Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 4, 1993 TAG: 9302040160
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SHAWSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
FOOTBALL PRO HAS ADVICE FOR PUPILS
The fourth- and fifth- graders gathered eagerly in the amphitheater at Shawsville Elementary School. They sat in a neat semi-circle around the small stage where their guest would sit - if he ever got there.Every time a teacher or classroom aide would wander in, the kids would turn around, craning their necks toward the door, some of them even breaking out in applause.
Finally, the moment arrived. In walked the guest - John Granby, 24, who plays professional football for the New England Patriots.
The children stared at him as they would any famous person. Each child clutched a piece of paper in his or her hand, waiting for the autograph session that would follow.
"Sorry, I'm late," Granby said. "I got lost."
Granby's visit Wednesday was part of several activities during National Reading Month to encourage children to read and teach them the importance of reading in everyday life.
Granby told the children of a special coach he had in junior high school who told him he must "work hard to make the grades to get into college," that football was not always enough.
"I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to play football and that really helped," Granby said. "But football doesn't last forever, and only a few people get in. You've got to be able to read and make the grades . . . you've got to have something to fall back on."
Granby encouraged the children to do the best they can because "it will pay off. You don't have to be the best, just do the best you can and that's good enough."
Granby learned the importance of a good education when he was drafted last year to play for the Denver Broncos. He was two classes short of graduating as a liberal arts and science major, but accepted the position anyway.
Now, after moving to the New England Patriots and finishing up the season, Granby decided to come back to Virginia Tech to finish up his work and get his degree.
"The more I thought about it, the more I decided that football is here today, gone tomorrow," he said. "An education stays."
The children had a lot of questions for Granby, most of them football related. But they still seemed to understand why he came to visit in the first place.
"He said you should read a lot and study a lot, and he told us how important school is," 10-year-old Travis Poff said.
"He made me change my ideas about school some," Chanda Claxton said. "I didn't know school was important to football players, I thought they just played football."
Amber Dooley said that now she knows that "football players are not totally stupid people. He said school was a lot involved with football and he has to read a lot," she said.
Granby talked about the 300-page playbook he was given when he started in professional football. And he told the children four hours of his day is spent in the classroom, studying plays and learning different game strategies.
He talked about how simple things like reading the newspaper help him unwind after a busy day at practice.
The main thing to remember, said Granby, is to stay in school.
"I tell my little sister that all the time," he said. "It is important to read. You can't do anything if you can't read."
Granby, who is from Virginia Beach, has played professional football for a year. He will return to Foxboro, Mass., for spring practice with the New England Patriots after graduating from Tech. He hopes to pursue a career in public relations when he finishes his football career.