Читать книгу That's Great Advice - Matthew Pearlman - Страница 9

Daniel Fells was born in 1983 in Anaheim, California, and attended nearby Fullerton High School. He was an All-Freeway League athlete in football, basketball and baseball, and received All-CIF honors in football and was his team’s MVP. He also received All SoCal Hoops Division II-A honorable mention in basketball.

Daniel started his college football career at UC Davis as a wide receiver, but soon switched to play tight end, his NFL position. At the end of his freshman year of college, Daniel was told he couldn’t play because he struggled with his grades. After taking courses at a community college, Daniel returned with his grades up and completed a successful college career. During his junior year at UC Davis, Daniel made the Great Western Football Conference all-conference team, with 35 receptions for 520 yards and 1 touchdown. Daniel then decided to follow his dream of playing in the NFL. He tried out for the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2006: he made the roster. In 2009 and 2010 he had two successful seasons with the St. Louis Rams. In 2012, he signed with the New England Patriots as a tight end. Daniel’s own sports hero is Magic Johnson.

Daniel told me:

“When I was in college at UC Davis, I was kicked out of school my second year due to bad grades. No school meant no football, and no future for me. It would have been easy for me to just accept that, move back home and look for a minimum wage job. But I wanted more. I had to pay my way through a community college for a semester, take online courses, and repeat a class I had failed in summer school. During spring break, I took a lifeguarding course, even though I am not a very good swimmer, because I could use those credits towards my re-enrollment. After busting my hump, I was reinstated at college, and got to play ball that year, and the rest is history.”