LHHS alum Wade Smith, Berkner alum Aqib Talib: NFL.com
Two high-profile professional football players who graduated from Richardson ISD schools are contributing to the kids of Hamilton Park in the Lake Highlands area.
For a piece in our September issue, titled Game Changer in the print magazine, I interviewed two little league football coaches in Hamilton Park, a historically significant yet struggling Lake Highlands-area community.
Rasheed Aziz and Tevar Watson coach, respectively, the Legacy and Bobcats Hamilton Park youth football teams. They both do the work because they believe football and other sports and activities are crucial to a positive lifestyle, especially when you are growing up in a neighborhood known for high levels of crime and violence.
But competitive youth football is very expensive — their are registration fees, uniforms and equipment; proper safety gear, good helmets, for example, are vital. These two teams serve one of Dallas’ more impoverished areas (Legacy also serves disadvantaged youth from all areas of Dallas and Richardson) so resources are tough to come by.
Legacy and Bobcats youth football: James Coreas
Funds for the aforementioned comes by way of donations and supportive foundations, but two prominent professional football players have directly contributed to youth sports in Hamilton Park.
Watson tells us that Aqib Talib, who is expected to make a significant impact with the Denver Broncos this season, purchased helmets for the Bobcats players, at a cost of about $5,000. Talib is a graduate of Richardson ISD’s Berkner High School; he’s known for his sense of humor and friendliness and extreme toughness, according to a Broncos blog.
Wade Smith, a Lake Highlands High School graduate and former Houston Texan who just signed with the Seattle Seahawks, formed a foundation in 2012 that serves Dallas youth by “providing them with the necessary tools to improve their overall development as young adults,” his representatives says. The foundation focuses on health and nutrition, fitness and literacy and sponsors the Bobcats program, providing financial support.
The Legacy football team is associated with the nonprofit Hamilton Park Preservation Society, from which it receives some financial support, but any professional football players (or any other individuals or businesses out there) looking to one-up Smith or Talib are encouraged to learn more about Legacy Youth Sports sponsorships here. Legacy includes cheer, track and basketball as well as football programs for 1-8th graders.
