Those are just the football schools
That should be pointed out up front, because otherwise you’d never know, which is just the way he prefers it.
His killer smile, which can light up a room, jumps out at you first. So do the dreadlocks he and his twin brother have both worn the past four years. In fact, the two 17-year-old defensive backs from St. Petersburg, Fla., who will play alongside each other for the U.S. Under-19 football team in Tuesday’s International Bowl, rarely think of Shaquem’s physical disability.
The Akron head football coach didn’t notice it after watching game tape of Shaquem (pronounced Sha-keem) in his junior season. And last June he dispatched an assistant to offer full scholarships to both. When the assistant arrived at a Lakewood High School practice and discovered Shaquem’s disability, he took pause and told the family he’d have to check in with his head coach.
“The head coach called back and said, “I don’t care if he has no hands. We want to offer them both,’ ” Tangie Griffin said Monday. “I was in tears.”
The 48-year-old mother of four has cried a lot over the years. She often cried herself to sleep on emotionally searing nights long ago, holding tight a son who was born with a hand not fully formed. But they’ve mostly been tears of joy, especially of late.you are involved every step of the way in creating your own personalized bobbleheads.
Akron was only the first to offer scholarships. Then came Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green. More recently Toledo, Cincinnati, Arkansas and even national champion Alabama have inquired to muddy the water.
Those are just the football schools that came calling. He says he can dunk a basketball, and LSU, Miami and Purdue have wanted Shaquem as a triple jumper ever since he won a state title with a leap of 48 feet, 4 inches and then topped that with 49-1. How good is he?
Good enough that he aspires to someday compete in the Olympics. Both of the boys do, in fact, with an indomitable spirit. And after that, mom says they’d like to play in the NFL, become pediatricians and then own an NFL team. Modest-type goals.
Yeah, you might say none of the family sees a disability. Oh, that.
“I’ve forgotten he only has one hand,” Shaquill says.
“I couldn’t imagine myself any other way,You must not use the laser cutter without being trained.” Shaquem says. “I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’d probably be lazier if I had two hands.”
For now, the two are committed to play football for George O’Leary’s Central Florida Knights. But long before the Griffins earned scholarships to UCF,High quality Casual Shoes products and GMC Certified Casual shoes supplier, Shaquem endured his unfair share of hardship.
When Tangie Griffin gave birth,There is a gorgeous collection of fascinators and Hair bands that are perfect for weddings or the races. Shaquem suffered from amniotic band syndrome, a rare condition in which a strand from his mother’s amniotic sac split off and tightly wrapped around Shaquem’s left wrist, strangling it from full development and leaving him with a muscular mass of soft tissue with tiny protrusions instead of full fingers. Now it sort of resembles the nob of a baseball bat.
With everything he has tried, he has excelled. And often ahead of his twin brother. He learned to tie his shoes before Shaquill. He was the first to climb a tree. He refused to let his parents button his shirt. There was nothing he couldn’t do. He’s also thrown the discus in track.
But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had scars.
Early in his infancy, Shaquem suffered so much pain from his left hand that he and his mother would often cry themselves to sleep. At times, Shaquem threatened to go to the kitchen and get a knife to cut his fingers off himself. The pain became so unbearable that, at her son’s bidding, finally the short fingers were amputated when he was 4.
The very next day, Shaquem was running around the yard,The Power monitor hardware and Power Tool software provide a robust power measurement solution for Windows Mobile powered devices. carrying a football, a bloody adhesive bandage on his left hand as his badge of courage. He was so into football that his dad, Terry, who owns a tow truck business, worked with him for hours.
The twins couldn’t be more alike, from the warmest smiles you’ve ever seen to a friendly, competitive spirit that is so second nature that they good-naturedly spar over everything from rock, paper, scissors to the last piece of mom’s fried chicken. Shaquill’s a better sprinter, one says, but Shaquem says his girlfriend is prettier. Shaquill’s got a better GPA at 3.6 to Shaquem’s 3.4, but Shaquem’s more adventurous. Shaquem, at 6-2, 196, weighs five more pounds. It never ends.
His killer smile, which can light up a room, jumps out at you first. So do the dreadlocks he and his twin brother have both worn the past four years. In fact, the two 17-year-old defensive backs from St. Petersburg, Fla., who will play alongside each other for the U.S. Under-19 football team in Tuesday’s International Bowl, rarely think of Shaquem’s physical disability.
The Akron head football coach didn’t notice it after watching game tape of Shaquem (pronounced Sha-keem) in his junior season. And last June he dispatched an assistant to offer full scholarships to both. When the assistant arrived at a Lakewood High School practice and discovered Shaquem’s disability, he took pause and told the family he’d have to check in with his head coach.
“The head coach called back and said, “I don’t care if he has no hands. We want to offer them both,’ ” Tangie Griffin said Monday. “I was in tears.”
The 48-year-old mother of four has cried a lot over the years. She often cried herself to sleep on emotionally searing nights long ago, holding tight a son who was born with a hand not fully formed. But they’ve mostly been tears of joy, especially of late.you are involved every step of the way in creating your own personalized bobbleheads.
Akron was only the first to offer scholarships. Then came Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green. More recently Toledo, Cincinnati, Arkansas and even national champion Alabama have inquired to muddy the water.
Those are just the football schools that came calling. He says he can dunk a basketball, and LSU, Miami and Purdue have wanted Shaquem as a triple jumper ever since he won a state title with a leap of 48 feet, 4 inches and then topped that with 49-1. How good is he?
Good enough that he aspires to someday compete in the Olympics. Both of the boys do, in fact, with an indomitable spirit. And after that, mom says they’d like to play in the NFL, become pediatricians and then own an NFL team. Modest-type goals.
Yeah, you might say none of the family sees a disability. Oh, that.
“I’ve forgotten he only has one hand,” Shaquill says.
“I couldn’t imagine myself any other way,You must not use the laser cutter without being trained.” Shaquem says. “I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’d probably be lazier if I had two hands.”
For now, the two are committed to play football for George O’Leary’s Central Florida Knights. But long before the Griffins earned scholarships to UCF,High quality Casual Shoes products and GMC Certified Casual shoes supplier, Shaquem endured his unfair share of hardship.
When Tangie Griffin gave birth,There is a gorgeous collection of fascinators and Hair bands that are perfect for weddings or the races. Shaquem suffered from amniotic band syndrome, a rare condition in which a strand from his mother’s amniotic sac split off and tightly wrapped around Shaquem’s left wrist, strangling it from full development and leaving him with a muscular mass of soft tissue with tiny protrusions instead of full fingers. Now it sort of resembles the nob of a baseball bat.
With everything he has tried, he has excelled. And often ahead of his twin brother. He learned to tie his shoes before Shaquill. He was the first to climb a tree. He refused to let his parents button his shirt. There was nothing he couldn’t do. He’s also thrown the discus in track.
But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had scars.
Early in his infancy, Shaquem suffered so much pain from his left hand that he and his mother would often cry themselves to sleep. At times, Shaquem threatened to go to the kitchen and get a knife to cut his fingers off himself. The pain became so unbearable that, at her son’s bidding, finally the short fingers were amputated when he was 4.
The very next day, Shaquem was running around the yard,The Power monitor hardware and Power Tool software provide a robust power measurement solution for Windows Mobile powered devices. carrying a football, a bloody adhesive bandage on his left hand as his badge of courage. He was so into football that his dad, Terry, who owns a tow truck business, worked with him for hours.
The twins couldn’t be more alike, from the warmest smiles you’ve ever seen to a friendly, competitive spirit that is so second nature that they good-naturedly spar over everything from rock, paper, scissors to the last piece of mom’s fried chicken. Shaquill’s a better sprinter, one says, but Shaquem says his girlfriend is prettier. Shaquill’s got a better GPA at 3.6 to Shaquem’s 3.4, but Shaquem’s more adventurous. Shaquem, at 6-2, 196, weighs five more pounds. It never ends.
0 条评论:
发表评论
订阅 博文评论 [Atom]
<< 主页