Kalan Norris was born and raised in Jacksonville just like a lot of us here. He loved the game of football since he was a tiny player at Sabal Palm Elementary and then Twin Lakes middle school. After his parents’ divorce, Norris moved to Tallahassee to continue playing football at the next level: high school. Attending North Florida Christian his Junior year of high school, he was drawing attention as a linebacker with over 100 tackles in a season. Upon entering his senior year in high school, Norris received an official letter from ESPN ranking him as the No. 27 linebacker in the entire country.
During his senior year, the head football coach left, which put his collegiate recruiting at a standstill. Determined to get picked up, Norris made sure to get as much exposure as possible by going to Nike camps and football camps throughout the state. After working hard to put himself out there, Norris was offered a full ride to Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas.
The summer leading up to starting at Trinity Valley was leading up to Norris’s 18th birthday. That July Norris was caught celebrating early under the influence and made poor decisions that led him to be sentenced to Juvenile detention for the next 30 days. He was released two days before football camp started and went directly to Texas to try and make up for the time he had lost.
Norris red shirted at Trinity Valley his first year. It was a testing period of his life as he was still on probation, but the next season, when Norris played, he did exceptionally well and had one of the highest GPAs on the team.
As soon as things were starting to look better, they took a spiraling turn downhill. Norris went on a spring break trip in March and violated his probation, which inevitably led to the end of his football career and dreams. The next 20 months of his life were spent in the department of corrections.
“It was the lowest I have ever felt in my life,” Norris said. “I felt out of place and had just lost my dream of playing collegiate football.”
He was only allowed three showers a week as there were problems with the water pumps at the facilities. He was surrounded by constant fighting and gangs and shared a room with eight other men. A week before being released, Norris walked into his room to find all of his valuables had been stolen. He had the choice to be an “alpha” and mark his territory by fighting, but he saw the light of being released in a week and walked away from the situation.
Once released from prison, Norris re-evaluated what he wanted to do with his life. He felt like he owed it to his parents to finish school and make them proud once again. Upon this and while still on probation, he received his AA from Valencia Community College in Orlando, which had a direct connect program to UCF. Norris had to meet with the student council multiple times, and after being denied three times, he was accepted on his fourth meeting once he had his probation terminated. He went to Walmart that day to buy a whiteboard to write all his goals down on.
Just when things were once again looking better, his health took a turn for the worse when Norris was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia and jaundice. His kidney and liver were not functioning properly. After five blood transfusions and being in the hospital for 11 days, Norris powered through and was discharged.
He fulfilled his promise to his parents and graduated from UCF with a 3.28 GPA. Norris contemplated going on to get his masters in psychology, but instead realized he had a story to share with the world. He discovered that public speaking was the way he could be courageous and help others who struggled just like him.
Norris started his own business and now speaks to high schools throughout the country. He shares his struggles in hopes of preventing adolescents from making the same mistakes he once did. He emphasizes the importance of decision making for student-athletes and how crucial academic achievement is since sports only last so long. He focuses on striving for more than just success on the field and on learning how crucial one’s decisions are off the field.
Not only does Norris share his story, but he also serves as a mentor to the young student-athletes. After he speaks at a school, he allows time for at-risk guys who don’t feel comfortable talking to their own parents or coaches to approach him one-on-one. Norris wants kids to learn from the mistakes he made so they don’t lose out on their dreams the way he once did. He took all of the negatives life threw at him and now uses his experiences to empower those going through the same struggles.
