2008 Woodie Awards
Burns: Hot on and Off the Field
Offensive Lineman is an inspiration to coaches, teammates, and fellow students by as an example.
Sam Hahn
Issue date: 10/13/04 Section: Sports
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For Tommy Burns the death of his mother in 1999 changed his life.
"My mom was my best friend," said Burns of his mother who passed away on July 30 while suffering from a stroke. Burns adds that his mother's health was fleeting as she was a recovering drug addict.
Looking back on that day, Burns believes that God put him in that situation in order to change him.
"The good lord looked out for me ever since," said Burns, who began attending church after the loss of his mother. "I've become an inspiration to my family, and was only the second member of my family to graduate high school, and the first to go to college."
Burns, the Monarch's 6-foot-3-inch, 300-pound offensive tackle, is not your average football player.
"When you first see him, all you see is a mountain of muscle...but only after getting to know him, do you get to see a mountain of character," explained Duane W. Smith, coach of the Valley speech team, which Burns has been on since spring.
"I was born into a drug infested environment back in October of 1984," said Burns. "I witnessed things that many only see in movies. I saw a lot of gang violence and drug use while I was growing up. I used to see people dying all around me."
"With that, I sort of became numb to my surroundings and soon was dealing with all this corruption around me," Burns said.
To survive, Burns became a part of his environment by selling crack cocaine when he was 10.
"While every other kid was playing with their toys...I was out on the streets selling rocks."
Overcoming much adversity, Burns has been a positive influence to his teammates.
"Tommy is a model teammate because he'll do anything you ask of him," said running back, Edric Prim. "I'm glad he's on my team."
"He is a role-model player," explained football head coach, Ron Ponciano who named Burns as a team captain. "He's made my job fun as he sets the standard for everyone on this team."
"My mom was my best friend," said Burns of his mother who passed away on July 30 while suffering from a stroke. Burns adds that his mother's health was fleeting as she was a recovering drug addict.
Looking back on that day, Burns believes that God put him in that situation in order to change him.
"The good lord looked out for me ever since," said Burns, who began attending church after the loss of his mother. "I've become an inspiration to my family, and was only the second member of my family to graduate high school, and the first to go to college."
Burns, the Monarch's 6-foot-3-inch, 300-pound offensive tackle, is not your average football player.
"When you first see him, all you see is a mountain of muscle...but only after getting to know him, do you get to see a mountain of character," explained Duane W. Smith, coach of the Valley speech team, which Burns has been on since spring.
"I was born into a drug infested environment back in October of 1984," said Burns. "I witnessed things that many only see in movies. I saw a lot of gang violence and drug use while I was growing up. I used to see people dying all around me."
"With that, I sort of became numb to my surroundings and soon was dealing with all this corruption around me," Burns said.
To survive, Burns became a part of his environment by selling crack cocaine when he was 10.
"While every other kid was playing with their toys...I was out on the streets selling rocks."
Overcoming much adversity, Burns has been a positive influence to his teammates.
"Tommy is a model teammate because he'll do anything you ask of him," said running back, Edric Prim. "I'm glad he's on my team."
"He is a role-model player," explained football head coach, Ron Ponciano who named Burns as a team captain. "He's made my job fun as he sets the standard for everyone on this team."
