East St. Louis Flyers football alumni and fans were proud of the four student-athletes who signed National Letters of Intent to four major college programs last week.
Standout defensive back Gregory Taylor signed with the University of Missouri, linebacker Kyron Watson signed with Kansas, defensive back Treevon Prater signed with Syracuse and offensive lineman Luther Wright signed with Southeast Missouri State.
We had a great signing ceremony in the school’s new library. The young men were joined by their proud parents as they took the next step in their athletic careers and their lives. It was also an opportunity for friends, classmates and others to see that all is not so gloom and doom with our youth in the City of Champions – that is, East St. Louis.
The event received plenty of coverage from the media outlets from around the city. The coverage in my community where I was born and educated made me so proud of our youth. More important, I’m not shocked by what I saw from them. We have some very talented young people in East St. Louis, and that includes more than our great football players who were on display once again last week.
The coverage of our band, cheerleaders, education and arts proves our youth are very talented in many areas. The football team is another piece of the puzzle for the future of our district, as it pertains to our youth.
A community that is often looked upon as hopeless proves once again that our young people are leading the charge to change that stigma.
Whether it is the nationally known BETA Club, or the nationally known football program, there are a lot of positive things happening here in East St. Louis with our young people.
Hail to the youth, because you put us adults on the map last week!
