National Letter of Intent Signing Day: 2012

Wednesday, February 1, 2012, was National Letter of Intent Signing Day, the day when high school student-athletes across America sign on the dotted line to begin the next 4 years of their lives. Coach Ted Ginn, Sr. is well known for sending a large number of his Glenville Tarblooder football players to universities big and small every year. This year, 16 (15 of which are Ginn Academy students, and 1 who attends Glenville) received full scholarships that will soon take them to the following schools:

1. De'Van Bogard, The Ohio State University
2. V'Angelo Bentley, University of Illinois
3. Denzell Burton, Kent State University
4. DeAnthony Riggs, Ohio Dominican
5. Sean DeBose, Ohio Dominican
6. Davonte Congress, Findlay University
7. Xavier Dowdell, Lake Erie College
8. Aykee Henderson, Notre Dame College
9. Sean Draper, University of Iowa
10. Justin Hardee, University of Illinois
11. Albert Black, Mercyhurst College
12. Alex Pace, University of Cincinnati
13. Kevin Kinds, Hutchinson Community College, Kansas
14. Willie Henry, University of Michigan
15. Darnell DePriest, Marian University
16. Martell Prayear, Baldwin Wallace College

Recruiting season is in full swing in April and May and from August through January, with college coaches visiting The Ginn Academy regularly and also meeting with players' families at night at their homes. It's an overwhelming but very exciting process for all involved. Some players make multiple visits to the schools of interest to experience the campus environment firsthand. Some of the most sought-after players will begin getting offers well before their senior year and might have 10-15 to choose from by the time they're ready to commit. There are strict rules that must be followed which spell out the number of visits and phone calls the students may receive.

Coach Ginn and his staff work truly 'round the clock trying to get the boys placed in the programs that best fit them. College coaches like the Glenville players because they know that the coaching staff has spent many years grooming them to be not only excellent athletes, but truly fine people. There's a higher chance of success in the college environment when a kid has come up through Coach's program and that means fewer worries in general for those colleges.

As big as the program is now, Coach Ginn's office hasn't always been filled with recruiters from every part of the country. In 1999, with college opportunities few and far between, he loaded up his minivan with as many football players as he could fit, from Glenville and other area schools, and spent an entire month driving all day and night to let his boys show college coaches what they could do. They stopped at schools in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Georgia, and West Virginia. Over the years, many young men throughout the state found their way into programs that they otherwise never would have connected with via Coach Ginn's college tours. Soon Glenville High School became well known in the football world, and here we are today with a record for the most players from one high school in the Big Ten, 36 players in the past 10 years, and another 16 players headed to many great schools.

Coach started going through paperwork with the boys and their families at 6:30 A.M. on Wednesday. However, the arduous process begins long before Signing Day and includes hundreds of phone calls to and from college coaches, keeping the kids on track, sleepless nights, and providing the proper protocol and understanding of recruiting.

One by one, Coach Ginn and three other Glenville coaches, Damion Creel, Matt Chinchar, and Tony Overton, explained the terms and requirements for the various conferences and schools. After a quick moment of recognition at the GA morning session, everyone headed to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District's ceremony, which included presentations by CEO Eric Gordon, COO Patrick Zahn, and Commissioner of Athletics, Leonard Jackson.

The impact on the lives of these football players and their community is obviously enormous. As a witness of three Signing Days, I can honestly say that it's one of the happiest experiences that I've ever seen. The pride and hope and joy are truly a pleasure to behold.

Thank you for your support of and interest in The Ginn Academy. And the best of luck to the 16 young men and their families who worked so hard to get to February 1, 2012!

For those of you interested in some further information, this is a list of some of the schools that our student-athletes have committed to since 2005: Ball State University, University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green State University, University of Iowa, University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Wisconsin, The Ohio State University, Eastern Michigan University, University of Michigan, University of Southern California, Kent State University, University of Akron, Marshall University, Ohio Dominican University, Bluffton University, Marian University, Mercyhurst College, Ohio University, and the University of Toledo.

V'Angelo in the USMC Semper Fidelis All American Bowl

On January 3rd, 100 young men, elite high school football players from all over the U.S., played in the inaugural United States Marine Corps Semper Fidelis All American Bowl game in Phoenix. They were chosen based on their athletic skills, academic prowess, and character. We are so very proud to tell you all about one of our Ginn men who was the only player from Ohio selected to play in this prestigious game.

Ginn Academy senior, V'Angelo Bentley, has been part of the Ginn family since he was in 9th grade and has always been a standout student. He has also played football for Glenville High School for the past four years, usually as a cornerback. His excellent performance in September's Kirk Herbstreit Classic in Columbus on ESPN was probably instrumental in securing his spot in the Semper Fidelis Bowl.

With his mother, Angela, an R.N. and recently retired from the USAF Reserves, his father Vernon, and Robert, his step-father behind him, V'Angelo's dreams of becoming an architect have been slowly taking shape over the past four years. He has offers coming in from universities near and far, and he will soon make a decision about where he'll spend his next four years. Those of us who have watched him grow up at GA have no doubt that he'll thrive in college and beyond.

Being part of the very first Semper Fidelis All American Bowl was a big honor for V'Angelo. "When I'm 37, I'll be watching on TV and thinking that I was in the first one," he says.

Congratulations to V'Angelo! And many thanks to all of you for your support of our school.

Kind regards from The Ginn Academy

A Brand New Year

A very Happy New Year to all of our Ginn Academy supporters! We thought that you might like to get to know a few of the GA students, faculty, and staff through some of their favorite holiday memories. We're trying to prolong the holiday cheer for as long as we can!

Justin, GA's senior class president, clearly remembers when his mother got him an XBox when he was 11.

Brandon, another senior, used to sneak around and peek at his presents before Christmas, but soon learned that he was robbing himself of Christmas morning fun and has since reformed his behavior. He now loves just spending time with his friends and family.

Jaylond, a freshman (below, right), enjoyed his holiday a year ago when he got new bedroom furniture and his room was painted blue.

And Adekunle, another freshman (above, on left), likes to wake up to snow on the ground and a big Christmas dinner that he eats with his family. He pictures no arguing, listening to music, and seeing smiles on everyone's faces.

Justin, a junior, got a dog a few years ago, a Yorkie that he named Crunchy.

One of our Youth Support staff, Bryon Ottrix, lights up like a Christmas tree when he recalls his son, now in 4th grade, running into his house on the morning of December 25th when he was 3 or 4, yelling, "Y'all got Christmas over here??!"

A dirt bike from his mom led to Herbert, a junior, getting so excited one year that he fell down the stairs. He's since given it to his little cousin.

In 2008, Zach's little sister came home from the hospital after suffering from pneumonia, just in time to open presents on Christmas morning. Zach is now in 11th grade.

Another junior, Antwan, got his first XBox in 6th grade and still remembers that as one of his best Christmases.

Mrs. Duncan, our school's chief secretary, is thankful that she learned when her son was little that Christmas, to her, is all year long. There's no need to spend a lot of money. Other things are much more important.

Coach Albert, one of GA's security guards, still counts seeing his first child opening presents as one of his favorite memories.

Ginn Academy 12th-grade English teacher, Mrs. Beard-Little, recalls the year when she was 8 years old that she and her brother woke up to find a real live chemistry set. And in that same year they also received a Lionel train set with smoke that came out of the engine.

Raphael's favorite memory was when his father, who is in the military, came home for Christmas four years ago and surprised him. As you can see from Raphael's tie, he's a senior this year.

Another senior, James, has a sad memory that has permeated his holidays. His grandfather, who was like a father to him, passed away in 2003.

Below we have three sophomores with Coach Ginn. On the left is Carltez who enjoyed his nephew's first Christmas last year. Darryl, second from left, still remembers his first bike, a white and brown Mongoose that he received from his mother when he was 11. And on the far right, Ralphael says that seeing the joy of his little brother's first Christmas five years ago is his favorite Christmas memory.

Coach Ginn always has a memory from his life with his grandmother in Mississippi. Christmas makes him think of the box of apples. Every year, they had to find the box of apples. "I could smell those apples, but I could never find them!" he remembers, laughing. In addition to the apples, there was also a big peppermint stick that he says was too big for his mouth.

Mr. Williams, another part of GA's Youth Support staff, was amazed one Christmas when he woke up and found that everything had been put together already by his parents. "There was nothing still in the box. A bike, a racetrack -- ready to go!" he says.

Last but certainly never least, Mrs. Flewelon, GA's technology teacher, remembers the smells of Christmas. Raised by her grandmother, Mrs. Flew learned how to prepare the big holiday meal and is still asked by her grandmother's children how to cook certain things "the way mama did it."

We thank you, as always for your support of our school, and wish you good health and happiness in 2012 from The Ginn Academy.

Kevin and Aykee, Two Voices

Hello Ginn Academy supporters! Thanks for visiting the blog today where you'll get to know a bit about two of our young men through their writing.

Ginn Academy Junior, Kevin, is one of our unsung heroes, a quiet young man who leads by example and whose attitude, work ethic, and consistency have already marked him as a true Ginn Man. "The best is yet to come for Kevin," says Mrs. Hazel Parker, GA's Executive Assistant to the Director.

Though he was not initially enthusiastic about attending an all-male school, he's now in his third year, active in athletics, and has settled in very well. Coach Ginn has been a thought-provoking influence especially on the subject of friends. "A couple of years ago, he knew who I was friends with and he told me if I kept hanging out with the same kids, I could be in for a rude awakening," Kevin explains. "Eventually, one of them took something from me and I saw how Coach Ginn was right." He has found a role model in Mr. Ginn and sees him as someone who cares, and is at school every day, always talking and coaching the boys.

Life Struggles

by Kevin A.

My biggest struggle in life is trying to survive.
I try so hard not to get shot or to never get robbed.

I stay to myself and never get loud.
You'll see me by myself, before I'm with a crowd.

My family is my life, my mom is my heart,
I pray that the lord never break us apart.

My grandparents will never let me down. 

Life struggles are crazy they seem to stress me out. 

But now I know why my mom keeps me in the house.

We criminals of today, victims of tomorrow.
Life is not promised to please keep the sorrow.

Live your life now and sleep when you die.
I hope that my soul will some day fly,
up to the sky with my father Jesus Christ.

But you can't always win so I guess that's life.

Our second contributor, Aykee, is a senior this year and has really matured in the time that he's been with us. He's looking at colleges and is nearly ready to set out on his own. Raised by his mother and grandparents, Aykee is a busy student-athlete with close family ties. "My grandmother is always in my ear about being positive and grateful and giving back," he says. The family talks a lot about right and wrong and Aykee says that it's not his way to get involved with bad things, but he does admit that watching friends making bad choices is difficult. "There's sometimes nothing I can do and it's hard to turn away," he says.

Aykee's English teacher, Mrs. Beard-Little, asked his class to write an essay beginning with the prompt, "No one would believe me when..." In his, Aykee addresses some of the issues that he faces at this point in his life, where expectations and fears lead to very different perspectives between adults and teens.

No one would believe me when...

by Aykee H.

I would tell people who I was and how I was growing up...
but no one would believe me.

I would tell people why I behave the way I behave...but no one would believe me.

If I told a group of white men in suits that I want to be someone in life...no one would believe me.

I always have told my coaches that they could trust me with the ball when the game was on the line; but once again...no one would believe me.

I even tried telling my mom and grandma...but no one would believe me.

I went to school today, telling my class that I would earn a 3.5 the second quarter...but no one would believe me.

The crazy part about the topic "No one would believe me when..." is that if I were to do all of the following negative things in life, for example, drinking, smoking, selling drugs, and misbehaving -- what I am trying to say is -- let me be that individual to say that I was smoking and/or drinking. My mom, coaches, and friends would come to me saying -- or accusing me of those things; 

however, six sentences ago, no one would believe me.