PUHI — Some of the students at Chiefess Kamakahelei School were on hand Saturday when ten NFL football players and two NFL cheerleaders hosted the annual NFL Youth Clinic. For those who weren’t, three returned to Kaua‘i on Monday for
PUHI — Some of the students at Chiefess Kamakahelei School were on hand Saturday when ten NFL football players and two NFL cheerleaders hosted the annual NFL Youth Clinic.
For those who weren’t, three returned to Kaua‘i on Monday for a visit at two schools before heading back to O‘ahu and the week of pre-Pro Bowl hoopla.
Greeted by rousing applause from the student body, Henri Crockett of the Minnesota Vikings, Itula Mili of the Seattle Seahawks, and Kristin Beisel, a San Francisco 49ers cheerleader were accompanied by Stacey Kennedy of the NFL, and Kaua‘i coordinator Pam Parker as they stroke into the school’s covered playcourt.
Crockett, a linebacker, told the students that ‘‘no matter where you come from, what matters is where you want to go.”
Along that path, there are decisions that need to be made, and the key to success is to make smart decisions.
Alluding to his youth growing up in a poorer section of town, Crockett said he was surrounded by factors influencing his life, and decisions he made then, led to his success in the NFL.
‘‘Sure, you’ll make some bad decisions,” Crockett said. ‘‘But, you need to learn from those mistakes – not keep making the same decisions.”
Mili was born in Hawai‘i, went to Kahuku High School, and is now a tight end for the Seahawks, a dream he said he had when he was young.
‘‘You can attain your dreams,” Mili said., echoing Crockett’s words. ‘‘You achieve your dreams through hard work. And, don’t do drugs!”
‘‘Drugs will stop you. Drugs kill dreams, and hurt life. Drugs will kill you,” he said emphatically as Crockett added how he made friends outside his town to stay away from distractions hindering his dreams.
Beisel, too, had a dream of being a cheerleader, and kept that dream alive, overcoming her fear of auditioning for the San Francisco 49ers.
Just two years on the 49ers squad, Beisel told the students she started cheering when she was in junior high school, and admired the cheerleaders on television.
That dream reinforced, Beisel continued cheering in high school, working to keep a 3.5 GPA which is a lot higher than the 2.0 GPA Hawai‘i high school students need to maintain.
She continued cheering through college until she graduated, and made the big step to audition for San Francisco.
Echoing the importance of keeping dreams alive, Beisel also told the students to keep studying hard, keep reaching for that dream.
Students were given an opportunity to ask questions of the NFL contingent following the presentation – questions that ranged from ‘‘How much can you bench press?” to more serious one like, ‘‘Do you know anyone who does drugs?”
There was no hesitation on the part of Crockett who promptly answered, ‘‘Yes. I knew a person who did drugs, and he died,” his voice trailing off, ‘‘of suicide.”
The trio left a message of inspiration, encouraging the students to work hard, stay clear of drugs, and make the smart decisions before they left to a rush of students wanting an even closer look at them.
Originally, Kaua‘i was not scheduled for school visits by NFL players, but due to requests from schools, both Chiefess Kamakahelei School and Island School were recipients of a visit by the NFL professionals who are in Hawai‘i for the 25th Anniversary NFL Pro Bowl which will kick off at 2:30 p.m. HST at Aloha Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 8.
