By Perry A. Farrell
SMSB Editor-in-Chief
Bobby Simes Jr., had to tell Deone Walker Jr., it was okay to hit his little league football opponents.
“He was always the biggest kid on the team,’’ said Simes, his Detroit Giants youth league coach. “He was a gentle giant. He didn’t want to hurt anybody. He wasn’t aggressive at first.…
By Perry A. Farrell
SMSB Editor-in-Chief
Wendell Brown’s darkest days were spent in a Chinese prison for three years.
In 2016 Brown was imprisoned in Chongqing, China. He was involved in a bar fight while attending a birthday party for a friend. Initially he was charged with intentional assault and sentenced to four years.
“I was in there for…
By Perry A. Farrell
SMSB Editor-in-Chief
Sundays have been reserved for travel for Jaris McIntosh Jr., and his father, Jaris McIntosh Sr. They’d make the two-hour trek from Battle Creek, where young Jaris stars for Battle Creek Lakeview High School, to the east side of Detroit to attend the Sound Mind Sound Body weekly mentoring program.
“It was…
By Perry A. Farrell
SMSB Editor-in-Chief
Melik Williams is an academic star at Ypsilanti Lincoln High School and his talents on the football field are quickly catching up.
He’s entering his second year with Sound Mind Sound Body (SMSB) Football Academy, and his exploits in the classroom have been eye-opening.
Last month, SMSB hosted SAT practice testing for their…
By Perry A. Farrell
SMSB Editor-in-Chief
The trek from Gibraltar to the Sound Mind Sound Body campus on Detroit's east side hasn't been an issue for Cody Britt.
"My mom (Kim) and I were looking for a place for me to go to train,'' he said. "We had heard about Sound Mind Sound Body, so we decided to…
By Perry A. Farrell
SMSB Editor-in-Chief
Cephus Harris recalled a session at Sound Mind Sound Body where the receiver’s coach, Javid James (BEON Wide Receiving LLC), was giving him an earful.
“There was something I was doing wrong, and he kept yelling at me,’’ said the Mount Clemens Chippewa Valley junior running back. “He was really tough on…
By Perry A. Farrell
SMSB Editor-in-Chief
When ESPN and Rivals.com released their rankings of the top football players in the class of 2022 there was a five-star by Will Johnson’s name.
It was significant because Johnson, a junior defensive back at Grosse Pointe South, doesn’t attend camps -- just the Sound Mind Sound Body Football Academy camps that…
By Tyriq Thompson
SMSB Alum / Intern – Staff Writer
Amid circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 global pandemic, schools across the state of Michigan were forced to close their doors on March 16. Educational instruction took on the form of online coursework and lessons. However, in cities like Detroit, where the poverty rate is nearly three…