Photo By Staff Sgt. Ian Valley | Linebacker for the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl East Team Shaun Hamilton, Carver...... read more read more
SAN ANTONIO – Shaun Hamilton, a linebacker from from Carver High School in Montgomery, Ala., is ranked 102nd in the ESPN 300, a list of the 300 best high school football players in the country. His classroom performance is equally impressive considering he has a 3.9 grade point average, is graduating a semester early from high school and is the current front-runner for valedictorian of his class.
The drive to compete, accomplish and conquer obstacles has let nothing stand between him and his goals, and Shaun said, he believes his father had a lot to do with this.
Shaun's dad, Lt. Col. Shelton Hamilton, is an Army Reserve soldier of 23 years, currently with U.S. Army Reserve Deployment Support Command. Throughout his life, Shaun has seen sacrifice, hard work, dedication and discipline pay dividends in his dad's career.
Shelton claims his mindset came from his Army Reserve background, and that the Army Values were seen both at work and at home but continued in Shaun's life to translate onto the football field.
Growing up, Shaun had to go through the same hardships as other children of a military parent, including 2 deployments.
“There were missed birthdays and holidays and that's tough for a young kid,” Shaun said. “I'm very lucky to have him here to see me now.”
Shaun's outstanding athleticism is partially due to watching his father work hard at his military career.
“I saw him when I was little waking up in the morning, and go running through the neighborhood, getting ready for a PT test.” Shaun said.
Now Shelton gets to see his son do the same thing.
“I have seen this guy wake up at 5 a.m., go out and work out, take a shower, go to school; and at the same time, exceed academically.”
Discipline, duty, hard work and diligence were never just words in the Hamilton household – they were the way to live displayed in day-to-day life.
“I believe in doing whatever it takes to get the job done and I have instilled that into my son,” Shelton said. “I told him if your going to play football, you're going to go out there and do whatever it takes to compete. He has done whatever it took to get him into this situation. It wasn't a given.”
Shaun's hard work and “Go-get-it attitude” was the driving force to his early success in life. Father and son agree it started with discipline.
“I coached him through 6th grade and instilled hard work and expectations,” Shelton said. “He knew what Dad expected out of him.”
“You have to have discipline to succeed in the classroom as well as on the football field,” said Shelton. “(I) had the discipline to join the military and be successful in the military.”
Shelton now watches Shaun from the sideline, and soon he will be in the seats at Bryant-Denny Stadium to watch his son play. Shaun has committed to the University of Alabama where he intends to distinguish himself in both academics and athletics.
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is the premier high school football event in the country, featuring more than 90 of America's best senior high school football players competing in an East vs. West game, scheduled for a noon kickoff Jan. 4.
| Date Taken: | 01.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 01.04.2014 01:28 |
| Story ID: | 118841 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 354 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Father, son warriors of the battlefield and ball field, by SSG Ian Valley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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