The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Having to run nearly three miles in the heat every day for training did not deter him from his passion for football, neither did being held up by robbers three times. No matter the challenges – financial or otherwise – Medwelth “MJ” Curry Jr is determined to pursue his love for the game and one day maybe even play as a professional.

This Fall, the 16-year-old will enter his senior year of high school abroad, on a partial football scholarship to the Life Prep Academy in Wichita, Kansas, after being scouted. However, to keep following his dreams of a professional career in sports, he needs money to cover his school costs, and is now asking the public for assistance.

MJ’s love affair with the sport of football began in seventh grade when he played flag football with the Pinewood Titans.

However, his time there was short lived because the coach was involved in an accident and the team was forced to disband.

As fate had it, MJ met another international coach who held a youth tackle football league at his school, and once he formally joined the team, his potential was recognised almost immediately.

“The first day I got my respect and I started to play there until grade nine. I got a scholarship in grade nine, but my parents couldn’t afford it so I had to wait another two years to go back to the same scholarship,” he told Tribune Sports.

MJ sometimes could not get a ride to football training from his father in Elizabeth Estates or his grandmother in Pinewood. At those times he would run all the way to and from football practice at A F Adderley Junior High School on Baillou Hill Road just to make sure he never missed a game.

“That was two years of walking/running from A F Adderley to Pinewood Gardens after every game and going through a lot of stuff. I got robbed like three times and it was a hard journey, but it paid off.”

MJ said when he first received the scholarship in ninth grade his grandmother didn’t think it was real. However, once they saw some of his friends, who had also been awarded scholarships, leave the island for school, they worked hard to make sure he could go too.

Life Prep Academy Coach Vincent Martin, who came to the tackle football league every April to scout promising Bahamian athletes, had to wait two years to recruit him.

During this time, MJ said he worked hard and developed his craft. “The hard work paid off because it wasn’t easy,” he said.

Describing his experience at the Kansas high school he attends, MJ said: “It’s always ups and downs everywhere you go, but school there is fun. If you’re not having fun, then you’re not really playing the sport. But I had a good (football) season and made it to the championship.”

In fact, during his last football season, the senior quarterback of their team was injured and MJ led the team to the final round.

A hard worker on and off the field, MJ, who is also on the school’s basketball team, insisted that for him managing sports and school work was not that hard once he put his mind to it.

“I did well . . . I made it through and I’m ready to go back,” he said.

As for his plans after school, MJ said he is looking forward to college but he knows it may be not be a reality for him without financial assistance.

“I should say if it doesn’t come through – which I know it will – you always have to have a backup plan, so I’m planning on joining the Defence Force or studying accounts if I ever have to come back home,” he said.

Even so, earlier this summer, MJ’s family, inspired by his determination and grit, hosted a souse-out to help raise funds to cover the remainder of his school expenses.

The teen said his family, mentors and friends all recognise his potential and want to see him become the next Rick Fox, Devard Darling or Buddy Hield, and to represent the Bahamas in the global sports arena.

“What I learned from this is to never give up . . . I’ve been talking to a lot of coaches and the way I’m playing, they say I have a door open to make it somewhere sports wise, but I still have a lot of things to learn and still have a lot of work to do before I get there,” he said.

“I hope the Lord provides me with enough strength so that I can progress and make it to the highest point. That’s all I pray for.”

Those interested in assisting Medwelth “MJ” Curry Jr in pursuing his football dreams can contact him at 437-1173 or e-mail currymedwelth242@gmail.com. They can also reach his mother, Cherise Rolle, at 433-3330.