Eastview High’s Apollos Hester may have run into the end zone during Friday night’s win over Vandegrift High.
But judging from his post-game interview, you’d think he was running for President of the United States.
It starts when a reporter for TWC Austin News approaches Hester following Eastview High’s 42-41 win over Vandegrift High School Friday Night in Georgetown, Texas.
Generally, post-game interviews tend to follow a certain formula: team effort, everyone gave 110%, only taking things one week at a time, and so on.
But Hester isn’t interested in sticking to the usual script. Instead, the clearly fired-up footballer launches into an impromptu – and pretty inspirational – post game speech.
“Keep smiling, no matter what you’re going through,” Hester implored. “If you fall down, just get up. If you can’t get up, your friends are there to help you. Your momma’s there, your daddy’s there, God’s there. Hey, I’m there to help you up!”
Talking about his team’s come-from-behind win, Hester recast a high school football game as a metaphor for overcoming challenges in life.
“Sometimes, you’re going to start slow,” Hester said. “That’s ok. We told ourselves that we’re going to start slow, but we’re going to keep going fast. We’re going to start slow, but we’re always always going to finish fast.”
By the time he’s finished talking, you half expect an American flag to unfurl behind him while fireworks go off and bald eagles are released into the air.
As TWC News Austin reporter Lauren Mickler so succinctly puts it, “if he doesn’t make it as a football player, he should be an inspirational speaker.”
In this era when the NFL is increasingly focused on the character of their athletes, Mr. Hester may have just gotten the attention of a scout or two at the professional level.
If nothing else, NFL teams can hire Apollos to deliver inspirational speeches in place of the head coach.
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