Teenager learns character trumps talent in football

CANYON COUNTRY -- Slowly but surely, the light has returned to Blake McMartin's eyes, but it's been a long and difficult road for the talented but troubled Canyon High football standout.

Just about everyone was ready to give up on the youngster during his junior season, when McMartin spun totally out of control because of heavy partying, academic problems and an increasingly bad attitude that created an insurmountable wedge between a teenager and his family.

Among the best players on the team, McMartin lasted just five games in 2005 before eventually finding himself at a remote treatment facility for adolescent boys. He spent eight months in rehabilitation at Provo Canyon School in Utah in a last-ditch effort to change his life.

It worked. McMartin, 17, isn't so much a new person as a young man who has finally returned to who he once was before demons took over his life: an honor student, a team player and, most importantly, a loyal son and trustworthy big brother.

"Let's just say I was doing a lot of things I shouldn't have been doing and having too much fun," McMartin said. "The hardest part about being in Utah was being away from my family, and now that I'm back I just can't tell you how appreciative I am of Canyon's program and the coaches and the teachers. Everyone has just been really supportive, and I'm really happy and excited to be back."

If everything works out, this is the feel-good story of the year. McMartin's parents, Brad and Lisa, have their son back. Canyon coach Harry Welch once again has perhaps the Foothill League's hardest-hitting linebacker. And McMartin's teammates have someone whom they can again trust and extend their faith.

McMartin is an inspiration to every teenager who has wobbled out of control, rebelled against those dearest to his heart or simply refused to follow rules.

Those meeting McMartin today are greeted by a shy, respectful young man whose boyish face comes straight out of a Norman Rockwell illustration.

Perhaps the jury is still out on what lies beneath the surface, and that's OK with Blake McMartin. He's more than willing to take things one day at a time, a catch phrase that's been working since his happy return in early June.

"As far as being an inspiration for other kids, yes, I suppose that's a possibility. But right now I'm just more concerned with doing well and staying focused on school and sports," he said. "In Utah, there were all different types of us there, but the thing we had in common was we were all working on just getting back on track in society and functioning as a citizen. I was given a pretty good education about shaping my future when I wasn't on the right track."

The Utah facility is very expensive, and McMartin's parents, out of other choices, made a sacrifice in what turned out to be a last resort that worked.

"Quite frankly, Blake has finally resumed his former self in that he has a presence of mind and can have a discussion with us that doesn't feel like we're just prying and asking nosy questions," said his father. "I've noticed more appreciation for his mother and myself and his (two) brothers. Yes, it was expensive, and believe me, we had to break open every piggy bank to send him there. But a parent does everything he can to save a child. It wasn't easy, but we put ourselves second and our child first."

The football team has given McMartin a soft place to fall.

"It's great to have Blake with us again, and everyone on this team has his back," teammate A.J. Wallerstein said. "You've got to have a solid foundation because football is a team game. Nobody on this team needs to do it by himself, and Blake knows that."

There was never a question about his football skills, just his coping skills. Now that McMartin's life has come together in both areas, Welch, who has always been known as a strict, demanding coach, is thrilled.

"Well, he's a great football player, and any coach wants to have good football players playing for him," Welch said. "In that regard, Blake McMartin is an asset, but I've also always thought of Blake as a good human being with an excellent mind. I have him in my college-prep English class, and he's one of my better students, too. He works very hard. He's got some real close friends on this team, and I just like what I see in Blake McMartin."

In football, McMartin missed a lot last season, when Canyon won the Southern Section Div. II championship in December without him. He knew he had some work to do to make it back, and football was an incentive.

"Yes, he missed the championship game, but from a parents' perspective, we feel there were character and behavioral issues that superceded football," his father said. "The priority was his health and safety."

The parents believe they owe a debt to Canyon's football program, particularly the coaching staff, for never giving up on his son.

"What impressed us the most through this whole thing was no one asked any pointed questions, and no one was looking at punitive issues instead of asking what they could do to right the ship," the father said. "From the beginning, they were prepared to help, and Harry Welch really earned my respect with the way he handled everything. I'm talking about personal phone calls, letters, just wanting to know whatever he could do. He's a 100 percent professional as a coach and administrator, and the whole Canyon staff is second to none. There was never any gossip, innuendos or snide remarks. We're fortunate to have someone like Harry Welch at Canyon."

Through their son's difficulties, the McMartins have seen a side of Welch that others don't see - a compassionate side to a 61-year-old taskmaster who has dedicated his life not just to high school football but to the young men who play it.

"I've tried to be there for Blake McMartin whether he was going to play football or not," Welch said. "That's why I stayed in touch with the family, and I can tell you I was ecstatic when he arrived back. I was very, very eager for him to return, and I hope that he can continue to make a contribution. He's fostering maturity in others, and he's becoming a positive role model. I don't know about being an inspiration to the other kids - but he's an inspiration to me."

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

(661) 257-5218