ATLANTA — More than 100 teens in the Atlanta area are using the game of football to learn life lessons though a local nonprofit. Nearly two dozen of them will will head to Athens this Saturday to watch the Georgia Bulldogs play.
With the snap of the ball and a flick of his wrist, Casey Barner showed why he won Atlanta Public Schools Middle School Player of the Year award. The eighth grader calls himself an athlete who can play all over the football field.
"I just love it, because I've been playing since I was five or six. I've been playing for a long time," Barner said. "My mom, coaches and my family, they motivate me to stay focus and school comes first with my grades."
Damarien Parrott is often on the other end of many of Barner's passes. The John Lewis Invictus Academy students have already won a championship and they both have big plans.
"I see myself in the NFL helping people, the community, my parents, my family," Parrott said.
Winning isn't always easy, especially in Grove Park. Donna Davis, the interim principal at John Lewis Invictus Academy, said she understood the struggle and pressures young teens face.
"I was born in this community," Davis said.
"So it’s everything to me to give back to my scholars. Even though I made it out, I make it a pledge to come here every single day to help my scholars be the best version of themselves they can be," Davis added.
Greg Spriggs has plenty of reasons to celebrate. The head football coach just won the middle school's first championship in program history. Now, as part of a partnership with nonprofit iDareU, young student-athletes are getting a chance to learn football and life lessons.
"A lot of our young men need to see positive role models, especially Black males in their life," Spriggs said. "A lot of them come from pretty hard backgrounds, so it's good to see positive men in their life that are here, care for them and love them."
Spriggs said some of the kids came from neighborhoods with a lot of challenges. They may not have power consistently or know where their next meal is coming from. Spriggs challenged his student-athletes to push through adversity.
“We’re headed in the right direction. Hopefully we’re building a positive culture and building student-athletes," Spriggs said. "We’re proud of the boys and they get a chance to see all their hard work pay off. I couldn’t go pro, but this is definitely the next best thing to me. Being able to be part of their lives and help them hopefully achieve their goals of making it to high school, college and beyond, NFL. If not, get that college degree and help take care of your family.”
Glenn Ford created the iDareU Academy in 2005 to position young teens for a promising future. Ford was born in Columbus, but he has since relocated to Atlanta, where his program is based. More than 100 kids are currently taking part in the program. Notable alumni include Atlanta Falcons star cornerback AJ Terrell and Michael Carter of the New York Jets.
"These kids could be playing on this field or they could be knocking on your window," Ford said. "Our main goal is try to help every kid get a free education with their God-given ability. These kids out here throwing the ball will graduate from high school in 2028, and still, some of the kids will say they’re the first person in my family that’ll get a college degree. So we still have a lot of work to do.”
Ford attended the University of Georgia, where he played with current head coach Kirby Smart. The two will send nearly two dozen iDareU students to Athens to watch Georgia take on Ole Miss Saturday. Ford hopes the exposure to football at the college level will inspire his kids.
"You’re hoping it sparks them. You hope it gives them an idea of saying this is what I want to do," Ford said. "Give them something else to see outside their everyday lives. These games only are like a dot, but hopefully, when they see the game, and say coach this is what I want to do, you take that energy to navigate them to the things you need to do to get them there.”
For Parrott and others, iDareU represents a step to bigger goals and plans. It's a program that dares him, with each step, route and catch, to get there.
"A lot of people tell me everyday that I have a bright future," Parrott said. "My coaches in school tell me don't hang around the wrong crowd. My mom tells me that, my coaches, people in my family. They know I got a real bright future."