A Falcon High School senior and a star football player, Kalen Ballage, has been turning a lot of heads. After receiving more than 25 full-ride scholarship offers from Division I colleges, he isnít sure where heís headed; but he feels good that his childhood dream is becoming a reality.ìIíve been playing football since third grade,î Ballage said. ìMy whole family has always played football. Itís kind of insane if you donít play football.îThe amount of interest to bring Ballage on as a college football player came as a surprise. ìIt was all a surprise to me at first because I never really looked at myself as a star athlete,î he said. ìI started to become that, and I just thought thatís what youíre supposed to do.îBallage has played about every position on the field, he said. ìLast year was my first year playing outside linebacker and I loved it, but I still have to go with running back as my favorite,î he said.Despite all the hype and attention, Ballage said he isnít concerned about setting records. ìI actually have the 100 meter and 200 meter records at my school; and, before that, it was held by my brother,î he said. ìOther than that, I donít really mess with the records and all that other stuff.îBallage said heís been thinking about a career in either communications or sports medicine. ìI donít know which one yet,î he said. ìBut definitely my goal is to make it into the NFL. It has been ever since I was a kid.îHis success as an athlete is all about the team, Ballage said.ìI get a lot of credit for everything that I do, but a lot of the stuff Iíve done I couldnít have done without my team,î he said. ìTheyíve supported me on my ride to the top.îAdvising other kids who have big aspirations, Ballage said, ìAlways follow your dreams. There are many people along the way that will tell you, ëYou canít do thisí and ëYou canít do that.í For the people who told me that I would never be this good, I let that shield me and mold me into the person I am right now.îNote: All football scores are up-to-date as of deadline, which is Sept. 28 for sports. All other scores are up-to-date as of Sept. 27.
