By: Nick Gradney (National Scout) @StatZ_G
9 year old Dontre Green Jr was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy – an illness that causes weakness in your muscles and can travel through your bones. Dontre is a running back who plays for the Savage Longhorns 10U squad. Sometimes we can get too caught up in statistics, big plays and milestones, but the moments that are most important are heartfelt stories such as this. It’s bigger than football. On the outside looking in, it’s just a bunch of young kids playing a sport they love. However, the human aspect gets lost in the game – you may never know what someone is going through. Football is a fast paced, emotional game and most of the youth look to the gridiron as an escape from everything they deal with in their personal lives on a daily. Hearing about Dontre’s situation from his coach really touched my heart and nearly made me teary eyed so acknowledging his courageous efforts was a no brainer. As adults, we tend to make excuses as to why we can’t resume or finish something we start but if a child at this age can go through his progressions off the field, so can we. Dontre was determined to get back to playing football, which not only shows a level of strength but also commitment. Making the NFL is a dream of Green Jr and his will to be great and display sacrifice, shows glaringly. Being so young, that could’ve easily scarred him and made football the last thing on his mind or deterred him away from the sport as a whole but instead, it made this kid hungry. To come back after dealing with Bell’s Palsy for over a month is such a commendable feat and it’s worthy of more than just a mere mention. DR Sportz is a family that love and care about our athletes. So to Dontre Green Jr, never stop fighting, believing and keep the main thing the main thing!
I appreciate the article on my young man. He was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy and Vestibular Neuritis, which is what caused all the dizziness he had with the Bell’s palsy. Happy he’s back on the field!