9INE POINT Mag: Preview Issue

IN THIS ISSUE

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

3

The Vision

4 TEARING MY ACL WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME PT. 1

TEARING MY ACL WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME PT. 2

7

THE PODCAST

11

THE FIRST ISSUE PREVIEW WITH AJ ROMPZA

12

KATHERINE SHAI STORY PREVIEW

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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER FOUNDER & PUBLISHER JACOLBY GILLIAM Hey if you're reading this I just want to say thank you for downloading the 9INE POINT Magazine App and being apart of the movement we are creating here.

ILike most athletes, I had this big dream growing up about going to be a Division I student-athlete.

You know #D1Bound.

Somehow I made that a reality at the University of Oklahoma on the track team. However, it wasn’t the big signing day with the whole school watching type story, but the tear your ACL your senior year of high school, let's try to walk-on at my dream University type of story.

My story doesn’t make me special, but it’s my journey. A journey that I thought I was alone on because of the stigma that athletes are supposed to be strong and not show weakness. Because if we do the mainstream media calls us "Divas, Weak, Prima Donnas and the list goes on. Everything but an athlete.

I started building on this journey called 9INE POINT Magazine in Summer of 2017 with the aspirations to spark a new change in sports media for current and the next generation of athletes.

Basically, build a platform I wish I had growing up.

A place to read and hear stories from athletes from around the world just being real. While also featuring insight from the community that supports them, coaches, nutritionist, and therapists because we need them to achieve our goals.

A lot of other sport media platforms are fan driven which is cool; fans make the sports experience, but everything we do here at 9INE POINT is "Athlete Driven."

Our goal with 9INE POINT is to be the most valuable platform giving a voice to all athletes regardless of "popularity" and the community that supports them. Because each one of us has a story that can inspire another athlete along their journey.

Glad to have here. We are just getting started.

Jacolby Gilliam Founder & Publisher

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You're just one opportunity away

TEARING MY ACL WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME

BY JACOLBY GILLIAM

HOMECOMING Let me set the scene for you, I had just come off my best game as a high school football player against Dallas Jesuit. Heading into the Homecoming game against our rival Berkner I’m hyped thinking if I can play like I did against Jesuit these college coaches will really have a good look at me. Plus if I’m being real I felt we were better than them, so I was already looking forward to the 3 piece suit I was going to rock at the Homecoming dance.

Game day is finally here. We are rocking our fresh uniforms, want to say purple jerseys with the grey pants. You would have thought we were the Oregon Ducks with the number uniform combos we had at Richardson, and I think they even have more now.

All of these years leading up to my senior year I had no swagger with my football uniform, like none. The second I learned how to spat up my ankles with purple tape on with my Black Carbon Nike Vapors that season, my inner confidence was on a Deon Sanders level.

THE PLAY Back to the game, the 1st quarter our offense gets the ball first and goes 3 in-out in about a minute. So here comes the punt team; which I’m on and have been trying to get off of since the beginning of the season, guess my conscious knew that this day was coming.

We punt the ball I run down, just my luck I miss the tackle, what are the odds. I get up, the play is already fifteen yards ahead of me, so I start

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If you read the title, you probably think this dude must be crazy. But you read it right tearing my ACL was the best thing that could have happened to me as an athlete and as a person.

For most of my life until October 21, 2011, my life was pretty easy, I couldn’t even tell you what adversity was. I was known as Jacolby, the athlete. Since junior high, I was always one of the fastest, strongest, one of the better players on my team. I’m not using this to brag about my high school hero moments but as an opportunity to show you that sometimes you have to become weak to grow stronger than you have ever been before.

jogging towards the ball to get on defense. Out of nowhere this kid comes charging towards me, guess I had a bounty out on me lol. I try to brace for the hit with my left leg serving as my primary support since I’m mid-stride. He hits me right in front of his sideline, so they go crazy.

When he “blocked” me every part of my body went left except for my knee that buckled right.

It was one of those blindside hits every football player wants for their highlight tape. So I probably made his...you’re welcome, buddy.

By then the play is over, now about 20 yards ahead of me. I try to run to get on defense, and my left leg has that unstable after leg day feeling. I can’t run, with no clue with what is going on with my leg I manage to hobble to our sideline. I should have just laid there on the field for the trainers to come get me, but my pride could never let me do that. Remind you I was hit on the other sideline so I’m hobblejogging about 60 yards. When I got one step onto our sideline and coach is like what wrong I said my knee then I just fell.

WE THINK HE TORE HIS ACL The game is over, I think we loss. I wasn’t a terrible teammate, but at that time I had no care about that final score. In my head, I’m floating with the idea that I probably tore my ACL, but no one has said those words yet around me, so I’m still optimistic that maybe its just a severe sprain. That optimism left once my mom walked into the trainer’s room while I was sitting with the trainer and she asked, “what happened?

The trainer said, “We think he tore his ACL.”

"Like I said until then no one has uttered those words. When the trainer spoke those words, I remember the tears falling down my face as I got up to walk outside. You know because we are invincible athletes no one is supposed to see us cry."

"The first lesson of this beautiful story is don’t miss tackles."

Still not comprehending what’s happening here until the team doctor who you rarely see comes over with our trainers and does this pull test on my knee. After a few tugs, I said, “Am I good?”

Homie gave me one of those soft smiles and walked with the trainers for a little bit. If you have ever given someone a soft smile you know it’s never that great. Now in my head, I’m bugging out.

So much of my life was planned around football, and the thought of going to college without it didn’t even seem realistic. To make matters worst that Saturday night was our homecoming dance but that Saturday morning I had the SAT.

They take me inside I’m limping, they throw this brace on my knee. Remember that purple spat job? Looks great but hella rough to get off.

All of this happened 2 minutes into the game, so it’s about to be a long night for me. Back on the sideline, everyone including teammates, cheerleaders, eagle guards are like Jacolby what happen? I’m giving everyone soft smiles.

CONTINUE TO PART 2 ...

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SOFT SMILES

I just got teary eyed right now typing this just thinking about that moment because at that time I thought my life was over. Sounds a little dramatic but when you’re a senior athlete with no scholarship offers, a few interest letters, and you just suffered a potentially season-ending injury you would think you’re life was over too.

This story is just getting started. As athletes, we go through certain situations at the time suck hella bad, and you think why me. But at the time who knew tearing my ACL would lead me to the opportunity to be a student-athlete at my dream college The University of Oklahoma

CONTINUE TO PART 2 ...

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- Jacolby Gilliam

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TEARING MY ACL WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME PT. 2 I wanted to hold on to the invincible athletic persona that I build myself up to be that I didn’t want to let anyone in. You know show no weakness. I can’t speak for every athlete that has dealt with something alone like an ACL, but for me, I knew that most of society clowned athletes that showed emotions and were real.

We call them divas, soft, weak to name a few, as a high school senior I didn’t want anyone saying those things about me because deep down I cared what people thought.

HUMBLE PIE Life will humble you quickly and that Friday night I got a big serving of it. If you miss Part 1 of this story, check it out here. I was just told I might have torn my ACL, crushing this future I had planned for myself revolving around sports and the game of football. So here we are on Saturday, the day of the homecoming dance and this torture of a test called the SAT. Full disclosure I am a terrible test taker, you need me to be creative I can do that in a heartbeat but asking me to sit in a room for hours to take a test is unjust.

In my head, I’m comparing my life to his, thinking this dude has it made.

By then I believe he had already accepted an offer to a D1 college, he was healthy and so forth; everything I wish my life was.

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That morning I arrived at RHS in time for this dreadful test trying not to think about my knee.

However, that’s hard to do when everyone you see is asking you what happened. In no way was my mind was on this test. Making it worse, I walk into the classroom and one of the guys on the Berkner team we played last night is there. We looked at each other, he sees my knee in the brace and gives me one of those dang dude types of soft smiles.

The only positive thing I could think of at the time was the homecoming dance that night. My 3-piece grey suit with the navy blue tie was fire.

The dance was a good time, but when you have a torn ACL, the Stanky Leg is the last dance you should try to do. I learned the hard way on that one.

WHAT YOU CAME TO READ This where the story goes from 0 -100. The whole day I have been trying to put on this front for everyone showing how positive and optimistic I am about everything. But on the inside, there was no glimpse of light, it’s just dark.

"You ever have those days where you pretend for those around you that everything is perfect because you’re scared if people knew the truth"

What would people think if I began to peel off this armor of an image I built these years?

I wanted to hold on to the invincible athletic persona that I build myself up to be that I didn’t want to let anyone in. You know show no weakness. I can’t speak for every athlete that has dealt with something deep alone, but for me, I knew that most of society clowned athletes that showed emotions and were real.

We call them divas, soft, weak to name a few, as a high school senior I didn’t want anyone saying those things about me because deep down I cared what people thought.

YO I THINK I'M DEPRESSED Saturday was that day for me. I did a great job hiding my fears and insecurities until after the dance at the after party we had at my date’s house.

I just remember at one point of the night sneaking away outside just to sit alone by the hot tub, replaying that play in my head over and over thinking what I could have done differently.

Faking happiness was draining and by that night the reality of oh crap my athletic days are probably over hit me hard. I can legit say I was in full depression and I don’t think anyone knew. Yet I don't even think I knew.

For some reading this you probably think this guy is dramatic, but at the time in 2011, you didn’t see stories in the media about athletes tearing their ACL and making the huge comebacks. All I am thinking about is the stories you hear about star running backs that blew out their knees and never played again.

For a good while I wasn’t myself, I did not talk to people as much, not only because I was depressed about the situation, but I really did not know who I was without sports in my life.

The identity that I carried me for 17 years was gone.

NEW RELATIONSHIP EST. I promise I am going somewhere with this story and the depression.

This whole time I felt alone, that I had no one to talk to that understood what I was going through and wouldn’t judge me on my emotions.

That all change that one day when I ran into my trainer that had been one of the father figures in my life since junior high, Coach Eddie Jackson.

We talked a little bit about what happened, by then I had the MRI to confirm I had torn my ACL. At some point in the conversation, we got on the topic of playing again in college or at least making it back for my high school outdoor track season.

He asked me about my faith... At the time I was

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To save the time on this story the SAT sucked I couldn’t focus, my knee was in pain, and I was hungry.

I think about those words all the time. Til this day I don’t think I ever told him how much of an impact that conversation had on my life and my faith.

Before that day, I can honestly say that I could count the number of times I prayed without being told on two hands. That conversation alone change my perspective on life to realize even though I thought I was alone, I wasn’t.

From that moment, I knew I had someone willing to just listen and run to with all my fears, depression, anxiety and every other emotion I was feeling at the time.

Tearing my ACL led me to build a relationship with God. At my weakest moment, he gave me the strength to know that we got this. This new relationship became the catalyst for this whole situation. I went from being why me, to why not me? Why can’t I be the athlete that recovers from an ACL tear fast enough to make it back for part of the track season and to walk-on at a Division I football program that upcoming fall?

THE UPHILL BATTLE AHEAD The right mindset is key to achieving anything, but I had no clue on the uphill battle I was about to face bringing these ambitious goals to life after surgery.

To many the idea of me sprinting full speed in 5 months by April was impossible. The next step finding a surgeon and physical therapist that believed in my dream just as much as I did.

Along with getting accepted into a college.

TO BE CONTINUED...

There is a lot more to this story that leads to where we are today.

The purpose of sharing my ACL story is to give you a glimpse of why I started 9INE POINT Mag. There is not a place for athletes to hear real stories about athletes going through similar situations as them. Why not?

It’s time we showcase the real journey, not just the good times but the crappy ones in between too that we overcome in the process.

What's your story? Together we can help change the stigma, and innovate the sports culture.

Click here to share your story

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Coach Jackson said, “Only a praying man can get through this.”

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THE PODCAST

THE STARTED WITH A DREAM PODCAST ABOUT THE PODCAST

Behind the name: Every athlete starts with a dream for where they wanted to be someday as an athlete. So we start with the source for how they got to where they are today.

The Started With A Dream Podcast is an extension of the magazine where Jacolby talks with different people within sports about their journey. These are athletes and supporters all around the world from the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. Each ep. we talk about their journey and what they do outside of sports as well. The goal each episode is to discover a little piece that someone listening can find something of value for themselves or an athlete they know.

EP. 2 DANIEL KIRK

Daniel Kirk, AUS

EP. 4 NIGEL BYAM

Nigel Byam, USA/GD

EP. 3 LIN BURKS & PAULINE "PITA" MACIAS

EP. 6 GINER DE WEERT

Pauline & Lin, USA

Ginger De Weert, NL

EP. 8 TIM ALEXANDER

EP. 11 CHRIS BUTLER

Timothy Alexander, USA

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODES ON ITUNES

Chris Butler, USA

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LISTEN TO PREVIEWS OF PODCAST EPISODES

WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED Hope you enjoyed this preview issue to learn a little bit more about Jacolby and the journey are a part of with 9INE POINT. We have exciting things in the works with some great guest and stories to share like World Champion Wrestler and Founder of LuchaFit Katherine Shai. See her preview story on the next page.

Stay tuned with for the first issue title Year Of The Underdogs featuring former UCF basketball player and athlete motivator AJ Rompza

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What your story? We are always looking for athletes and supporters that want to inspire others with their journey or tips. If that's you shoot us an email at support@9inepoint.com

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