John Brown & Mother Debbie Brown

Burrell senior John Brown says he and his buddies were the prototypes for the Buc's football team as ball boys when they were little. Those Burrell sidelines forged his dreams of playing. Student council member, newspaper staff writer, shot-put thrower, and sometimes-poet, he flirted with other sports.

But John couldn't hide his true love, his one goal. Intensely determined to accomplish it, he put aside the baseball and basketball he so enjoyed in order to focus singly on his target: Pitt football. It meant disciplined weight lifting and plenty of "figure-8s" around Burrell schools. It meant lots of guidance from Dad and Mom - Pitt football standout, John Brown, and his wife, Debbie, and from Burrell football coach, Tom Henderson. It paid off, and now John has a scholarship to play football for Pitt next year.

One of the things Henderson taught him, John says in the video interview, was to make sure his memories weren't regrets. So, Brown applied his intensity in all the little things it takes to prepare to play football. Getting up everyday and weight-lifting is not easy, especially to do it right. And those "figure-8s" at the Burrell secondary schools - let's spell out just what that is. Running from Burrell's stadium, behind the high school, out the drive, across the street to the Middle School, around the other side of it, BACK across the street to the high school and finally to the stadium. That's ONE figure-8. He runs a few. No regrets.

He's learning to apply this same intensity, this same diligence to his studies. He has already put it to work before in student council. He's found he likes writing, which is why he's on the newspaper staff this year. I bet you'll see this determination there too - his mom, Debbie, says he's like that in everything.

John Brown knows where he got this from, the people in his life who gave it to him, mom and dad, coaches, teachers, his pastor. He is well aware of what it did for him.

So you see, it is only natural that, in a way, this is what his poem is about.

He wrote it about the son he'll have one day, how he'd spend time with him and teach him how to play ball.

He's already planning for No Regrets. You'll want to spend a little time with John Brown in the video interview found here.