Junior Seau: High-Voltage Linebacker

Children's Literature - Mary Sue Preissner

Junior Seau's tight-knit family encouraged his athletics, taught him pride in his family and Samoan heritage, and encouraged hard work in everything. He spent the majority of his young life living in poor circumstances in California. He and his brothers slept in the garage at night because the family's home was not large enough to hold everyone. He worked during high school, in addition to maintaining good grades and excelling in several sports. In college, low SAT scores made him ineligible for freshmen sports; he used that time to work on his grades, his physical conditioning, and to study football plays. That hard work paid off. For the next two years, Junior was a star player for USC. Also, he was a first round draft pick for the National Football League just before his senior year in college, and he promptly joined the San Diego Chargers. In the off-season, he and his wife Gina began the Junior Seau Foundation to help prevent child abuse, chemical dependency, gang warfare, and juvenile delinquency.