Athlete to youths: 'Play it the right way'

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.com Mizzou graduate and top NFL pick William Moore of Hayti, Mo., comes back to the Girardot Center for Youth to offer words of wisdom on Friday afternoon. [Click to enlarge]

During the seven months William Moore spent at Girardot Center for Youth, he excelled at sports, staff members remember.

Steve Shockley, who was assigned as Moore's personal advocate during the time the then 13-year-old spent in the program for at-risk youth, said they see many young men pass through Girardot Center who are extremely gifted athletes, but Moore's willingness to take advice and criticism set him apart.

"He was coachable. He'd listen you," Shockley said.

"Back then, we always thought he might have a chance."

In December, Moore, a native of Hayti, Mo., graduated from the University of Missouri, having been an All American safety on the Tigers. He is expected to be a top 2009 NFL draft pick.

Submitted by Tana Regnier A photo of William Moore at age 13 when he attended the Girardot Center. [Click to enlarge]

Moore returned to the Girardot Center on Friday afternoon at his own request to speak to the juveniles in the program, telling them the key to changing their situation, like his own, is determination.

"It wasn't in my plans to be where I'm at, but I was determined," he said.

"I didn't sit down and say, you know what, I'm going to be in the NFL."

Moore said the time he spent in the Division of Youth Services was a result of falling in with the wrong crowd, but he learned from his mistakes.

"Everybody's going to have adversity in their life," he said.

While Moore was at the Girardot Center, he insisted on taking the bus to and from Cape Girardeau public schools every day, where he attained all A's and B's, according to Tana Regnier, special education teacher at the Girardot Center.

Regnier said Moore took on a leadership role and would often talk one on one with other students who were having problems.

"He was like a junior staff member," Shockley said.

Both Shockley and Regnier recalled that Moore was known for performing backflips and stunts that involved running half up the wall before leaping off.

"He was a good kid -- good heart, and good soul -- and the kind of mischevious smile that lit up the whole room," Shockley said.

Moore credited his strong support system and his faith in God as helping him rise to each challenge that presented itself in his life, from graduating high school, which he said was an emotional day for him, to earning a scholarship to play for Divison 1 Mizzou.

"People on the outside would say 'he won't make it, he's not going to play, he's going to mess up,'" Moore said.

He used the words as a means of keeping himself motivated, even when the college courses he was taking proved to be a struggle.

"I'd call home and say this isn't for me. It was tough, trust me," Moore said.

Moore had the option of leaving his junior year and going straight into the NFL draft, but he declined it after a lot of consideration and mixed advice, deciding he wanted a college degree.

He graduated with a 2.6 grade point average and a bachelor's degree in psychology.

"Football is just extra," he said.

During the time he spent at the Girardot Center, Moore said, he knew people would tend to write off him and other youth in the same situation as "troublemakers." He reminded his audience that every one of them will get a second chance.

"This system you're in right here is definitely just like life," Moore said.

"Life is a system. You just got to play it the right way."

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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