Extra Credit
Justin Martin, a Live Oak High School student, is among five Santa Clara County high school seniors awarded REACH Youth Scholarships at the program’s annual breakfast, which honored 34 local students who overcame adversity to excel in both academics and athletics.
NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, honorary chair, and women’s soccer star Brandi Chastain gave out $9,000 in scholarship awards on behalf of presenting sponsor Bridge Bank, with support from Hewlett-Packard Company, San Jose Sharks, National Tennis Championships, Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area, Southwest Airlines and San Jose Marriott, host of the breakfast. REACH is an acronym for Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard work. It is in its 10th year as a program of the San Jose Sports Authority.
“We are proud to honor all 34 nominees for this year’s REACH Youth Scholarships,” said Dean Munro, executive director of the San Jose Sports Authority. “Each is a young person who has overcome tremendous obstacles in his or her personal life through participation in school athletics, and as a supporter of youth sports in our community, the Sports Authority is proud to spotlight their achievements.”
Teachers, counselors and coaches from each high school in Santa Clara County were asked to nominate students who they felt matched the scholarship criteria. Students submitted essays detailing how they were able to overcome adversity and the role that sports played in helping them do so. A panel of local community leaders reviewed the essays and selected the six scholarship recipients, who received scholarships ranging from $1,500 to $2,500 (list of recipients follows).
Martin earned a $1,500 scholarship. He’s been through the usual difficulties of adolescence, but he’d always recognized them for what they were – usual. Last September he found out what a real difficulty can be. His heart gave up on him. He had noticed that he was a step slower than his football teammates in summer workouts, and that he had strange heart rhythms and stomach aches. But his doctor found nothing wrong. Three plays into the first game of the season, however, he took himself out because he couldn’t breathe. Two days later he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, and two weeks after that he was transferred to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. He was told he’d need a heart transplant within a year, but his condition worsened so rapidly that he got it within a week. It was a struggle to get out of bed, a struggle to walk. But a month after surgery he was able to attend Senior Night, the final football game of the regular season. His teammates cried, and Live Oak won the game to qualify for the playoffs. Now, six months after getting a new heart, Justin has returned to sports, competing in track and field. He has not yet returned to the form he once had, but he’s happy to be on the field competing. He has maintained a 3.8 grade point average, and won “most inspirational” awards in football and coaches’ awards in both football and track.
For event photographs and further information, please call the San Jose Sports Authority.
