Wakefield football
Wakefield senior Travis Carrington — born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy — doesn't let the disorder slow him down. Having played football since the seventh grade, Carrington begins his senior year Friday night as one of the Wolverines' defensive ends. Carrington's determination and dedication have made him popular with both his coaches and teammates. Head coach J.D. Dinwiddie even said if he could choose just one captain, it would be Carrington. Inset, Carrington (right) runs during a play against Cary at Wakefield's Jamboree last week.
'There is nothing quite like the game of football'
Wakefield defensive end Travis Carrington can deliver an awfully good scouting report of himself.
It even includes a little visual aid for better understanding.
Asked about his pass rush technique after practice Monday afternoon, the senior dropped his shoulder pads in a corner outside the Wolverines' lockerroom, and positioned himself in front of his interviewer as if awaiting a snap.
"As you can see I'm not overly strong or fast," Carrington explained. "So I try to be quick off the ball, and try to shoot the gap real quick."
The defensive lineman then did an exaggerated swim move, beating the defender and making a bee-line for the invisible quarterback.
"See, I get as low as I can and use my quickness," he added. "The low man usually wins."
At 5-foot-9, 130 pounds, Carrington knows he gives up both mass and muscle to his opponents, but he isn't fazed.
A football junkie — who idolizes NFL defensive greats like Julius Peppers and Dwight Freeney — Carrington lives for the thrill of lining up and proving himself time and again.
"You want to be the best out there, so you want to go against the best competition," he shrugged.
It's why in practice the smallish defensive end doesn't get intimidated competing against Wakefield linemen Will Butler, Michael Sabb and Matt Yovanovich — all likely future collegiate players.
"He doesn't back down from anybody," Butler said. "He'll hit you no matter how big or small you are. He never is going to back down from a challenge."
Plus, Carrington — born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy, which affects the movement on his right side — knows every play he runs defeats his own obstacle.
It's that perseverance, heart and work ethic which have won over Carrington's teammates and coaches alike.
"The best guys we have on this team will knock him down, and he will get right back up," Wakefield assistant Cliff Crabtree said.
Assistants Hunter Jenks and Brian Reeve can't remember a time Carrington wasn't the first person to run out when the coaches holler for a substitution.
Head coach J.D. Dinwiddie said if he could pick just one captain, it would be Carrington.
His fellow Wolverines feel the same way.
"Travis may not have the same natural ability that some of us have, but he pushes harder than anybody," Butler said.
Sabb went even further, adding "If you took Travis' mindset and put it into anybody else's body, he would be the best football player here."
But for Carrington, being the best isn't the main objective. It's about being on the field, and being a part of the Wolverines. But most importantly, he just wants to be a football player.
VIDEO: During last week's Wakefield Jamboree, Travis Carrington got several snaps at defensive end against Cary.
Making the cut
Travis and his twin brother, Thomas, were born prematurely, their mother Rosalind Carrington explained.
And soon thereafter, Travis was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.
While the disorder affected his motor skills — especially his strength on his right side — Travis was fine otherwise.
Never wanting her son to feel left out, Rosalind encouraged Travis — as well as Thomas — to take on challenges.
That was until Travis reached the seventh grade, and wanted to play on the Wakefield Middle School football team.
"I did have some second thoughts because of his disability," Rosalind said. "I was afraid he might get hurt."
But Travis insisted, and earned a spot on the team.
"The expression on his little face when he made the team, man, I'll never forget it," his mother recalled.
It was Wakefield Middle coach Danny Inscoe's first year, and he remembers having the same concerns about Travis' safety.
However, it wasn't his physical limitations that stuck out to the coach back then.
"Even as a seventh grader, his determination, his heart and his dedication was at another level compared to other students," Inscoe said. "I don't know if
adversity away from field helped make him that way, but he looked at things differently than other athletes."
By eighth grade, Carrington was voted as a team captain by his teammates, and played all over the field.
Not that his mother could always stand watching.
"I remember one time he was running with the ball, someone knocked him back, and another person knocked him forward," Rosalind Carrington recalled. "I just covered my head, with my hands over my eyes and I was like 'Just let him get up, just let him get up.' And he got up, and just ran off like there was nothing to it."
Over years, the mother and son have developed a ritual following the conclusion of a game. More accurately, Rosalind Carrington keeps a routine to give her piece of mind.
"I never leave the game until I can see him walk off the field," she explained. "Then I walk up to him and say, 'Travis, I'm here.' He usually looks at me, and says 'I see you.'
"I think [the routine] might annoy him because I know he doesn't like me to hover over him," she said with a motherly laugh.
Besides the expected bumps and bruises, Travis has never been injured — much to relief of his mother.
While Travis Carrington (73) might not have the same natural ability as his defensive line teammates, "he pushes harder than anybody," said Will Butler (56).
Cut no slack
There's a lovable quality to Carrington and his passion for the game, said Reeve, Wakefield's defensive line coach.
"I'll see him get hit, but he always pops right back up," the coach said. "And he's just like Rudy, he'll say, 'Thanks! Thanks for hitting me.'
"Or 'good job.'"
Much like the famed former Notre Dame player Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, Carrington genuinely loves the physical challenge of football.
And the players on Wakefield's roster know better than to take Carrington lightly.
"You don't take it easy on him because he'll be insulted," senior offensive lineman Michael Gubbins said. "He goes hard and he expects you to go hard.
"With most guys, you block them that first time and they stop. But Travis, he just keeps spinning, twisting, moving. He is non-stop."
Teammates kid Carrington for his "Wolverine-like" fingernails, which have cut more than a few teammates. Fellow senior Moises Ramirez had two such scratches during the Wolverines' photo day a few weeks back, and couldn't help joke with Carrington about it.
"He'll scratch, he'll grab, he'll fight," Gubbins explained. "He'll do whatever he can. It's great."
Carrington's tenacity continues to marvel Wakefield's coaches day after day.
And it's why the staff doesn't lower their demands on him.
Whether its a 300-meter sprint tests, or gassers at the end of practice, Carrington runs
stride for stride with teammates.
"We don't cut him any slack," Reeve said. "We always praise him or get on him, depending on how he plays.
"We don't want to treat him any differently."
But coaches can't recall ever hearing a complaint or excuse of any kind. Jenks was hard-pressed to remember a time Travis didn't do what he was asked.
"He has the type of attitude you want from all of your kids," Dinwiddie explained. "You would never know that he has a physical disability. And I think some of our guys might take it for granted what he's done because he is here everyday. He treated like everybody and that's how he wants to be treated. But what he's accomplished is phenomenal."
Here to play
Toward the latter part of last week's Wakefield Jamboree, Carrington trotted out against Cary and took his position, staring down one of the Imps' biggest offensive lineman.
For the next few minutes, Carrington dug in and fought as hard as he could, just like he's done for the last six years. On one occasion, he even took the lineman down — see the above video.
And following the end of each play, a chorus of "Travis" resonated on the sidelines and in the stands — Carrington's effort wasn't going unnoticed by his peers.
Carrington has a simple explanation for why he doesn't mind volunteering for the scout team duty, extra reps or any other exercise.
"We're here to play football, so that's what I try to do," he said. "Honestly, there is nothing quite like the game of football."
And there are few players with the heart of Travis Carrington.
