When Mike Karney talks, teenagers listen.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me your eyes,\u201d Karney began as he spoke on the importance of setting goals and making smart choices to more than three dozen teenagers March 26 at the Springwood Recreation Hall gym on Kent\u2019s East Hill.<\/p>\n
The teenagers focused their attention on Karney, a fullback with the New Orleans Saints and a 2000 graduate of Kentwood High School, who came home to share how he went from just another kid in Kent to a professional in the NFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was never the biggest, the strongest or the fastest,\u201d Karney said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m still not, but I\u2019m in the NFL. It takes hard work and drive. I\u2019m still trying to be the best I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karney, 26, spoke to teenagers at the Lighthouse program at Springwood, a public-housing development, in an effort to give youths a positive outlook in what they can accomplish in their lives. The Lighthouse program is managed by Kent Youth and Family Services.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to give back to the city because this is my home,\u201d the 5-foot-11, 258-pound Karney told the teenagers. \u201cYou deserve great things. If somebody tells you that you can\u2019t do something, don\u2019t listen to them. Find your passion and believe you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ibrahim Abdirizak, 15, a Kentlake High School student, liked what he heard from Karney, who is now in his fifth season with the Saints after being drafted out of Arizona State University.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was awesome,\u201d said Abdirizak, who also received an autographed football from Karney. \u201cEverything was real with what he said about how to follow your dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karney always had a dream to play in the NFL. But he told his audience the dream can be a veterinarian, a doctor, an NBA player or whatever else you want to be. He emphasized the importance of setting short-term goals to help reach the long-term goal.<\/p>\n
Allen Shour, 16, a Kentlake student, also liked Karney\u2019s message.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was good,\u201d said Shour, who hopes to become a firefighter. \u201cYou need to find new ways of surviving and just be yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karney recalled how he tired of people telling him he was too slow or too small in his school days. He used that as motivation to become faster and stronger through personal weightlifting workouts after school and on weekends. He would even push a car to build strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople would see me and thought my car had broke down,\u201d Karney said. \u201cBut I was pushing it to build leg strength. I\u2019m not asking you guys to go push a car, but that\u2019s what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
One teenager asked Karney if he smoked or drank.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not smoke,\u201d Karney said. \u201cI have a drink as an adult, but I did not drink in junior high or high school. People wanted to party or drink, I went to the gym. If they wanted to party after the game, I went home to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sara Wood, a public education specialist with the Kent Police who works with the Springwood youth, had heard Karney spoke last year to students at Covington Elementary School and figured he would be a good speaker to talk about setting goals for the Lighthouse program.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s from Kent and it\u2019s great to have someone come back to town,\u201d Wood said of the football player, who now lives in Arizona in the offseason.<\/p>\n
Karney, who plans to offer his first youth football camp June 28 at Kentwood High, didn\u2019t just show up, talk, sign autographs and leave. When a boy asked him after his talk if he wanted to play some basketball, Karney said, \u201cSure,\u201d and joined the teenagers for several pickup games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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