Blazing Athletics continues to help local youth achieve goals

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Former Western Kentucky football player, Jihad Morris, has been involved in sports since he was six years old. While football was his first love, he also joined karate classes and obtained a black belt in Tang Soo Doo. By age nine, he was an international champion in sparring and form. The first scholarship he received was for basketball when he was a freshman in high school, then he came full-circle with a return to football after transferring to Newburgh Free Academy in New York.

As a running back during his high school football career, Jihad held nine school records. He received national attention as well and earned accolades as an Old Spice All-American, All-State player and Juco All-American. These recognitions were beneficial as Morris moved on to his college career at WKU. He was a starting cornerback during his years playing for the Hilltoppers from 2007-2010, even as he spent much of that time with injuries.

Once his days playing college football came to an end, Jihad worked out with a couple of professional teams before settling into the Arena Football League where he played from 2011-2015. This took him to several states including Oklahoma, Texas, Washington, and Tennessee, before his return to Kentucky and Bowling Green, a city he loves.

Morris looked back to his roots in Newburgh when making the decision on what to do once his football days were over. As a child, he had used sports as a way out of the crime-ridden city. (In the January, 2021 Neighborhood Scout blog report – Most Dangerous Cities, Newburgh was ranked as 36th in the U.S.) He looked to his experiences growing up to help children of south central

Kentucky see that their goals can be achieved and there is a way out of difficult situations. Thus, Blazing Athletics was born.

Jihad’s father was his coach growing up, so it was only natural that he also felt called to coach and train others. Blazing Athletics was a natural solution to continue with sports while putting his coaching skills to work. The group operates out of Quantum Flex Training facility at 103 Nellums Ave. in Bowling Green. Morris held his first training session there in January and continues to see growth with each new session. He coaches and trains children from local schools, as well as from Allen County, Butler County, Logan County and Franklin-Simpson schools.

Morris says the keys to success for his students are paying close attention to detail and giving 110% effort. He instills in them that “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard!” When faced with loss, he helps the children understand the sequence of events that led to the loss and wants them to understand that adversity and struggles are just a part of life. He teaches that every loss isn’t a loss, it’s an opportunity to learn a life lesson.

As a coach, Morris’ biggest life lesson has been, “Be slow to speak and quick to listen.” He wants to instill a lifetime of confidence in his students. One in which they always strive for success, give their all, and expect superlative results.

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.