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+---- Thread: *Okura's Odd Upbringing (/showthread.php?tid=14829)
*Okura's Odd Upbringing - Jaspers - 08-09-2019
Just a little something to show I can write articles and make NSFL teams notice.
Plus some good money. : )
When Takeda was just a child, his Father Jang Okura had very high expectations of him. Him and his wife only had one child, and both worked rather average labor jobs in Okinawa. Of all the prefectures in Japan, Okinawa had the lowest employment rate. Eventually the two were fired from their jobs, and put all their effort into raising a son with what little money they had left. Not only was Takeda raised with strict deadlines and given assignments by his parents to complete, he was forced to do exercise as well. Jang had bought Pokemon cards, which were very popular among kids at the time to entice Okura to sprint around the nearby park when he was only six years old. If he completed one lap, he would get to pick a card out of his father’s hand after. It was no easy feat running around the park’s five mile path, but Okura put up with it so he could get his reward, which he thought was actually a great deal for himself since every other exercise he did didn’t get such a reward. This led to Okura being extremely fast growing up, especially in elementary school, where no teacher could dream of catching him if he wanted to escape. He never would though, because he also deeply cared for academics. He was put in all different manners of sports growing up. Basketball, baseball, hockey, volleyball, tennis, anything his father believed could be good for him. Takeda wasn’t naturally good at any of them though, and was a very short child. Eventually once high school began, his family lost their home and he was forced to live at his school, while his family was homeless. He promised to them that he would eventually find a great job and provide for them. He hugged his mother and father one last time, before heading to school. It was at this school, that Takeda found his passion. American Football. His extreme agility and speed from excessive exercise growing up proved to be a huge advantage as a part of the secondary. In addition, Takeda Okura was able to use his brain with this sport. Using spreadsheets and calculating distances, he could predict quarterback patterns and how he could react to them. This created an absolute monster of a safety, who despite his size, could get to seemingly anywhere on the field to get a tackle. Because his parents devoted all their time to him, he’d also played catch with a variety of different sports balls with his father growing up. This could go on for hours at a time. It was fun for Takeda, while also proving great for his ability to catch nearly anything thrown his way once his football career began. After high-school, he went to college in America for the Oregon State Beavers, due to their coach being the first one to recognize his talent for the game. At Oregon State, Takeda proved to be a great safety. Hitting a final growth spurt, and gaining some needed muscle, Okura barely won the starting safety job in his sophomore year, after being redshirted for his freshman year. While I’m sure most people know of his record breaking seasons with the Beavers, most didn’t know what he did off the field. Using his little extra time, he got an accounting job to pay back to his family. While only working a few days a week due to the strenuous practices, he was able to rack up enough money to buy them a house in Okinawa, in addition to some extra funds for living. Jang felt a sense of relief knowing that his son had achieved success. After all, an athlete is nothing without their parents supporting them. Thus is the valuable lesson I give to you today. Putting everything into your kids will make them a much better person, as was the case with Takeda Okura.