Professional sports is not an easy career. To succeed in it, one needs the following - iron will, dedication, and strict discipline. And, of course, time. Training absorbs nearly all of an athlete’s time – starting from school years and on.
On the other hand, schools and colleges are exactly the places where many athletic careers start. What’s more – in most cases, one has to have only good academic grades to be eligible to play in school and college teams.
How is it possible to combine studies and endless training? Many sports stars of old times must have had a tough time resolving this dilemma. Luckily, today’s aspiring sportsmen have an easy solution. Services like EssayHub and many other platforms provide affordable professional help with academic assignments.
How did our favorite sportsmen live without such services? We can only guess. But many of them actually had more serious problems than handling an essay on time. These three stories of the prominent Chicago-born athletes with remarkable destinies perfectly illustrate this assumption.
Charles “Peanut” Tillman
Among all the Chicago-born star athletes, there hardly is anyone with a more interesting twist in their career than Charles Tillman, the former football cornerback turned FBI agent.
However, if we take a closer look at his early years, this metamorphosis will seem less illogical. Actually, the main question is not how he started to work for the FBI, but why he became a football player in the first place.
Tillman, who supposedly got his nickname, “Peanut” after the shape his body resembled in his infant years, was born in a family of a U.S. Army sergeant. During Charles’ youth, the family constantly relocated, moving not only across the U.S. but also throughout Europe. As a result, young Tillman changed 11 schools before finally graduating in Texas.
Despite starting to play football from high school years, “Peanut” managed to earn a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. But he didn’t have an opportunity to use his diploma ever since 2003 when the Chicago Bears signed him to a contract – and up until his retirement in 2018.
Dwyane Wade
One of the brightest basketball stars of the NBA, Dwyane Wade is a perfect example of how hard work, dedication, and a timely helping hand can change destiny. Even the one that could have been quite miserable otherwise.
Wade’s life path started from a mistake right away: in his birth certificate, he was registered as “Dwyane” instead of “Dwayne.” His parents wisely decided not to correct the typo.
Speaking about the parents – Dwyane’s did not have an easy childhood. The future star’s parents divorced when he was four months old, and Dwyane and his sister stayed with the mother. This was too much for Jolinda Wade: she struggled with drug addiction, lived on welfare, and got in and out of prison regularly.
Thanks to his older sister Tragil, Dwayne moved to live with his father and stepmother when he was eight. Being taken out of the troubled neighborhood, he got interested in basketball and football. Dwyane spent his time training, inspired by Michael Jordan, whom he admired.
The rest is history. Wade, also known as “D-Wade” and “Flash,” became a star first at high school. Then – in college (from which he eventually didn’t manage to graduate), and after that – in NBA and the National team.
Rickey Henderson
One of the greatest baseball players ever, Rickey Henderson joked that he was fast right from the start. He was born in the backseat of a car on the way to the hospital – he just “couldn’t wait.” So, his parents got a perfect present for Christmas.
Sadly, his father left the family when Rickey was only four, and the boy moved to California with his mother several years later, when he was seven. His father stayed behind and later died in a car accident. But Rickey was already living in a full family with his mother’s new husband. Henderson is actually his stepfather’s name, as he was born Rickey Nelson Henley.
During his school years, the boy got interested in baseball. Then (again), something out of the ordinary happened. Being naturally left-handed, Rickey developed the ability to bat right-handed – an extremely rare case in the world of baseball!
However, he also tried football, basketball, and running before finally settling on baseball. And he wasn’t mistaken with this choice. The game brought him a fortune, international fame, and recognition.
...And Others
Those mentioned above are only a few examples. Chicago is a city that’s always been generous on talent. And, undoubtedly, there are many more breathtaking life stories of our natives in the world of sports.
Even right now, somewhere in our city, another big star may be kicking the ball lazily in the yard, not hoping that anything will ever come of it. But our hero’s stories prove that anything is possible – if only you believe in yourself and work really hard!
