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http://www.technicianonline.com/sports/from_football_to_fatherhood
Every morning, before he can focus on his studies or his footwork, J.C. Neal has a trip to make.
He wakes up at his off-campus apartment, dresses and feeds his 7-month-old son Jayden and drives with Jayden's mother to drop him off at daycare. From there, he focuses on academics and football until he returns home from practice at 6 or 7 p.m. and spends as much time as possible with his baby boy before putting him to bed.
For Neal, the joy of fatherhood was not a planned event but "a surprise." Yet because of the strong parental influence in his life, Neal knew that he wanted his child to grow up in a home with a mother and father.
"I just think that, growing up, people don't see the same example in their childhood," Neal said. "I don't think they understand that you have to do something for your kid. You can't just leave him out there to dry."
And thus Neal, a senior, does everything in his power to be as active in his child's life as he is as a starter at safety.
Balancing parenthood and athletics, though, is not an easy task, Neal admitted. According to Derek Greenfield, an adjunct assistant professor in curriculum, instruction and counselor education, young athletes who are parents often battle with what sociologists call a role conflict, where parenthood inspires them to do everything in their power to provide for their children, but their responsibilities are spread between family and athletics, which pays for their education.
"There's an emphasis to do more and be more," Greenfield said. "But along the way they're facing some emotional challenges of not being what they want to be now."
For parent-athletes, the extent in which they can be involved in their children's lives often varies. According to Greenfield, parental involvement can include financial support, emotional support or time with the child. One of the toughest challenges for the student athlete, Greenfield said, is financially supporting a child.
"It's particularly challenging for athletes who financially struggle to provide because they can't work outside of their football responsibilities," Greenfield said. "And also, because it's another full time job, it makes it difficult to spend the same amount of time."
For offensive tackle Julian Williams, the father of a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter named Juliahna, his situation requires some help from his family, who also set an example of involvement in his life. Williams' mother and girlfriend both help raise Juliahna in New Bern, Williams' home town, though they visit nearly every weekend so he can spend time with her. In the offseason, he spends as much time in New Bern as possible to be with his daughter.
"When I'm with her, it's her time," Williams, a redshirt junior, said. "I don't take school, football, any problems [with me] when I'm around her. It's just about her. I have limited time with her, so I don't worry about anything when I'm around her."
Williams became a father in the second semester of his freshman year at State, a situation that forced him to grow up quickly and prioritize his responsibilities.
"Being a dad instantly became number one," Williams said. "Mostly, it just motivated me to do better. It's not about me any more. It's more about her."
The responsibility of childhood also forces the athletes to realize the importance of the education that their athleticism helped provide.
"I've got somebody to work for now," Neal said. "It's not just me out here playing football, trying to make it to the next level, trying to get an education. I'm actually doing this for somebody else, trying to make his life better. That's what I try to strive for when I'm out here. I've got to get a degree. So if this football stuff doesn't work out, I have an education to fall back on."
And in trying to make life better for his son, Neal might just produce a future N.C. State star.
"He's learning to back pedal already," he said.
good read about JC Neal. Good for him for his academic and football goals.  10/22/2008 12:11:03 PM
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