Odell Beckham

    

     There have been many sensational athletes that have come through Newman, and there is a very special one, in the graduating class of 2011. Odell Beckham Jr. has been breed from the moment of conception. His mother, Heather Van Norman, has an extensive list of accomplishments in track and field. She graduated from LSU in 1994 after being named an all-American six different times. She brought home three separate national championships for the Tigers, in 1993 alone. Since she has graduated, Van Norman has had coaching jobs on four different colligate track teams, and continues coaching track today. Odell didn’t just have one parent who stared at LSU… he had two. Odell Beckham Sr. was a standout football player. Highly recruited out of Marshall High School in Texas, Odell Beckham Sr. was primed to have a great college career and move on to the NFL. A torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ended his career at LSU and hopes for an NFL dream. No one at Newman has had a better pool of genes than Odell Beckham Jr.

     As a young boy, baseball, soccer and basketball were the sports that Odell excelled at the most. He played on the prestigious travel New Orleans baseball team, NORD, from the ages of 9-12. He played center field and batted lead-off. In soccer, Odell was a stud forward with great ball control and played at CSA (Carrollton Soccer Association), which was a travel team that played the best competition in the south. In the center of Odell’s heart is the game of basketball. “It was my first love” Odell explains. A skillful point guard on the court, Odell excelled in basketball the most as a child. In middle school, he was so good at basketball; predictions were flying around about him being able to play college basketball. Finally, high school came around, and the game of football was picked up by Odell. Since starting his career in football, Odell knew the gridiron is where he belonged. “He is an absolute animal and dominates high school football,” said Ryan Brenner of his teammate and friend. According to rivals.com, Odell is ranked as a 4-star prospect (out of 5) and is regarded as a top sixty prospect in the nation. With more than 10 scholarship offers from colleges around the nation, Odell has narrowed his pick down to two schools: Miami, and LSU. National signing day is on February 2, and he has to choose before then. “I don’t have anything finalized yet and we won’t until February 2^nd, but I defiantly know where I’m leaning,” explained Odell. “You’ll have to wait until then, to find out where exactly I’m going to end up.”