Why I do this

By: Mike Kirchgessner 

Someone in my family who disapproves of me spending all of my time and my money with a football team that I don’t get anything out of, asked me why I do it. Why do I work day in and day out for a bunch of black guys from the hood that don’t care about me, that’s what they said. Now I obviously come from an area where there are not a lot of black people and frankly the few that moved in, moved out soon thereafter. But that is another story. I don’t see color, I don’t see race or religion. I see speed, blocking, hands, quickness, and above all else I see heart. 

Now back to why I do this. Two years ago at a practice this little 5’9 180lbs kid showed up with his mom, daddy, girlfriend, and infant baby asking to play football for me, said he used to be something at Western Hills High School. Now had I judged this book by its cover I might have missed something special. 

We had already had our starters set and he was fourth on the depth chart behind two college running backs and another guy who had been with the team the year before. So we moved forward and started to forget about the little kid. Until we gave him the ball for the first time that is, he spun away from a former University of Louisville linebacker and league all-star and sprinted past everyone on the field like they were moving in slow motion. Needless to say an eyebrow had been raised. 

Once the season started he did see his setbacks, he was not able to show the type of speed that we were seeing in practice and we were wondering if that’s all he was, just another track star trying to play football. But this young man wanted to prove that he could do it, he wanted to show everyone that he was the best there is and would be the best there ever was. He worked harder than anyone, he lifted more than anyone, he did everything he could to become a bigger and better football player. 

By the second year everyone knew who he was and he was getting the long touchdown runs and the track speed had turned into football speed. He had put on ten pounds of pure muscle and had gone from the little want a be back to a chiseled football player and team leader. He was the heart and soul of the football team. 

This winter Desmond Gault will be drafted by the Grid Iron Football League an up and coming professional football league that will work as a minor league for the NFL. Desmond’s dream of playing professional football is starting to become a reality, if this dreamer continues to work the way he has the past two season he will fly right on through the UNGFL and be able to support that same family that supported him when they drove him to his first Xtreme practice. 

It’s not very often that you get to see a story like this unfold in front of your eyes but it’s happening with this young man and his journey. He runs for his beautiful wife, his adorable child, and for parents that never gave up on him. The lord has something special in store for Desmond Gault, his story is not yet finished but I assure you that one day we will all know his story and his path and I will be very proud to say that I was there and I witnessed it firsthand. 

So when asked why it is that I do what I do, it is for people like Desmond Gault and helping their dreams come true, that is my dream!