Former NFL player helps to encourage young athletes in Miami
HIALEAH, FL — “We must have good relationships on and off the field!”- Those words of wisdom were shared by former NFL player DaJuan Morgan, to the students of Hialeah Senior High School during the most recent Student ACES (Academic Community Education) leadership training in Miami-Dade County.
Morgan, a South Florida native and former professional football player with the Kansas City Chiefs, spoke to members of the school’s football program, as part of the Student ACES program. In this recent session, dozens of young student-athletes on the Thoroughbreds football team participated in one-on-one conversations with a former pro.
The Student ACES program is sponsored by Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), and focuses on training junior- and senior-year high school students from public and private educational institutions the values and principles of leadership, such as honor, humility and integrity, through interaction with important sport figures, entrepreneurs and community leaders.
In this session, held in the school’s sports complex, Morgan talked to the student-athletes about his life, his early childhood after his father passed away and how he has had to overcome obstacles in his professional career. The students also had the opportunity to carry out several fun team exercises after their conversation with Morgan, where they engaged in leadership development skills and self-confidence activities “tools they can apply in their academic life, with their families and in the community.
“As a former college athlete, I have experienced and witnessed tremendous leadership challenges. In addition, with over 30 years of professional work experience, my commitment is to bring leadership principles to these students, to provide basic building blocks to help them succeed and optimize their leadership potential,” said Buck Martinez, founder of Student ACES.
The participants also received the book Building Blocks of Leadership for Young Adults, written by Buck Martinez, as a resource to help them better grasp and apply valuable lessons that will serve as a foundation for the rest of their lives.
