hawaiiansteeler
08-07-2015, 08:57 PM
Steelers' linebacker Jones has underwhelmed, but he is used to dealing with adversity
By Mark Kaboly
Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015
http://triblive.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=lGPo4 Y0M$_Ho$jIzhmWgJM$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYvVmdmDelwAi6L w_dkEk88yWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4 uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_C ryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg
Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones works with outside linebackers coach Joey Porter during practice at St. Vincent in Latrobe.
At some point this year, Jarvis Jones is going to face adversity. He knows it.
Whether it is fending off 37-year-old James Harrison for playing time or overcoming the “bust” label, the former first-rounder's future with the Steelers will be determined by how he deals with adverse situations.
That's just fine with him. If adversity is the only thing standing in Jones' way, he has to like his chances.
Jones already has overcome it once, but under more dire circumstances.
It was a decade ago in the tiny town of Richland, Ga., that a 15-year-old Jones had his life changed forever.
Jones' older brother, Darcell Kitchens, was shot and killed on his 19th birthday outside of a bar down the street from the family's home.
“I was devastated,” Jones said. “Me and my brother were very close. It is something that I think about all of the time. It always motivates me to be a better person.”
At the time, that's not how Jones looked at it.
Jones, who was with his brother most of the day, struggled to deal with Kitchens' death.
Jones quickly spiraled out of control. He was expelled from middle school, then kicked out of an alternative school a couple of months later after fighting with classmates. He was banned from attending school in Stewart County.
“I made some bad decisions,” Jones said.
With help from a family he befriended while playing basketball, Jones turned his life around. He became one of the top recruits in the nation out of high school.
“It makes me a stronger person just having to deal with things every day,” Jones said. “People on the outside don't know what some people have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. I learned from that, and it definitely made me a stronger person. It made me a stronger person and the person that I am today.
“It is not how you drive, but how you arrive.”
Jones is hoping that holds true for his NFL career.
to read rest of article:
http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/8801921-74/story#ixzz3iBUrJDiX
By Mark Kaboly
Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015
http://triblive.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=lGPo4 Y0M$_Ho$jIzhmWgJM$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYvVmdmDelwAi6L w_dkEk88yWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4 uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_C ryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg
Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones works with outside linebackers coach Joey Porter during practice at St. Vincent in Latrobe.
At some point this year, Jarvis Jones is going to face adversity. He knows it.
Whether it is fending off 37-year-old James Harrison for playing time or overcoming the “bust” label, the former first-rounder's future with the Steelers will be determined by how he deals with adverse situations.
That's just fine with him. If adversity is the only thing standing in Jones' way, he has to like his chances.
Jones already has overcome it once, but under more dire circumstances.
It was a decade ago in the tiny town of Richland, Ga., that a 15-year-old Jones had his life changed forever.
Jones' older brother, Darcell Kitchens, was shot and killed on his 19th birthday outside of a bar down the street from the family's home.
“I was devastated,” Jones said. “Me and my brother were very close. It is something that I think about all of the time. It always motivates me to be a better person.”
At the time, that's not how Jones looked at it.
Jones, who was with his brother most of the day, struggled to deal with Kitchens' death.
Jones quickly spiraled out of control. He was expelled from middle school, then kicked out of an alternative school a couple of months later after fighting with classmates. He was banned from attending school in Stewart County.
“I made some bad decisions,” Jones said.
With help from a family he befriended while playing basketball, Jones turned his life around. He became one of the top recruits in the nation out of high school.
“It makes me a stronger person just having to deal with things every day,” Jones said. “People on the outside don't know what some people have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. I learned from that, and it definitely made me a stronger person. It made me a stronger person and the person that I am today.
“It is not how you drive, but how you arrive.”
Jones is hoping that holds true for his NFL career.
to read rest of article:
http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/8801921-74/story#ixzz3iBUrJDiX