LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Many young athletes dream of making it big in the world of sports.
One former football player who now calls Las Vegas home says he found his true passion off the field by helping young athletes achieve their own dreams.
From college football, to the Indoor Football League to the Canadian Football League, Demetrius Crawford has experienced it all in football.
Now, he's found a new passion, and it's all about inspiring the youth in Southern Nevada.
"I started off at Montana State, had a whole bunch of success up there in Bozeman. Then I ended up going to the CFL, got signed to the BC Lions after playing in the indoor football league, then went back and played with the Saskatchewan in the CFL," Crawford said.
Football has always played a big role in Crawford's life, but he now says he's found his true calling.
Crawford works as a school support specialist at Shadow Ridge High School, and it's a job he doesn't take lightly.
"The youth is the future of everything, so now I'm a school support specialist. When they come to me, I'm the one that talks to them and gets them in the right place where they're supposed to be as far as doing the right thing," Crawford said.
For Crawford, football was more than just a game. It's given him endless opportunities and experiences to be able to relate to teenagers.
"My last football stint was in 2016, I was gonna go play for the Redskins, and that one right there I was still trying to figure it out and a lot of these students are still trying to figure it out, a lot of these students are trying to figure it out. 'Do I want to go to college?' 'Do I want to just work?' Things like that, so I'm able to point them in that direction and say 'hey, in order to be successful, you gotta go to school'." Crawford said.
Crawford says at the end of the day, his mission is to simply inspire future generations to always chase their dreams.
"A lot of kids they are passionate about certain things that they do whether they play sports, do music, are bookworms. They're passionate about it and just being here and seeing it and being somebody that they can lean on with help, I mean I'm all for it," he said.
Crawford is living out the perfect example of life after football and how the skills that you acquire through sports can be applied to anything in life.
