Omell Vidal is a sophomore at Gardner Edgerton High School football team who truly loves the sport for what it is.

    While Vidal has not been playing football for long because of where he lived he still has a true passion for it. Living in Jamaica he had no idea what football even was. 

    “I’ve only played football for a year,” said Vidal. “I didn’t play football as a kid because I lived in Jamaica and didn’t know football existed.”

    Once Vidal finally got to learn about football he quickly learned how much he enjoyed it. He also learned that he likes the adrenaline rush the sport brings him.

    “It’s fun to me because I really enjoy the challenge that football brings and I like the adrenaline rush that it brings for example when I broke my arm,” said Vidal.

    While the adrenaline from breaking his arm was fun it was also a great challenge. While he doesn’t want to quit the sport he considered it back when he originally broke it. Not only was breaking his arm making him reconsider, so was his grandma passing away.

    “With my grandma passing away and breaking my arm and wrist it made me really discouraged and I considered quitting and giving up,” said Vidal

    Even though he wanted to quit because of his grandma’s death he also still wanted to play because of her. His grandma is what made football so important to him and made him continue to love the sport. 

    “Football is important to me because my grandma was sick and instead of going to see her I went to practice,” said Vidal. “While at practice she passed away so now I play in her honor and have something to play for.”

    While the reason he plays football is heavily inspired by all of that he is inspired by it for other reasons as well. Another reason he enjoys playing the sport is because of getting to prove others wrong.

    “I like to prove people wrong and that makes it a lot of fun,” said Vidal.

    Not only did he get to prove people wrong he also got to enjoy other things about it too. Another aspect about playing football that Vidal enjoyed was getting to do things outside of football that probably would’ve gotten him in trouble. He wouldn’t have gotten to learn this if it weren’t for his brother. 

    “In middle school I saw my brother playing and saw that I could hit people and not get in trouble,” said Vidal. “I thought that was cool.”

    While he saw those perks Vidal also saw important life lessons being taught. With that he learned that football really does play a huge role within his life and leaves a lasting impact. Although at the moment he doesn’t feel as impacted.

    “Currently right now nothing is impacting me but it taught me an important life lesson that you can’t always be too nice to everyone in football and that you need to be disciplined,” said Vidal.

    With all the hardships throughout the year that Vidal has experienced he still continues to persevere and play. Vidal continues to play because he doesn’t like to let the negative side of things get to him and interfere with his sport.

    “I never like to look at the negative side of things,” said Vidal.