Willie Daniel This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. The Bulldog: When Life Changes the Game

   www.statepress.com/bulldog/121 - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/15/1999   Last Visited: 8/4/2001

   ASU football players Kareem Clark and Willie Daniel have covered their parental responsibilities like a wide receiver--without sacrificing school or sport.
   
   Kareem Clark , an ASU cornerback , credits his daughter April for his solid performance on and off the field.
   
   I don't regret any second of it , Daniel said of his son Tristen. I'm absolutely thrilled to have him in my life. He's been such a wonderful addition. It just makes you look at life a little differently..
   
   Daniel almost had to give up football when he learned his girlfriend , Leah Vance , was pregnant.
   
   ...
   I was pretty scared , said Daniel , 19 , who was attending St. Mary's High School at the time. I was nervous , just kind of shocked--a number of different emotions..
   
   Daniel was a star player at St. Mary's and it was just a matter of time before ASU coaches made him a scholarship offer. Though Tristen Vance , who was born the summer before Daniel's senior season , didn't pose a recruiting problem , Daniel worried about how he would take care of his son.
   
   He said he and Vance talked about adoption briefly , but quickly threw the idea out the window..
   
   It was a responsibility we had to take on , Daniel said. We got ourselves into it..
   
   Compounding the situation was Daniel's own difficult childhood. His brother is mentally handicapped , requiring his mother's full-time attention.
   
   After living with different friends for brief periods , Daniel moved in with Bill and Cindy Stine , a Scottsdale couple he met through a youth basketball program.
   ...
   We were both very fond of Willie , said Cindy Stine , a private investigator.
   ...
   Daniel said , They volunteered their home to me and we were all thankful for that..
   
   It wasn't until he began making recruiting trips that the Stines found out about the pregnancy. They encouraged him to make the most of five college visits allowed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association , but Daniel insisted he wanted to play at ASU to stay close to home. That's when he broke the news.
   
   ...
   Bill ( an attorney ) told him , 'You're just another typical athlete , another statistic , ' although we both knew Willie would not be the statistical dad that walks away. It was an error in judgment. It happens. Whatever it is , it's made Willie even better than he was. He's got so much to offer. We didn't want any roadblocks..
   
   The Stines volunteered their home to Tristen , clearing the way for Daniel and Vance to focus on football and school.
   ...
   I can't put it into words , Daniel said of the Stines. I'm just absolutely grateful for the opportunity that we're provided with. Without the Stines' help I would obviously not be playing football. I'd probably be working right now and so would Leah..
   
   Daniel and Vance are not together anymore , a common result of teen pregnancies , according to Patricia Angelini , director of the non-profit Arizona Coalition of Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting.
   ...
   He has a good relationship with both of us and that's the important thing , Daniel said. We don't know , us being apart , how that will affect him. But if it starts to , that's something we'll have to address when the time comes..
   
   Continued > >
   
   When Life Changes the Game : [ Page 1 ] [ Page 2 ] [ Page 3 ]