The Yorkton Regional High School played host to a nine year CFL veteran Thursday afternoon as current CFL free agent safety and Grey Cup champion J.R. LaRose, who has spent time in the CFL with both the Edmonton Eskimos and B.C. Lions, paid a visit to the school to speak to students about overcoming adversity to be the best you can be.
LaRose spoke about his own experiences, growing up in a broken home with a drug addicted mother, living on welfare and having to steal spare food to fend off hunger. 鈥淚 spoke about facing obstacles and having to overcome different adversities,鈥� said LaRose, who was born on a Saskatchewan reserve but raised in Edmonton, Alberta. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e faced with different things in life you鈥檝e got to learn to overcome them. I had to do that as a kid.
鈥淢y mom was someone that struggled with addiction for many years of her life. I grew up in a broken family but I was able to overcome that.鈥�
The reason he was able to overcome his troubled childhood, he told the YRHS students, was because he found something that he fell in love with: football. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all good at one thing,鈥� he told the YRHS students. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just that we鈥檝e got to find out what that one thing is and go full into it.
鈥淭here are doctors, construction workers, lots of different kinds of things a person can get in to, but why not be the best at whatever it is that you choose to do?鈥�
However his message didn鈥檛 end there. He made sure that everyone listening knew that once you found something you were great at, you still had to overcome adversity to be successful.
For him, his natural athletic abilities were not enough to avoid possible career ending injuries; something he had to overcome not once, not twice, but three times. 鈥淚 broke my leg in 2008, snapped it in half, then came back in 2010 and I broke it again, dislocated my ankle and tore the tendons in my foot,鈥� said LaRose, continuing, 鈥淭hen in the year I came back I ended up breaking my forearm so it鈥檚 one of those things where I have a hard time when people tell me I can鈥檛 do something. Every time I鈥檝e broken my leg or had a major injury I鈥檝e had a doctor or someone tell me that I couldn鈥檛 come back from this injury.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about proving people wrong. Like the saying says, a minor setback for a major comeback. I鈥檝e been able to do that for the last nine years of professional football and it鈥檚 truly been a blessing and my message to all those kids was that you can鈥檛 let other people tell you that you can鈥檛 do something. Work hard, stay positive and no matter what you鈥檒l find success.鈥�
LaRose鈥檚 message is no doubt a great one. But why did the CFL veteran decide to speak in front of the YRHS student body when he was in town only to speak at Football Night in Saskatchewan?
According to LaRose, it鈥檚 because he鈥檒l never pass up an opportunity to make an impact. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about giving back and trying to reach a few kids because I know so many kids that have gone through the same things that I did and I want to provide them with hope,鈥� offered LaRose. 鈥淚 want to show them that there is light at the end of the tunnel even if it seems dark right now. You just have to persevere through it.
鈥淎fter the presentation I had a few kids come up to me, some got emotional because they went through some of the similar things that I went through as a kid but that鈥檚 what it鈥檚 all about. Helping them and hopefully making a positive impact on their lives.鈥�
