Josira

"Everybody needs somebody in their corner."

By Students of NYC

December 4^th, 2023

"We go upstate to football camp every year. To practice and bond, you know, before the season starts. This year at camp my position coach called me over. He was like, I’m hoping you get to wear number two this season. On our team, the number two jersey holds a special meaning. There’s a lot of history behind it — and it goes to the best or most valuable player. I was thinking, number two … that’s a big ask. I was second-guessing it. I would really have to become a leader.

On the day of the first game, our head coach came to me and said, Josira, you’re wearing number two. I think that’s when I realized … I really am a leader. It made me think how far I’ve come.

Growing up in East New York, there’s a lot that you see. There’s a certain type of environment you can grow into. So when I started high school, I was coming in late, skipping class. Not doing work. It was a phase, I guess you could call it. Just a phase where I didn't want to be involved with anything school-wise and would rather run the streets. But that wasn't the life for me. I had to realize that.

It was a championship game when it all hit me. The Rutgers head coach and defensive back coach came to watch. Everyone in my neighborhood had always told me, you’re a star. You’re going to make it. Just keep grinding. I always thought, they just tell that to everybody. I worried I’d just be another statistic. But that day, it felt different. I realized I could play on a big stage and guard big time people in New York in front of the Rutgers head coach and DB coach. It finally felt like what they had told me all those years was the truth. I believed it. That’s when I started to really take football seriously, and it changed me.

In my position, DB safety, there's a lot of responsibility. Not everybody notices when you do something right, but if you do something wrong, there's a lot at stake. Life can be like that sometimes, too. Not all my friends are where I am right now, but they aren't bad kids. I understand because I grew up with them. I've seen them from the beginning. We all had a sports life. They played basketball, football, but then other people put a lifestyle on them, telling them go do things that they're not supposed to be doing. And that's what really changed them. They aren’t bad kids. When people say, oh, he’s just a bad kid. He’s gonna end up in jail, the wrong place. He’ll be a statistic. I look at them like, no, you’re wrong. He has the ability to do it. He just needs someone in his corner who’s going to tell him to do the right thing. Not everybody has that. And everybody needs someone in their corner. Everyone.

My last game is this Sunday. It’s crazy to think that. Last Erasmus Hall high school game. Time does go by fast. But when I think about my future, I know for sure I'm going to college. Scholarship or not. I'm going to play football, if I have to walk on or not. I may not be the biggest kid, 6'5" and stocky, “eye candy” as they call it. But I know my ability. I know what I can do. I'm going to college. My mom and my pops, they've always been in my corner, for real. They've pushed me to be the best I could be every day. I want to do it for them — to put a smile on their face."