July 2016 H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H Santa Ynez Valley Star H 23
spotlight
Ex-pro player now trains others
in the community, going golfing and riding motorcycles. Through the connections he made, he found a sports agent. Henry got signed by the Houston Outlaws of the Regional Football League (RFL), which folded. Then he ended up with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadiby Raiza Giorgi an Football League, where he was a two-way news@santaynezvalleystar.com starter, playing defense and offense. “When I finally got drafted by the Colts I was ave Henry can remember the first time beyond ecstatic, but all that time with injuries he stepped out onto an NFL field when and surgeries took its toll and I dislocated my he started playing football with the shoulder and was put on the injured reserves,” Indianapolis Colts. Henry said. It’s a hard feeling to describe, he says, but his He played with big-name players such as face lights up when he talks about his short time Peyton Manning, who was a rookie in 2000 and with the team. retired from the Denver Broncos after winning “I felt like I had finally gotten to where I was the Super Bowl in February. supposed to be. It only lasted a year, and I was The Colts kept Henry on the injured reserve devastated when my injuries took me off the list for the next season until the head coach at field for good. I had worked so hard to get to the time, Jim Mora, was fired. That was after there, and it took me a long time to watch it off his press conference with the famous tirade the field,” Henry said. about “Playoffs?” in 2001. The Santa Ynez Valley native is living the His replacement, Tony Dungy, cut Henry age-old saying that “those who can’t do, teach,” because he brought in his own players, which is by training amateur and professional athletes not uncommon when a new coach arrives. from the valley and Central Coast at his gym, “Looking back, it was the best time of my All Sport Fitness Center, in Buellton. life and seeing all the guys who I played with Henry graduated from Santa Ynez Valley retiring makes it a little easier to watch. I was Union High School in 1991. He played one one of few players to have not been drafted year of football for the Pirates and thought his from college and I am proud of that. I really dreams of a professional career in football were missed the field and the feeling of playing on just that. He started working in the stock market a team. I guess that’s why I went into training, and invested well to “retire.” because I want to make a difference and help “I was still in really good shape and this kids that have the same dreams I did,” Henry dream just kept nagging at me. I decided to said. move to Arizona where the professionals train He was training firefighters with Hancock in the off season and joined about three difCollege and people kept asking him to train ferent gyms in hopes I would meet someone,” them, so he opened his gym in 2011. He kept Henry said. the feel of the gym industrial, and he uses only He met several players and got involved the machines that professionals train with.
Injuries derailed Dave Henry’s pro football career
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SPARKLERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 Jim: I would be proud of myself if I got good grades in school. But I didn’t tell anyone, because theirs were probably better. I was proud of myself when I joined the California National Guard when I was 16 and in high school. The war was probably going to start and I thought I might as well get some flying experience, since I had a job washing airplanes at an airfield. Yes, I felt proud of this. I think that you need to be proud of what you do. (Little did he know just how many medals and citations he would receive by the end of the war, in addition to receiving the undying gratitude of the French people.) Question: Can you remember being with someone who was really scared and trying to help and encourage them? Jim: Yes, we had some of that in the military. If you are leading a flight, you share your experience and a little advice with them. The problem with courage is
the fear of the unknown. When you get shot down, you’re not proud of it! (Jim was a fighter pilot and was shot down by Nazi war planes. His plane caught fire and he parachuted down Lt. Jim Kunkle very near the German border, but he was found by American soldiers and taken to a hospital where his burns were treated.) Question: When you were a little kid, can you remember ever being really afraid of something? Jim: I think the thing that I remember best was after going to the movies and seeing the film “Dracula.” It was so scary, and it was dark when I came out of the theater, so going home I walked down the middle of the street so he couldn’t jump out at me! Pat Murphy is a local freelance writer.
Photo by Raiza Giorgi Henry trains Sarah Johnston of Buellton, who hopes to play soccer in the Olympics one day.
He has hired other trainers and has added many classes, including spin, dance workouts, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and boxing. Henry is also excited to unveil his outdoor workout area, completed in June. “It has that feel of working out like a firefighter with tires and ropes and climbing walls. I want people of all levels to be able to workout outside and have fun,” Henry said. Sarah Johnston of Buellton, who will be a freshman this fall at Santa Ynez High School, is determined to go far in soccer. She plays with the Santa Barbara Soccer Club and hopes to be in the Olympics one day. “I’ve only trained with Dave a few times but I can already feel a difference, and that will be the test on the field,” she said recently, in between jumping and running sprints across the gym. All Sport Fitness at 85 Industrial Way in Buellton is open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. For more information log onto www.allsportfitnesscenter.com.
Sarah Johnston Sarah Johnston is a talented athlete who works out hard at All Sport Fitness Center in Buellton. However, she also earned the Barbara Hallum Exemplary Academic Achievement award when she graduated from Jonata Elementary School this spring with a 4.19 grade point average. She will be attending Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in the fall. “All the teachers and staff agree Sarah is a positive, polite, respectful young woman. All year she has displayed consistency in her academics, never complains, and is always on task. She has a great passion to learn and succeed, and that is her most valuable character trait,” according to a speech given at her award ceremony.
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