Crockett Junior High Receives Gift from JJ Watt Foundation

Basketball Coach Kadrian Bryant gets the Assist

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – Sometimes if you dream big and work hard, sometimes your dreams do come true.

In a tweet from the official Twitter account of the JJ Watt Foundation – posted on Sept. 7 – it was announced the Crockett Junior High would receive nearly $5,000.

The tweet stated, “Congratulations to Crockett Junior High in Crockett, TX! They received $4,494.00 for basketball uniforms. Best of luck on your season!”

The post was also found on the JJ Watt Foundation’s Facebook page.

Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Pro, started his foundation in 2011 and since then has donated over $5 million to middle school athletic programs.

The man responsible for helping to secure the donation was Crockett Basketball Coach Kadrian Bryant.

“It’s been out there a while and it’s a deal he (JJ Watt) has been doing for middle school programs. I got with my BSN guy (uniform vendor) because we needed uniforms for our middle school kids and we discovered if your school is at least 60% free lunch then you qualify for it. We’re like 97% or something like that at Crockett,” the coach said.

“We went through the process,” Bryant continued, “filled out the applications for it and sure enough we were awarded the funding. With me, I’m going to try and find a way to do what’s best for the kids here in Crockett.”

Bryant said the funding was for nearly $5,000 “… but this is just for basketball. We missed the cutoff date for the football program. Probably, next fall we’ll try and do this for our football program, and in the spring, we might try and do this for our track program, as well. JJ Watt is big on helping out kids and if you qualify, he will help every program he can.     

The mission of the JJ Watt Foundation is, “To provide after-school opportunities for children in the community to become involved in athletics, so that they may learn the basic character traits of accountability, teamwork, leadership, work ethic and perseverance while in a safe and supervised environment with their peers.”

According to the JJ Watt Foundation website, the program “… has provided funding in excess of $5,000,000 to 6th – 8th grade after school athletic programs and organizations. We could not have achieved this milestone without the continued support of our amazing fan base and sponsors in the community, and we commit to work hard to fund the next $5,000,000!”

As a side note, this weekend Bryant will be inducted into the Carthage ISD Hall of Honor.

“I guess somebody looked and said I was worthy enough to go into the Hall of Honor. I guess during my playing days I was pretty good or at least some people thought I was pretty good and they’re allowing me to go in with such great company. I remember two years ago, I welcomed my mother into the Hall of Honor. It’s a blessing. I believe I was okay, but I guess other people believe that as well. It is a blessing for my family and for myself,” he said.

Congratulations Coach Bryant and thank you for your service to the community.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].

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