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“font-family: Verdana;”>It was another hot and humid day after practice when I noticed a young man playing in the yard with his little nieces and nephews.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>”Coach Scotty!” yelled the young man. I looked and it was a young man named Natereace Strong. I have had the pleasure of coaching this young man for the past two years.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Now, I know it’s just July 14, and it’s a long way from the East St.Louis Flyers’ football season opener in Georgia. And I realize it is high school football here. But,football in East St. Louis means as much to our community as the St. Louis Rams do to St. Louis. Back in East Boogie, both young and old look forward to Friday nights and Saturday afternoons watching Flyers football. This year will be no exception.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>That brings me to the player who will wear #26 for the 2011 Flyers: Natereace Strong. He is one of the most heralded middle-school athletes ever in the state of Illinois.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Already standing 6’2” and weighing 185 pounds, the freshman to be at East St. Louis Senior helped his teammates win two state championships in track & field, a 4th place finish in basketball in 2010 and a state championship in 2011. In addition, the young man went 36-0 during his football career, all at Wyvetter Younge Middle School in East St. Louis.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>As a seventh grader in 2010, Strong shattered the middle school state record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.46 seconds. In this year’s state meet, he had the crowd on their feet as he turned the corner down the stretch of the track blistering his own record in that same event with a time of 22.29! Those times would have won medals for Natereance at the high school level last year in the state of Illinois.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>During state basketball and track & field competitions, fans and teams would line up to take pictures and seek autographs with Natereace.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>During this years Class 8-3A State basketball tournament in Carlinville, IL, Strong brought the house down with a thunderous dunk after a feed from his point guard Deony Boyd. I hadn’t witnessed anything like this since Darius Miles did his thing at Lincoln and East Side more than a decade ago.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>For Strong, basketball is something he likes, but football and track & field are what he loves, and Darren Sunkett can’t wait to unleash his new running back.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>”Strong will have to earn every carry he gets,” said Sunkett. “He understands we have a lot of talent on this team, but he has competed hard every day like a veteran during our summer conditioning program. He has an opportunity to be one of the great ones with time. We won’t put pressure on him, but I’m looking forward to seeing him by conference time really ready to roll.”
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Most people around these parts know Coach Sunkett and I go way back from his days at Riverview Gardens. A few Negroes in the media turned their back on him. And I’m on record to say this young man reminds me of the young man that brought Sunkett and me together as friends: the late, great Damien Nash, who played under Sunkett at both Riverview Gardens and East St. Louis Senior High.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Naterance wanted to wear #26 in honor of his late mother. Coach Sunkett will allow him to do so.
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>”The young man has great character and works very hard and is a good student,” Sunkett said, “I’m looking forward to coaching him the next three years.”
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“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Last year’s disaster with the IHSA, with the disappointing feeling by the team that they were good enough to be state champions, was hard to swallow. Alumni, former players, coaches, and long-time supportors of Flyers Football around the country also felt embarrassed, picked on and angry – not just at those who put the noose around the neck of the program, but at those who continue to allow things to happen in East St. Louis. You know who you are, I hope things become more clear and fair to those who do have our kids best interest.
