Earl Davis was driving to a job interview in Ft. Wayne, Indiana when he saw a teenager working out with tires and chains on the side of the road.
He decided to stop and chat with 15-year-old Demarco Bailey, who explained that he had to construct his own training equipment because his family couldn’t afford a gym membership or their own equipment. The teen’s goal? Make the high school football team.
“He’s so small and he looks about the same age as my kids that I coach,” Davis, who coaches football for Metro Youth Sports, recalled of their initial conversation. “So I saw him and I was like, ‘Wow.’ My two boys play football and they were home asleep. They work hard, I can’t say that they don’t, but I wanted to take his picture to come home to show them his dedication.” (Yahoo)
Then, Davis posted that picture on his Facebook page saying, “I gave him my name and number so he can work out with my boys, told him we have sleds, parachutes, resistant bands, weights, [etc.] He was geeked up. Best part of all, the whole conversation took place while he was still jogging. He said, ‘Sorry to be rude coach but you gotta drive while I jog. I gotta stay moving.’ He didn’t wanna stop long enough to take a pic! When a kid wants to succeed as bad as they wanna breathe……..then they will be successful.”
According to one person who commented on the Facebook post, Bailey has been working like this for at least three years.
Seeing the boy’s determination, Davis started a GoFundMe page for Bailey so that he could get brand new training gear. Over $5,000 was donated, and according to reports, Bailey had a hard time spending it because he didn’t feel like he earned it. He ended up purchasing a few pieces of equipment, and then donating the rest.
Bailey doesn’t know where he will be attending high school come August because his family is looking for housing. But, Bailey finds comfort in the certainty that comes with training, the one thing he can control.
