Daugherty: Princeton's Gilbert lives dream his dad couldn't
Quarterback 'blessed' with a free college education at UC
Feb. 5, 2014 3:52 PM


Princeton's Tyrell Gilbert sent in his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday morning to play for UC. / Enquirer file

Written by
Paul Daugherty

The day Tyrell Gilbert was born, his father Tyrone got a full-time job. Tyrone Gilbert was 18. He had dreams, too, the same dreams his son has now. He played football and baseball at Princeton High, same as his son. He ran track. He was going to go to college. Then life happened.

The road changed. Five months after he graduated high school, Tyrone went to work at a furniture company in Evendale, to support his son.

On Thursday, Tyrell Gilbert will begin to live the dream his dad never could. He’ll attend a ceremony where he will announce his intention to play football at the University of Cincinnati. And to get an education that is both free and priceless.

“It has been a long, long journey,’’ Tyrone Gilbert acknowledged Wednesday.

The “student-athlete’’ model is under fire now. It’s a made-for-cynicism enterprise. At best, it’s hypocritical. At worst, it’s exploitive. Always, it is jaundiced, partly by the belief that money is the standard by which a life should be judged.

That is wrong. Athletes are used, yes they are. The ways have been well documented for decades. What has been less detailed is the way they allow themselves to be used, by not making full use of what is free and in front of them.

“A free education is definitely what I want to take advantage of,’’ Tyrell Gilbert said Wednesday. “It’s a blessing that I want to honor.’’

Someone engrave this on every student-athlete’s letter of intent. If Tyrell Gilbert honors his education, he will also honor himself, and those who took the time to help make the blessing possible: Coaches, mentors, family.

Parents, mostly.

When Tyrell was playing peewee ball, his mother LaToya Balleau watched from the sideline. When her son broke a long run, she ran with him, stride for stride, just outside the sideline stripe. “She had to stop when I got to middle school,’’ he recalled. “They didn’t allow parents on the sideline any more.’’

LaToya and Tyrone did what all sports parents do. They put more miles on their cars than a fleet of Avis compacts. They know every fast-food place between Princeton and Pensacola. Did we mention that Tyrell also played AAU basketball?

“Tennessee,’’ Tyrone began. “Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia.’’ Even now, a touch of weariness invades his voice when he talks about the road trips. “Michigan, Myrtle Beach. Fort Wayne one weekend, Louisville the next.’’

Parents of elite athletes are shaking their heads up and down right about now. Yes. Don’t forget the cooler and your pillow.

“He didn’t want to play football. He wanted to play basketball,’’ Tyrone recalled. “I talked to him into it because of the discipline factor. He was a fast kid at a young age. You could see the talent.’’

Tyrone went without. So did LaToya. A couple nights in a road motel meant no new shoes. A couple tanks of gas meant, forget that dress. “The main thing is time. I missed a lot of work on those trips, and for those college visits,’’ said Tyrone.

He and LaToya couldn’t buy their son a free college education, though. That, he had to earn. “I was always told I wasn’t average,’’ said Tyrell. He pushed himself to get better, always with his eyes on the prize. “I wanted to make sure nobody worked harder.’’

He promised his paternal grandmother he would. The family lived with her for a time, when Tyrell was in elementary school. She saw his promise, even then. “Right after games, he’d run home and tell her everything,’’ Tyrone recalled. “She knew it was a dream for Tyrell to take his talent and go to college. It was her dream, too.’’

Tyrell’s grandmother died nearly eight years ago. On her death bed, he promised her he would go to college.

Tyrell Gilbert is a quarterback. If you want to read about that, you’ll have to look elsewhere. He says he’s thinking of majoring in sports administration. That’s the proper fascination. Don’t ignore the classroom. The chances of any scholarship player becoming a pro are slim and none, and slim just passed you on the depth chart.

Gilbert said he’s “blessed’’ with a free college education, so we’re hoping he uses it wisely.

Signing Day is remarkable, for the love and commitment on display, on behalf of a child’s future. It takes a village to raise a student-athlete. And a few pairs of well-worn shoes.

“If I had to do it all over again, it was worth it,’’ Tyrone Gilbert said. “Just being a parent. Just being there for my child.’’

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20140...d-couldn-t