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Antonio was in good company with the other kids he grew up with in that he lived in an area of town that put an emphasis on sports, especially football. \u00a0North Highlands\u00a0school\u00a0was situated\u00a0in a\u00a0residential that gave young males an opportunity to lean the sports as little tykes, as they would begin their organized football as very young children. The area has been given a bad rap for the negatives, but\u00a0for me, I took a pride in working with those families, those kids, that had\u00a0opportunities that many overlooked. Sure, we had the\u00a0Bloods and Crips.\u00a0\u00a0But to a gang member, some that I had as\u00a0students, they were human beings too.\u00a0 Yes,\u00a0 the neighborhood had some bad “actors”, but to a family, I\u00a0never had a parent tell me they wanted\u00a0their child to be in a gang.\u00a0 And for those that did become\u00a0a gang member, never, not once, did I have a\u00a0gang member disrespect me in the years as an educator at the school.\u00a0 And many times I would sit with said gang members to see how things were going and what was happening with their families.\u00a0\u00a0Always that would thank me for working with them, and the funny things is that most knew that they were on a bad track, but that was the way it was.<\/p>\n
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The best thing about Antonio when I was around him as a young man\u00a0was that he had a sweat heart and\u00a0in perspective,\u00a0an was a\u00a0good natured\u00a0person.\u00a0I believe he still is.\u00a0 \u00a0In working with the young man during his early\u00a0developmental years, anyone could see that\u00a0 he was an individual that had been taught the difference between right and wrong.\u00a0 Though his heart is heavy today as he lost his father\u00a0just a day or\u00a0so ago,\u00a0 Antonio got his moral balance from his mother, a fine woman.\u00a0 She had the task to raise “Tony” and his big sister, who would always look after him and.\u00a0 I will always remember my visits with Antonio’s mother, and\u00a0with big sister, were a team that molded Antonio in\u00a0being a righteous person.\u00a0 Antonio had a love of family (as it showed today in the article about his father’s death in the Daily Oklahoman).\u00a0 During my time with Antonio,\u00a0I had daily interacting with the young man, sometimes for the good that he had displayed at school, often times for the troubled actions that had to be “cleaned up” by me as his principal.\u00a0 He was not unlike most kids\u00a0but he had something special.\u00a0 Antonio was as strong as any child I had been around\u00a0and with that he had to find his place in a society, first as a classmate of the friends he would\u00a0journey with through his education\u00a0in the OKCPS.\u00a0 A child with a temper at times (not always bad), Antonio was not to by-pass a confrontation, and he would stand his ground if needed\u00a0(an honorable trait).\u00a0 But he knew his limitations as he knew his strengths and never hurt anyone in confrontation.\u00a0 He reminded me of one of my sons in fact, as he would always be the real deal in letting another child know his feelings on something, and wouldn’t take\u00a0crap from another child his age.\u00a0 As with my son, who was older and bigger than his classmates, Antonio got respect just for his stature, and to add his communication skills, he was a leader of his peers.<\/p>\n
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But the thing about the young man was that he took direction extremely well and never disrespected adult authority.\u00a0 He also understood that he had a parent figure in his mother that would not give him “outs” on his behavior.\u00a0 Antonio was in fact grounded in love, compassion, and\u00a0was surrounded by adults\u00a0that had his best interests\u00a0in perspective. \u00a0Mrs.. Smith was the perfect parent, in that she might not agree with you as a teacher\/principal, but the child, her children, would never know, always supporting the school’s decisions.\u00a0 Gaining a respect for authority gave Antonio something that a lot of children are without, that being a sense\u00a0of knowing that there\u00a0were adults in his corner,\u00a0strong, and righteous parent (s) and teachers, that wouldn’t play, but were truthful and could be counted for positive direction.\u00a0 I didn’t\u00a0keep touch\u00a0with Antonio after elementary on a personal\u00a0basis,\u00a0and I knew of his exploits in high\u00a0school and at Okla. State, and yes, it wasn’t always\u00a0smoother.\u00a0 But I never really worried about him as his\u00a0Mom would take care of him always.\u00a0\u00a0 His end direction guided by his Mom was key. That is something that is missing with many kids today, and especially\u00a0in\u00a0\u00a0homes where a parent worries more about where they are going to get\u00a0the next joint, smoke, or bottle, and not the\u00a0words and actions\u00a0that might change\u00a0the lives of their children\u00a0for the better.\u00a0\u00a0Antonio learned that he had adults that had the best interest in his well-being, and that he had to suffer the consequences of a wrongful act, without manipulating\u00a0 a way out of it.\u00a0 Matter of fact, Antonio was blessed.<\/p>\n
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As for Antonio, he turned to sports and quality of these elementary teams\u00a0that were called North Highlands,\u00a0was high, with excellent coaches and some superior little future athletes.\u00a0 Through my total of fifteen years as a teacher and principal of North Highlands, I have had various little guys from age six to twelve that have gone on to play high school (Antonio played at John Marshal High School in OKC), college, and with Antonio, the National Football League. And I mean on a yearly basis.\u00a0 From my 1990 5th grade class alone, a group of 45 boys in a class of 90 with\u00a0three teachers, I had one student that was an\u00a0all-conference running back at the Univ. of Tulsa, a starting wrestler at the Air Force Academy, and a\u00a0kid that got a scholarship at Arizona State Univ. to run track.\u00a0That kind of young student athlete attended North Highlands\u00a0on a yearly basis.\u00a0 Some stayed in state to play for the University of Oklahoma, others to attend smaller schools such as East Central in Ada, or as in Antonio’s case, to play for the Cowboys at Oklahoma State becoming\u00a0an all-league performer.<\/p>\n
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Antonio, was always respected as a child at North Highland, and was treated as a child, even if he was as strong and tall as a large middle school student.\u00a0Plus Antonio was respectful toward adults.\u00a0\u00a0Often he had to have time to “settle down”\u00a0 but he\u00a0 would always listen to words of advisement and “what could you have done to avoid the situation you were in.”\u00a0 We all, as educators, need to have children work on their listening skills, which in fact, goes along with reasoning skills.\u00a0 Antonio had developed\u00a0those skills early on. \u00a0The fact of the matter, Antonio was a great person, one of great potential, and one that you would do anything for to allow him to\u00a0have future success in life.\u00a0 Sure, as an educator, we should have that feeling for all our charges, but life is life and some kids bring more to the table than other.\u00a0 That is just the way it is.\u00a0 Antonio brought a lot to the table of life yesterday, and even more today.<\/p>\n
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I am proud of what Antonio Smith as accomplished in his life.\u00a0 A leader on the outstanding Denver defense, Antonio has had a nice eight year NFL career that continues.\u00a0 But\u00a0even with the great athletes, nothing comes easy.\u00a0 Yes, it has not been a smooth road for Antonio, but he has made it.\u00a0 I remember his first contract he signed in the NFL, one that gave him enough money to buy his mother a new expensive vehicle.\u00a0 I am sure that his joy that day is much more than five super bowl wins.\u00a0 No, Antonio didn’t play much that first season in the League, as he honed his skills for\u00a0future work as a professional football player. But the first thing he did was honor his mother with\u00a0that gift.\u00a0\u00a0That is what a true son\u00a0does, honors his mother first and foremost.<\/p>\n
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I tell people that I\u00a0had the pleasure to\u00a0work with\u00a0Antono Smith\u00a0when he\u00a0was developing as a child into a young adult.\u00a0 It’s been over twenty years since I have had words with him, yet as clear as a blue sky, I know what he\u00a0is made of.\u00a0\u00a0Spending time with someone for many years, 175 school days,\u00a0eight hours a day,\u00a0allows you to know someone really good.\u00a0 And for Sunday, I want that NFL title for him, one he didn’t get when he played for Atlanta in their Super Bowl year.<\/p>\n
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Link to the article of Antonio Smith:\u00a0 http:\/\/newsok.com\/super-bowl-oklahoma-city-native-antonio-smith-preparing-to-play-super-bowl-with-heavy-heart\/article\/5476834<\/p>\n