Stellon Wright started playing football in third grade and has loved it ever since. His family moved to Abilene from Lubbock in the spring semester of his junior year and so did COVID. What looked to be like a great move with new opportunities and focus on playing Wylie football for newly appointed head Coach Clay Martin, just came to a stand still, but this is when a seed was planted to be sowed years later.
Fortunately, Wylie was still planning for a football season. The players attended zoom meetings to learn plays and were encouraged to complete spring training on their own. Several of the other players Wright had met were working out together, so he joined them. This is the moment he began to value a good, hard workout and see its benefits.
“I enjoy the feeling of being in the middle of a workout, and then having to push through,” he said. “I learned that working hard equaled a great season.”
Despite the impact of COVID, the Bulldogs went on to play into December that season, playing into the second round of the playoffs. Graduation quickly arrived, and Wright committed to playing the game he so loved at Hardin-Simmons University. Wright earned a little time on the field despite being a freshman, and all looked bright until he broke his foot. It was an injury from which he could and would recover…eventually.
Months went by and Wright worked hard to get back on the field. Through his sophomore and junior year, he was getting regular reps with the starters. In the first game of his senior year, he stepped back on the gridiron, but the time was short-lived thanks to a body-slam by Albright University’s 6’4”, 240 lb. tight-end.
“I knew when it happened that something was wrong. I heard it pop and crackle,” said Wright.
After being seen by local doctors for a broken elbow, Wright was sent to Fort Worth to a specialist. The specialist said it may be something he could recover from, but it may not. They wouldn’t know until the doctor went in. If the elbow broke into two parts, he could probably play football again. If it was shattered, he would not. The latter would be the case.
“I have full mobility, but it pops when it bends and that’s a mental reminder of the injury.”
As Wright grasped that he would no longer play the sport he had loved playing for so long, it dawned on him that what inspired him that spring as a new kid at Wylie and during a dark time in our nation just might be what he was called to do. After months of challenging physical therapy and a rehabilitated elbow, Wright is still on the football field, but as part of the HSU’s strength and conditioning internship program. According to HSU Strength and Conditioning, the internship allows volunteer and student interns to work in specific roles of training and teaching, which in turn allows increased development of the student-athlete.
Wright said he finds it an honor to be the one out there encouraging his fellow teammates to be the healthiest and strongest versions of themselves. “I love football, and I love this team. The players have been pivotal in my success in recovery,” he said.
Wright’s plan now is to be a strength and conditioning trainer for athletes pursuing the NFL. He will graduate from HSU this December and hopes to continue on as a graduate assistant at a Division I university. Currently, he is applying for summer internships.
“I know every side of the story, and I know what my purpose is as a 22-year-old,” said Wright. “I’m in a better spot now than if I was still playing. It’s really getting me ready for life.”
By Kristen Johnson
Photos provided by Stellon and Suzie Wright
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