Voorhees Committee members presented Eastern Regional High School senior Kolby Smith with a commendation during last night’s meeting.
Kolby is a linebacker on the high school football team. The start of his senior football season, Kolby tore his ACL. He didn’t want to be discouraged by his injury, so he began to train a young man on his football team who has autism.
Kolby said his teammate needed help. For the past 16 weeks Kolby worked with him on field and agility drills.
He plays both defensive end and tackle, but “[he] plays mainly defensive end,” Kolby said.
Kolby said he wants to help his teammate become a better football player.
Committeeman Michael Friedman congratulated Kolby after the commendation was presented.
“With all of the bad news you hear about teenagers these days in the news it seems to overwhelm us. To hear good news about someone with impeccable character and maturity that you have shown, it is unusual,” he said.
Friedman presented the committee with the idea to give a commendation to Kolby.
He said Kolby moved from West Virginia to Voorhees about one year ago. He noticed his teammate was having a tough time on the team so “he took him under his own wing,” Friedman said.
“[Kolby] didn’t do it for any extra credit or any payment or anything like that,” Friedman said.
Looking back at his high school and football days, Friedman said most of the time the players didn’t think about “the extra things they should be doing.”
Deputy Mayor Harry Platt echoed Friedman’s thanks to Kolby. He said he not only helped a fellow player, he “inspired people on and off the field.”
After he graduates Kolby wants to continue to help his teammate as well as others become better football players.
“Hopefully it will grow,” he said.
