Throughout the course of the season, Lakota senior Jayson Bennington has been a force to be reckoned with for the Raiders on the field. He has a total of 75 tackles, which places him tenth among all players in the SBC River division. However, that was not the only challenge he had to overcome; he also had to tackle the opponent. Bennington went to the doctor for the first time when he was just two years old, and that visit altered the course of his life.
Bennington stated, “The doctors told me I would never play sports again.”
According to wtol his life took a different path after he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Bennington stated that when he was younger, the situation was “quite bad,” even “extremely bad.” “I was unable to move in any way.” Even though it was difficult, his parents started working with him on stretches from a young age. Bennington’s passion for sports was impossible to stifle while he was working on improving his strength.
Bennington has stated that playing sports has always been his “passion,” and that he “did not want to not play sports.” “I didn’t give it the slightest bit of attention. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?” Bennington made an immediate impression on the Lakota football coaching staff shortly after joining the squad as a freshman and immediately after making his name known to the staff.
The head coach, Mike Lento, recalled him as “that little obnoxious freshman who would follow me around on the sidelines.” “I remember him as if it were yesterday,” Lento remarked. “Coach, may I just get on board?” Coach can I get in?'” Bennington gradually assumed more responsibility throughout the course of his time with the Raiders, finally earning the position of starting middle linebacker for the team.
He is now second on the team in terms of the number of tackles he has made. However, the employees at Lakota will be the first to tell you that the most admirable trait about him is not his talent but rather his compassion. Lento remarked that “He embodies what Lakota is, and what a decent child is that you want representing your town, your team, and your school.” Lakota is a Native American word meaning “he embodies what Lakota is.” “Coaching a Jayson Bennington couldn’t make me any more excited,” the coach said.
His teammates also took note, and Bennington was elected captain as a result. It was a unanimous choice, and it’s not because of his leg; it’s because of the athlete that he is, said Lenton. “A unanimous decision that he got voted team captain,” he continued. “It’s because of the kind of student he is and the kind of person he is,” you might say.
As a young child, very few people, if any at all, would have predicted that Bennington would one day become a successful football player. However, success fosters example, and that is exactly what this star Raider intends to be for other people like himself: an example. Bennington expressed his desire to inspire “other kids who have a dream of playing football, baseball, basketball, or whatever sport it is” by saying, “I just want to be a narrative for other kids.” “If you find yourself facing a challenge, you should just power through it. Put some serious thought into it. You are free to act in whatever way that you see fit.”
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