Growing Up
Jacksonville, FL - Chester Sweets is coming home. He pulls up in his ‘22 Hybrid Toyota Camry to a quiet halt in front of his house. The car is dirty; Sweets drove home last week to be with his family before the DSFL draft. The air is wet, hard to breath. Even though its winter, Jacksonville’s humidity and temperature are still high. His shoes crunch on the gravel as he by multiple cars parked on the long driveway.
He names his brothers and sisters, pointing at each’s car as he walks, “That’s Jason's and Jaron’s. They share my dad’s old Caddy. Jackson’s Tahoe. Of course he’s got the big boy toy. He plays line. Fat boy. Mom’s BMW. Dad’s new Caddy. He keeps it clean, man. Chicky, right there. Aaaaand there’s Charmaigne!” He excitedly trails off as he spots his sister in the doorway and takes off running towards her. They give each other big hugs and she comes out to meet me, giving me a big hug.
She hurriedly welcomes me into the home, where I am greeted by boisterous conversation and the smell of food that has been cooking all day. This is a Thursday afternoon, but all the Sweets kids are at home for a couple weeks and the house is full of energy. The troops came home to rally around Chester. “I’ve done big things for myself, by myself. But I couldn’t do any of it without everyone here. We’re like the Musketeers: all for one, and one for all.”
We sit at the dining room table, big plates of food in front of us. “You see this family. We didn’t get like this by eating salads. Well, maybe a salad I make!” His mom jokes as she moves around the home, organizing things and keeping everyone in-line. “Everyone here is successful. Jason and Jaron are top prospects both basketball and track, as Juniors. Chicky is an officer in the Air Force. Jackson runs his own restaurant, opening up a new one later this year. Charmaigne probably gonna make more selling her art work than I will in pro ball. We’re going to live lives that our parents could only wish for. And we do it because of them. My dad’s nails are dirty, to this day, and he’s almost 70. You couldn’t be no slouch around here.”
I ask him how his family will be impacted by his move to the DSFL, and the answer isn’t surprising.
“They’re going to come to some games, I know. We’ll all be at home for the draft. Mom cookin’ while were all together. When we’re together, we’re together. But, in today’s world, you simply aren’t around your family regularly. I was all the way across this country in San Diego for 4 years. My sister is constantly getting moved around the world. We stay connected, supportive. And we stay focused.”
Its hard to miss the connection between the Sweets family and a football team. They look like they are practically on top of each other in the house. Yet, no one seems uncomfortable. “Man, we get a long. And that’s me in the locker room. Football’s crazy. You’re a family.”
The next day, I meet Sweets at a local high school. “Gotta get that work in! And look around, we got some of the best!” He is joined on the field by a few high schoolers, but around 15-20 guys who are look to be DSFL prospects.
“Florida, baby. We’ve been doing this our whole life!”
The practice runs about 3 hours long. They do footwork and speed drills, where competition is tough. Music blares over their portable speaker as the players talk trash and laugh at each other. A few times, players get in each other faces. Immediately, however, others jump in a tempers’ cool. “Its just the competition. We all want it. Sometimes, even your close friend, crosses a line. Out here, though, we know we’re just trying to be the best, so we move on.”
Later, they run routes and play 7 on 7, where competition is even tougher. Two players get into it as a punch of thrown. Players break it up, and the aggressor sits on the sideline for a bit before rejoining the fray. “Yeah, it gets like that sometimes. Then we move on. That’s a part of being in this; its not part-time, half-assed. You’re here and it feels like your life is on the line.”
After practice, the players meet for burgers and fries at a local dinner. EVERY player. The energy is high as they review the day. I notice Sweets positions himself next to two of the players who were in each other’s ear. Afterwards, I ask him about it. “Man, you think I’m joking? Those dudes will be back to work tomorrow, no worries. We’re warriors. And we’re family.”
As everyone jumps in cars to go home for the day, Sweets nods to me to follow him. As we walk away, everyone jeers at him. “They know we’re going to the corner store. Gotta get some sweets, man.” The store he takes us to, while shoddy on the outside, has the biggest candy section of any corner store I’ve seen. There is food that I’ve never seen before. Sweets immediately starts grabbing his favorites.
“You gotta try these!” he says as he grabs another bag. At the checkout, the bill comes out to over $50. “I swear, I don’t always eat like this. But you gotta have. And I gotta refill my stash.”
Back at his house, we sit down for a one-on-one, or so I thought. We were quickly joined by the rest of his family, all 9 of us in the living room. He talks about growing up in Jacksonville, using sports as an outlet. “My parents both worked. All the time. But they found a way to be there for us.”
He talks about building at his old high school. “SCIENCE! Most of these kids don’t know what they're missing. In San Diego, being on the ocean, they have an amazing marine biology program. These kids out here, they will bust their asses, but they need the opportunity.” Sweets wants to build a science wing at his school and fund a marine biology program, too. “I got lucky. My folks and family were there for me. I had a security blanket. Not everyone has that.”
Word count: 1072
Jacksonville, FL - Chester Sweets is coming home. He pulls up in his ‘22 Hybrid Toyota Camry to a quiet halt in front of his house. The car is dirty; Sweets drove home last week to be with his family before the DSFL draft. The air is wet, hard to breath. Even though its winter, Jacksonville’s humidity and temperature are still high. His shoes crunch on the gravel as he by multiple cars parked on the long driveway.
He names his brothers and sisters, pointing at each’s car as he walks, “That’s Jason's and Jaron’s. They share my dad’s old Caddy. Jackson’s Tahoe. Of course he’s got the big boy toy. He plays line. Fat boy. Mom’s BMW. Dad’s new Caddy. He keeps it clean, man. Chicky, right there. Aaaaand there’s Charmaigne!” He excitedly trails off as he spots his sister in the doorway and takes off running towards her. They give each other big hugs and she comes out to meet me, giving me a big hug.
She hurriedly welcomes me into the home, where I am greeted by boisterous conversation and the smell of food that has been cooking all day. This is a Thursday afternoon, but all the Sweets kids are at home for a couple weeks and the house is full of energy. The troops came home to rally around Chester. “I’ve done big things for myself, by myself. But I couldn’t do any of it without everyone here. We’re like the Musketeers: all for one, and one for all.”
We sit at the dining room table, big plates of food in front of us. “You see this family. We didn’t get like this by eating salads. Well, maybe a salad I make!” His mom jokes as she moves around the home, organizing things and keeping everyone in-line. “Everyone here is successful. Jason and Jaron are top prospects both basketball and track, as Juniors. Chicky is an officer in the Air Force. Jackson runs his own restaurant, opening up a new one later this year. Charmaigne probably gonna make more selling her art work than I will in pro ball. We’re going to live lives that our parents could only wish for. And we do it because of them. My dad’s nails are dirty, to this day, and he’s almost 70. You couldn’t be no slouch around here.”
I ask him how his family will be impacted by his move to the DSFL, and the answer isn’t surprising.
“They’re going to come to some games, I know. We’ll all be at home for the draft. Mom cookin’ while were all together. When we’re together, we’re together. But, in today’s world, you simply aren’t around your family regularly. I was all the way across this country in San Diego for 4 years. My sister is constantly getting moved around the world. We stay connected, supportive. And we stay focused.”
Its hard to miss the connection between the Sweets family and a football team. They look like they are practically on top of each other in the house. Yet, no one seems uncomfortable. “Man, we get a long. And that’s me in the locker room. Football’s crazy. You’re a family.”
The next day, I meet Sweets at a local high school. “Gotta get that work in! And look around, we got some of the best!” He is joined on the field by a few high schoolers, but around 15-20 guys who are look to be DSFL prospects.
“Florida, baby. We’ve been doing this our whole life!”
The practice runs about 3 hours long. They do footwork and speed drills, where competition is tough. Music blares over their portable speaker as the players talk trash and laugh at each other. A few times, players get in each other faces. Immediately, however, others jump in a tempers’ cool. “Its just the competition. We all want it. Sometimes, even your close friend, crosses a line. Out here, though, we know we’re just trying to be the best, so we move on.”
Later, they run routes and play 7 on 7, where competition is even tougher. Two players get into it as a punch of thrown. Players break it up, and the aggressor sits on the sideline for a bit before rejoining the fray. “Yeah, it gets like that sometimes. Then we move on. That’s a part of being in this; its not part-time, half-assed. You’re here and it feels like your life is on the line.”
After practice, the players meet for burgers and fries at a local dinner. EVERY player. The energy is high as they review the day. I notice Sweets positions himself next to two of the players who were in each other’s ear. Afterwards, I ask him about it. “Man, you think I’m joking? Those dudes will be back to work tomorrow, no worries. We’re warriors. And we’re family.”
As everyone jumps in cars to go home for the day, Sweets nods to me to follow him. As we walk away, everyone jeers at him. “They know we’re going to the corner store. Gotta get some sweets, man.” The store he takes us to, while shoddy on the outside, has the biggest candy section of any corner store I’ve seen. There is food that I’ve never seen before. Sweets immediately starts grabbing his favorites.
“You gotta try these!” he says as he grabs another bag. At the checkout, the bill comes out to over $50. “I swear, I don’t always eat like this. But you gotta have. And I gotta refill my stash.”
Back at his house, we sit down for a one-on-one, or so I thought. We were quickly joined by the rest of his family, all 9 of us in the living room. He talks about growing up in Jacksonville, using sports as an outlet. “My parents both worked. All the time. But they found a way to be there for us.”
He talks about building at his old high school. “SCIENCE! Most of these kids don’t know what they're missing. In San Diego, being on the ocean, they have an amazing marine biology program. These kids out here, they will bust their asses, but they need the opportunity.” Sweets wants to build a science wing at his school and fund a marine biology program, too. “I got lucky. My folks and family were there for me. I had a security blanket. Not everyone has that.”
Word count: 1072