Pinson High School varsity quarterback Cameron Jennings and Lakeshore Foundation adaptive athlete Zion Redington traveled to Baltimore last weekend to be honored by Under Armour for their athletic achievements and future potential.
They each received a $5,000 grant to further their athletic pursuits, a year’s worth of Under Armour gear, and a one-day experience at UA’s world headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland.
Cameron Jennings led Pinson High School to the 6A AHSAA football playoffs and was named “athlete of the week” during week five of the 2022 season.
Zion Redington was recently selected for the USA Wheelchair Rugby development team. Zion will join Chuck Aoki and other Paralympians in workouts and games against Great Britain’s development team at the Lakeshore Foundation November 14-18.
Over 650 athletes from across the US aged 14 to 17 submitted 150-word essays inspired by a letter NFL legend Tom Brady wrote to 15-year-old, up-and-coming high school football star Husan Longstreet who has been called “the next Tom Brady.” Brady’s letter was narrated by Morgan Freeman. Athlete submissions were not allowed to include photographs, videos, or statistics. (Read Zion’s Essay Below)
The athletic performance apparel brand has recognized a toxic trend among young athletes who are constantly compared, measured, and judged on social media instead of nurtured and developed by those who have their best interests at heart. “The Athlete No One Saw Coming” program is focused on “encouraging young athletes to look beyond the comparisons and focus on their biggest competition — the athlete in the mirror.”
Brady says, “For young athletes today, there are more distractions coming up through the ranks than there were for me. I wasn’t a prodigy. I had to really work hard to put myself in a position to succeed.”
Kevin Plank, Founder and Brand Chief of Under Armour addressed the grant recipients by video. “Under Armour was created with you in mind, the next generation of greats.”
Zion Redington’s Entry in “The Athlete No One Saw Coming”
The world doesn’t see me coming. They’re not even looking.
They look at my hands and see only one finger — pinky — on each hand. I’ve trained those hands. I shoot three-pointers. From my wheelchair.
They look at me in my wheelchair and treat me like glass. But I crash through defenders to score on the wheelchair rugby court.
They look at my prosthetic legs and see “crippled.” Where are they looking when I’m surfing?
Somebody DID see me. I was an orphan in China until my family chose me and that made all the difference.
I play adaptive sports. I’m striving to play wheelchair basketball at Auburn University. This week, I was selected for Team USA’s wheelchair rugby development team. And in 2028, I hope to wear an American flag as a member of the Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby team.
Oh, they’ll see me then. Count on it.
Official News Release from Under Armour
UA WELCOMES THE NEXT GENERATION OF ATHLETES NO ONE SAW COMING TO BALTIMORE HEADQUARTERS
Ten UA Athlete No One Saw Coming Grant winners get up close and personal with performance solutions, training systems and recovery tools to help them forge their own path to greatness
Today athletes are faced with challenges both on and off the field. Spurred by social media there is more noise than ever and the youth athletes of today are faced with comparisons at every turn. Rising above the noise, the most confident athletes all have one thing in common – they forge their own path to greatness.
Fueling this confidence and reminding young athletes that the only competition that matters is the one in the mirror, Under Armour’s Athlete No One Saw Coming campaign launched this September. As part of the campaign, the UA Athlete No One Saw Coming Grant was created to provide athletes between the ages of 14 and 17 with resources to improve their performance on their individual journeys to compete. The grand prize for ten lucky winners included a $5,000 grant and UA gear for a year and an in-person experience at UA HQ.
“UNDER ARMOUR HAS ALWAYS BEEN DEDICATED TO FOSTERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ATHLETES. FROM OUR GRASSROOTS EFFORTS ALL THE WAY UP TO OUR GLOBAL BRAND CAMPAIGNS, IT’S CRUCIAL THAT WE STAY CONNECTED TO ATHLETES THAT WILL BE PUSHING THE INDUSTRY FORWARD AND CHALLENGING BRANDS LIKE UA TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH THE PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS THEY NEED ON AND OFF THE PLAYING FIELD.”
– Trey Evans, Director of Sports Marketing, Americas Teams Sports
On November 5, UA welcomed winners from all over the country and across all different sports to Baltimore. To kick off the day-long experience, winners were welcomed by the UA team that brought The Athlete No One Saw Coming campaign to life – getting a behind the scenes look at the mission and production behind the global initiative. From there, a panel discussion with the UA product team provided a hands-on opportunity for each athlete to learn how UA brings to life the products that empower those who strive for more and later, a Q&A session with UA Mission Run Baltimore 800m team – including Charlene Lipsey, Vincent Crisp, Edose Ibadin, and Danae Rivers – provided a chance to hear from the professionals how they stay motivated in the face of comparison.
“DURING THE ATHLETE PANEL, ONE OF THE RUNNERS SAID, ‘EMBRACE THE JOURNEY AND LOVE THE PROCESS.’ THAT WAS REALLY POWERFUL AND I WILL USE IT EVERY PRACTICE OR CAMP I GO TO.”
– Kasey Murray, UA Athlete No One Saw Coming Grant Winner
To close out the day, winners headed to the state-of-the-art UA Performance Center. In the same space where some of Under Armour’s top athletes train, the winners underwent an athletic assessment led by UA Training Advisor and Human Performance teammate, Mark Fitzgerald. This customized experience was created to provide the winning athletes with a personalized athletic assessment, a boot-camp style workout and recovery session that mimics what many of the athletes who train with UA also receive in order to give them a leg up on their competition back home.
“THIS OPPORTUNITY IS ONE IN A LIFETIME. TO BE IN ROOMS THAT HOUSEHOLD NAMES HAVE BEEN IN MADE ME BELIEVE THAT ONE DAY I COULD BE THAT HOUSEHOLD NAME KIDS LOOK UP TO.”
– MaCayla Moody, UA Athlete No One Saw Coming Grant Winner
To check out the full roster of the ten Athlete No One Saw Coming winners, please see below. You can also learn more about UA’s commitment to creating more Access to Sport through efforts like these HERE.
ARWA HAMEED, CROSS COUNTRY | NAPERVILLE, IL
“Running is about having your heart be in it, about cheering with your soul,” says Arwa. Her Cross Country career has shown her that she’s truly above comparison, even when her competition is running alongside her. “The outside influences don’t matter when you’re both exhausted and trying to hit your goal.”
