Star Student Athlete: Laurel's Jason Shines On, Off The Field

LAUREL, MD — We all know student athletes who also bring their A-game to other parts of their lives.

Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize these heroes making a difference in their communities. We’re working to let all your neighbors know the individual stories behind the leaderboard.

This submission comes from Henry Yee who nominated Jason of Laurel.

Star student athlete’s name

Jason - 9th grade

Star student athlete’s home state

Maryland

Star student athlete’s Patch town

Laurel

How do you know the star student athlete?

His grandmother is a resident at the same assisted living facility as I am.

What sport does the star student athlete play?

Baseball and football

Why do you believe the star student athlete should be recognized?

He is a very polite and respectful 14-year-old young man. He tries very hard to succeed at everything he does. He does not let the challenges that he faces keep him down or from trying to do the best that he can. His true love is baseball and has dreamed about playing on his high school baseball team since he was 9 years old.

At the beginning of his 9th grade year, he decided to also try football for his high school team. He was doing so well with football and his coaches were very happy with his performance. He was getting a lot of playing time on both offense left tackle and defense as a defensive end.

During his 3rd game, he was accidentally injured pretty badly by a fellow teammate. He broke both his tibia and fibula and had to undergo a 3-hour surgery to have a rod inserted into his leg. His recovery is expected to take 3-5 months which will take him directly into baseball season.

He continued to attend the remaining football games to cheer on his teammates even though it was painful both physically and mentally. When his teammate approached him to apologize for the injury Jason told his teammate that there was nothing to apologize for it as an accident that could have happened to anyone. This alone is such a mature attitude for a 14-year-old.

Unfortunately, the accident kept him out of school for a week and he struggled to maintain his grades for the first quarter of the year. During the second quarter, Jason has worked very hard to get his grades back up while participating as much as he could in the school's baseball winter workouts and gaining his strength back during PT for his leg.

At no time during this entire time has Jason allowed himself to get mad or frustrated with his progress - at least not for very long. He has kept a positive attitude and he continues to work very hard to get himself back into shape in time for spring baseball tryouts. His coaches have seen how he has not let this challenge get him down and have mentioned to his parents that he is a true leader for his fellow football and baseball teammates.

What's one thing you want everyone to know about the star student athlete?

He is inspiring for all young athletes - life will bring you struggles, but it is how you work through them that matters.

Keep up the great work, Jason!

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