep working hard to get what you want. Your Mom and I could not be any prouder of the young man that you have become.
I made a promise to you during your senior year that if you were to play in college, that I would do my best to travel to every one of your games. Below are the places that your Mom and I have traveled to be able to share your experience with you:
2016 – Freshman Year at Shorter University
Five homes game to Rome, Georgia, as well as trips to Chattanooga, Tennessee; Mars Hill, North Carolina; Cleveland, Mississippi; Florence, Alabama and Valdosta, Georgia.
2017 – Sophomore Year at Shorter University
Five more home games to Rome, Georgia, as well as trips to Livingston, Alabama; Boiling Springs, North Carolina; Melbourne, Florida; Tusculum, Tennessee; Carrollton, Georgia and Clinton, Mississippi.
2018 – Junior Year at Mile College
Four home games to Birmingham, Alabama, to include a SIAC Conference Championship, as well as trips to Huntsville, Alabama; Livingston, Alabama; Chicago, Illinois (Soldier Field); Frankfort, Kentucky; Jackson, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia.
2019 – Senior Year at Miles College
Four home games to Birmingham, Alabama, as well as trips to Fort Valley, Georgia; Rolla, Missouri; Columbia, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; Wilberforce, Ohio and Tuskegee, Alabama.
Over 35,000 miles we have traveled to watch you play along the way; to include one final trip this coming Saturday, as we will travel to Albany, Georgia, for a chance for you and your Miles College teammates to win another SIAC Championship.
All of you may ask me, would you do it all over again…without hesitation, my response would be an emphatic, YES!
PROMISE MADE…PROMISE KEPT!