Anthony Hester '17 Recruiting Profile

    Staying active is one of the most important things to me behind progressing my education. My mother stressed the fact that the only thing that can't be taken from you is your education, and without an education it is extremely hard to succeed in life. As a child me and my sister Alexis loved playing sports , but it was hard on my mom not only as a single mother who basically raise us on her own, but also as a strong independent  women who managed to work 2 jobs, while attending medical school at the same time. My mother's main focus for me was to always encouraging me to be the best man I could possibly be, which meant getting an education, going to college, and living a successful life. My mom was never big on me playing sports she would always tell me that there was more to life than sports, and that I should pursue something that would benefit me in life as a man. As a man I realized that there are times when you have to make your own decisions regardless of others opinions, which led me to still pursue sports on top of getting my education.

    My 9th grade year was my first year playing tackle football, my team (North Cobb Warriors) went 7-1 almost breaking the freshman school record. For a high school football team in Georgia we had some of the smallest players in our conference, but we possessed more heart and skill than any of the other teams. My coach would always say "it doesn't matter how big or strong you are, you can't win unless you have speed" with those words always running through my mind it encouraged me to always play as fast as I possibly could. Throughout my freshman season many people complimented me regarding my speed, but the only time the words actually stuck with me is when the honest words were given by my teacher/football coach Mr. Bennett (Head Coach for Track and Field). Mr. Bennett told me with all honesty that football wasn't going to get me far in life he told me that I should use my skill for something promising like Track and Field. He said not only my ability to grasp information, but my speed on the field shows that I have the potential to be someone, someone who can succeed in life. He told me that nothing comes easy, so if I dedicate myself and put in enough hard work I can achieve anything in life. Not joining Track and Field earlier in my life is one of my biggest regret, which pushes me to work 2x harder every day in hopes of gaining that one season of experience that I could've had.

      Even if I know I'm beat or there's no possible way I can win I still give it my all, I give it my all to show others that I won’t give up no matter how hard things get. I know I'm not be the fastest athlete at this very moment and I know that 2 years of track experience doesn't sound that appealing, but with the right coaching staff, training, and support from my teammates I believe I can be shaped into one of the best track stars in the nation.