Growing up, I didn't really know where to call home. My first house was in Hidden Lakes, Texas. I'd live there till I turned 5, and my parents divorced. My mom, sister and I picked up, and moved to Grapevine, is a big old house straight out of Monster House. There were nests of hundreds of daddy long leg spiders in the corners of any door that led outside. There were frogs living in the sink, and stairs going all the way up to the sky. I'd have nightmares about the spiders crawling inside my mouth while I slept.
One night when I was 6, I heard the sound of glass breaking from our back door. My mom was already awake, and had my 2 year old sister in her arms. She told me we had to go. It wasn't safe. As I ran out the house, I heard the screams of a drunk man, saying he was going to kill everyone in the house. I heard shotgun shots as we drove off from the house. We wouldn't go back for a week.
After I turned 7 I learned my father was arrested. I didn't see him a lot anyway, but he was my father you know? Less than 2 months later we were moving to Virginia. We lived in a 4 story townhouse that had maybe 200 square feet per floor. I'd learn a lot in Virginia. I'd learn that kids were mean. I was picked on for being bigger than everyone else, and actually listening to adults. They called me fat, and told me no one wanted a freak like me around. I came home crying to my mother, saying I wish I'd never been born.
I was 9 when I learned the man that broke into our house when I was 6 was my father. He and my mother had gotten divorced because he was a suspect in a ring of pedophiles. He knew he was going to be convicted, so got drunk one night, and ended up breaking into our house. They arrested him 2 days later on the run. Haven't seen him since, and I'm glad.
When I turned 10 we moved to Florida. That's where my mother was born, and we took up residence with my grandmother. It was here that I found my love of football. I wasn't mocked for being bigger than everyone. It was a strength. And my coachability and willingness to learn helped to elevate me and my team. My first year playing in a youth football program, the Pensacola Youth Football League (PYFL), my team of 17 with 12 1st time football players (the smallest by far in all the programs) went on to 3rd in the state. And it all carried up from there. I made friends on the team, whom I still talk to today. I'll always cherish the memories of my mom and sister cheering me on in the stands as I took the field.
When I was 13 my mom met the man I would call my real dad. He was an ex-police officer, served in Afghanistan, worked in cyber security for the FBI for a few years, and would eventually retire to work in the private sector. He helped me in school when I struggled. He taught me there's more than one angle to look at the world from. He taught me humility, respect, how to drive, how to tie a tie, and countless other things. He passed away my senior year of high school, 2 weeks away from the state title game. He had been diagnosed with Prion Disease. An incredibly rare and mostly undocumented disease that pops up randomly 7-8 years after eating raw meat. Between symptoms and average time of death is 1 month. He was diagnosed 2 weeks after his symptoms appeared. He died the day before my 18th birthday.
The rest of my senior year was rough after that. We fell short in the state championship after our QB got injured. But it was the farthest our team had been in 30 some odd years. Not wanting to be far from my family, I stayed in state and attended FSU. It helped that they were the college team my mother had passed onto me growing up (my grandmother was a Florida fan). I look forward to my future in the DSFL and NSFL. I've learned a lot and have gone through quite a bit in my life I feel, and football has always been the constant for me. For my coaches who have helped me along the way. For my mother who has worked her ass off to provide anything for me. For my sister who cheers louder and better than anyone ever could. And for my dad, whose name I hope to honor every time I step onto the football field.
-Devaunte Sackpieder
One night when I was 6, I heard the sound of glass breaking from our back door. My mom was already awake, and had my 2 year old sister in her arms. She told me we had to go. It wasn't safe. As I ran out the house, I heard the screams of a drunk man, saying he was going to kill everyone in the house. I heard shotgun shots as we drove off from the house. We wouldn't go back for a week.
After I turned 7 I learned my father was arrested. I didn't see him a lot anyway, but he was my father you know? Less than 2 months later we were moving to Virginia. We lived in a 4 story townhouse that had maybe 200 square feet per floor. I'd learn a lot in Virginia. I'd learn that kids were mean. I was picked on for being bigger than everyone else, and actually listening to adults. They called me fat, and told me no one wanted a freak like me around. I came home crying to my mother, saying I wish I'd never been born.
I was 9 when I learned the man that broke into our house when I was 6 was my father. He and my mother had gotten divorced because he was a suspect in a ring of pedophiles. He knew he was going to be convicted, so got drunk one night, and ended up breaking into our house. They arrested him 2 days later on the run. Haven't seen him since, and I'm glad.
When I turned 10 we moved to Florida. That's where my mother was born, and we took up residence with my grandmother. It was here that I found my love of football. I wasn't mocked for being bigger than everyone. It was a strength. And my coachability and willingness to learn helped to elevate me and my team. My first year playing in a youth football program, the Pensacola Youth Football League (PYFL), my team of 17 with 12 1st time football players (the smallest by far in all the programs) went on to 3rd in the state. And it all carried up from there. I made friends on the team, whom I still talk to today. I'll always cherish the memories of my mom and sister cheering me on in the stands as I took the field.
When I was 13 my mom met the man I would call my real dad. He was an ex-police officer, served in Afghanistan, worked in cyber security for the FBI for a few years, and would eventually retire to work in the private sector. He helped me in school when I struggled. He taught me there's more than one angle to look at the world from. He taught me humility, respect, how to drive, how to tie a tie, and countless other things. He passed away my senior year of high school, 2 weeks away from the state title game. He had been diagnosed with Prion Disease. An incredibly rare and mostly undocumented disease that pops up randomly 7-8 years after eating raw meat. Between symptoms and average time of death is 1 month. He was diagnosed 2 weeks after his symptoms appeared. He died the day before my 18th birthday.
The rest of my senior year was rough after that. We fell short in the state championship after our QB got injured. But it was the farthest our team had been in 30 some odd years. Not wanting to be far from my family, I stayed in state and attended FSU. It helped that they were the college team my mother had passed onto me growing up (my grandmother was a Florida fan). I look forward to my future in the DSFL and NSFL. I've learned a lot and have gone through quite a bit in my life I feel, and football has always been the constant for me. For my coaches who have helped me along the way. For my mother who has worked her ass off to provide anything for me. For my sister who cheers louder and better than anyone ever could. And for my dad, whose name I hope to honor every time I step onto the football field.
-Devaunte Sackpieder
