When the San Francisco 49ers, under the leadership of their talented quarterback Colin Kaepernick, beat my Atlanta Falcons in the playoffs, let's just say I didn't fully appreciate them. But having a brother and son in California, I just had to pull for Kaepernick in the Super Bowl, and decided to get to know him a bit.
What an interesting fellow!
Here are some highlights:
Great at Several Sports
Kaepernick was nominated for all state in football, basketball, and baseball his senior year in high school. He also loved playing competitive four square with his buddies in high school.
On His Spiritual Beliefs
His tattoos are mostly bible verses, from Psalms. According to his dad, "He was baptized Methodist, confirmed Lutheran and went to a Baptist church in Reno." (Reno is where he attended college.)
On Setting Goals
In the fourth grade, he wrote a letter to himself. In it, he said he planned to be 6-foot-4 inches (he nailed it). He also wrote:
"I hope to go to a good college, then go to the pros and play on the Niners or Packers, even if they aren't good in seven years."
His Pet
When he was 10, he got a pet turtle, which he could hold in his hand. Now the turtle, named Sammy, is 115 pounds.
On Working Hard When You Don't Feel Like It
Although he played well in high school, no colleges wanted to offer him a football scholarship. But finally, after football season his senior year, some assistant coaches from Nevada dropped in to see him play basketball.
"Colin, a shooting guard, jumped center, got the tip, took a backdoor alley-oop pass and barely missed a dunk attempt. One coach turned to the other and said, 'That's our guy.' Kaepernick was playing with a 103-degree temperature."
"Colin once pitched a no-hitter, rode the team bus back to Pitman [his high school] and was taken directly to the hospital with pneumonia."
On Having a Good Reputation
"Just before the draft, an ESPN researcher gathering info on Kaepernick asked coach Harris about the tattoos. Harris told her, 'Look, he's a 4.3-GPA guy, from Wisconsin, with a pet tortoise. If you're looking for a story about a player overcoming the thug life, you've got the wrong guy.'"
"Trouble? Mischief? None. As in: zero. No chewing-gum-in-class incidents, not a single tardy. Nada. Zip ... until Kaepernick's last day at Pitman, when the dean of students caught Colin wearing a non-authorized cap and confiscated it. Seriously."
Find more character stories at Legacy Educational Resources at www.character-education.info.
http://www.sfgate.com/sports/ostler/article/From-Turlock-to-S-F-taking-the-long-route-2372517.php#ixzz2JwKyJoBU
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/
http://www.sfgate.com/sports/ostler/article/From-Turlock-to-S-F-taking-the-long-route-2372517.php#page-2
http://www.sfgate.com/sports/ostler/article/From-Turlock-to-S-F-taking-the-long-route-2372517.php#ixzz2JwMGO99L
http://www.sfgate.com/sports/ostler/article/From-Turlock-to-S-F-taking-the-long-route-2372517.php#ixzz2JwKC1FwT
http://topcelebritie.blogspot.com/2012/11/colin-kaepernick-biography.html
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2 comments:
I like that he wrote a letter to set a goal for himself - this sort of thing gives kids something to work towards. With my class I used a character education program called Who Is NOBODY? and this gave the kids a chance to actually work towards their goals WHILE they were helping someone else. I found this helped kids to alter their goals to be not just about themselves but also about helping others and that gave them a solid foundation to build on. The program is really easy and set up by DVD. I would suggest this program to any educator who wants to set each of their students up for success in their own unique way! Here's a link to the program: www.whoisnobody.com
Wonderful blog post. Thank you for that.
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