Quiet confidence
story by Katie Klann
At 9:35 a.m., D.J. Green, 17, walks out of his Algebra 3 class and meets his friends in the hallway of Western Hills High School. Amid public displays of affection and teenage rough housing, D.J. quietly stands to the side and observes.
"I like to listen to people more than I like to hear myself talk," he says.
D.J. moved to Frankfort during his sophomore year. Now a senior, he fills the role of cornerback and captain for the Wolverines football team.
"I’m not your typical African-American male," he says. "I catch people off guard when I wear my cowboy boots. People don’t expect that out of me."
The time D.J. devotes to observing, rather than talking, translates to the field.
"I know I’m not the best player in the world, but I know what to do," he says.
His love for football began when he and his dad watched the Carolina Panthers play in Asheville, North Carolina, where he grew up.
"He always used to tell stories about when he was in high school and all of the great things he did on the field and I was like, I want to be like my dad," he says.
D.J.'s quiet confidence helped him become a mentor for teammates.
"I like to lift people up instead of put them down," he says.
However, when it's game time, D.J. finds the motivation within himself to play every game as if it is his last.
"As soon as I step out on the field, me being out there fuels the fire inside of me," he says. "I try and play every play as hard as I can. When the game starts, that’s when it all clicks together."
D.J. laughs as Caeden Yett, 17, grabs Damion Carpenter, 17, and Savannah White, 17, hugs her boyfriend, Daniel Childress, 17. Many of the Western Hills football players hang out together in the halls between classes.
D.J. waits his turn to lift weights before football practice.
D.J. waits patiently for instructions from his coaches during football practice. D.J. starts at the cornerback position, but he also knows how the entire defensive line functions.
D.J. (1) watches his team practice as he and his teammates Nick Valentine, Trevor James, William Arflack, and Eli Stamper take a break on a sideline of the practice field at Western Hills High School.
Before leaving home to eat with his teammates, D.J. sits in his room and contemplates which socks to wear. "I’m not as flashy (as other football players)," he says. "I can be, but not all the time."
D.J. combs his hair to make sure it is shaped just the way he likes it before going to school.
During their money skills class, D.J. (right) and Dylan Tackett, 17, work on a credit report problem.
D.J. shares a meal with his teammates (from left) Wandel Robinson, 14, Trevor James, 17, and John Caldwell, 15. The team eats together before some practices and before games.