A word of encouragement to Kellen Pickel

[BackyardLegend]

What happened to Kellen Pickel last Friday night was very unfortunate. I'm sure that Kellen is asking a lot of questions. I hope that he understands that God is in control. God has a plan and Kellen needs to follow God's lead. Kellen is one of most outstanding young adults in the Bradley County Community. His impact on people in this area goes far beyond what Kellen does on the court or playing field. There are two things that come to mind when I think of the impact that KP has on his town.

 

First, I saw a picture in the paper recently where Kellen visited an elementary school and spoke to the students about the importance of reading and getting an education. He then had lunch with a young girl who had reached or surpassed a certain goal in reading. You could see the joy that KP brought to that young girl just by being there. A lot of athletes today wouldn't have found the time to do something like that, but KP did.

 

Secondly, it was really amazing to see how many people...both from Bradley High School and Cleveland High School called or visited Kellen at both the hospital and at home on Saturday. People were bringing food and gifts. The house was full of people. That should be a sign to Kellen that he means a lot to those around him.

 

So while KP may be a little disappointed about not being able to play for a short period of time, he should know that he can still help the team by encouraging them and pushing them not to let this setback ruin the great season that they have had up to this point and to keep their eyes on their goal of winning a state championship.

 

In closing, this whole scenario reminds me of story of ex major league pitcher Dave Dravecky. Dravecky was a great pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. During a game one day, his pitching arm snapped in two while pitching. When they got him to the hospital, they found a malignent tumor on his arm. Sadly, they had to amputate his pitching arm. When Dave Dravecky was interviewed shortly afterwards, he stated "It would be easy for me to sit back ask "Why Me, God"...but instead I have to ask myself "How can I use this situation in my life to glorify God?"" Kellen...God has blessed you with so much ability far beyond the athletic arena...take this "lemon" of a situation and turn it into "lemonade". If it is truly God's will...then hopefully we'll see you in Murfreesboro playing for the "Gold Ball"! Good luck KP! Get well Soon!

 

Until next time...the Backyard Legend is outta here!

[dwolford12]

Yeh its really hard being sidelined with an injury. I tore my ACL in the fall playing football, then had it surgically repaired, and ive had to sit out the entire basketball season, and just watch. Its no fun having to sit there and watch your team go on with out you. All you can do is cheer them on and hope for the best. Good luck to Pickel. Just work hard and try to get back as soon as you can.

[nick32]

Kellen is one of most outstanding young adults in the Bradley County Community. His impact on people in this area goes far beyond what Kellen does on the court or playing field.

I remember reading Kellen's personal Christian testimony handed out at a recent Bradley game. What a remarkable young man. No doubt God will use this accident to allow KP to be a witness to others. KP has a bright future in college ball whether it is at a school like Lee or a school like MTSU. He will be a tremendous Christian asset as well as a tremendous athletic asset wherever he chooses to go.

[setter1704tgr]

I know this may seem a little late, cause I'm sure there have been some posts about it already, but what happened to him?

[Alumn89]

yea i know he was a awsome shooter,what happend to him?

[lesbearcat]

Unfortunatley, in a very physical Bradley/Cleveland game Friday night, Kellen, along with two Cleveland players were scrapping after a loose ball. Kellen fractured his right hand and had surgery early Saturday morning. Seven pins were placed in one finger and three in another. Doctors are planning for several weeks of rehab and hope he will be ready to play in 2-3 weeks.

[ProHScout]

That was a really good post BackyardLegend. And that is so true. Most kids would blame God for what happen but I don't that is the case with Kellen. He is such an excellent kid and God is going to bless him through this. Good luck Kellen and get well soon.

[luvinsports]

hang in there kellen. everybody is thinking about you