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Racing Toward a New Future

Zeke, 16, had big football dreams. Then a health problem took away his chance to play. This is the inspiring story of how he found a new passion.

September 2024

by Zeke Mankins, as told to Anna Starecheski

Courtesy of family

Until middle school, Zeke’s life was all about football.

I come from a football family. If you come from one too, you know what I mean. NFL games on TV, Friday nights at the high school stadium—we never missed a game. My older brother, Elijah, and I started playing when we were little.

In fact, football was my life. I never even thought about doing anything else. By the time I was in middle school, I had my whole career planned out. I wanted to play in the NFL.

Then the chest pain started.

I was in sixth grade. I was playing basketball with my younger brother Levi. We had been running hard, so I wasn’t too worried. But the pain kept getting worse.

Soon I started getting out of breath just climbing the stairs. My parents took me to the doctor. That doctor sent me to a cardiologist.

Thinking that something could be wrong with my heart was scary. What if I was really sick? What if I needed surgery?

But my biggest question was: How will this affect my plans for a football career?

I come from a football family. If you do too, you know what I mean. NFL games on TV. Friday nights at the high school stadium. We never missed a game. I started playing when I was little. My older brother did too.

Football was my life. I never thought about doing anything else. By middle school, I had my career planned out. I wanted to play in the NFL.

Then the chest pain started.

I was in sixth grade. I was playing basketball with my little brother Levi. We had been running hard, so I wasn’t too worried. But the pain got worse.

Soon I was getting out of breath just climbing the stairs. I went to see a doctor. That doctor sent me to a cardiologist.

A heart problem? That was a scary thought. What if I was really sick? What if I needed surgery?

But my biggest question was: How will this affect my football plans?

I come from a football family. If you come from one too, you understand what I mean: NFL games on TV, Friday nights at the high school stadium, never missing a game. My older brother, Elijah, and I started playing when we were little.

In fact, football was my life. I never even imagined doing anything else. By the time I was in middle school, I had my career planned out. I wanted to play in the NFL.

Then, in sixth grade, I began having chest pains.

I had been running hard, playing basketball with my younger brother Levi, so I wasn’t especially concerned—but the pain got worse.

Before long, I started getting out of breath just climbing the stairs. My parents took me to one doctor, who in turn sent me to another—a cardiologist.

The possibility that something could be wrong with my heart was frightening. What if I had a serious illness or needed surgery?

Most of all, I worried about how my plans for a football career might be affected.

“Probably Not”

I would soon find out. The doctor told me that one of the valves in my heart was leaking. That meant not enough blood was moving to the rest of my body.

At first, the doctors put me on medication. They hoped it would help my heart heal on its own. But the medication didn’t work.

I needed surgery.

When I asked the doctor if I could still play football, he said, “Probably not.” I focused on that probably. In my head, there was still a chance.

Deep down, I knew the truth.

During the surgery, they replaced my leaking heart valve with a mechanical one. You can’t play contact sports with a mechanical heart valve.

My football dreams were officially over.

I soon found out. One of the valves in my heart was leaking. That meant not enough blood was moving to the rest of my body.

The doctors put me on medication. They hoped it would help my heart heal on its own. But it didn’t work. I needed surgery.

I asked the doctor if I could still play football. “Probably not,” he said. But he didn’t say no. In my mind, there was hope. Deep down, I knew the truth.

During the surgery, they replaced my leaking heart valve with a mechanical one. You can’t play contact sports with a mechanical heart valve. My football dreams were over.

I would soon find out. The doctor explained that one of the valves in my heart was leaking, which meant not enough blood was traveling to the rest of my body.

The doctors tried medication, hoping it would help my heart heal on its own—but that didn’t work. I needed surgery.

When I asked the doctor if I would still be able to play football, he responded, “Probably not.” I focused on that probably, unwilling to completely give up hope, but deep down I knew the truth.

During the surgery, they replaced my leaking heart valve with a mechanical one—and you can’t play contact sports with a mechanical heart valve.

My football dreams were officially over.

A New Dream

For six weeks after the surgery, I just had to rest. It was the slowest six weeks of my life. I was in awful pain for the first week. I was also devastated about the end of my football career.

I had a lot of time to think about my future. As sad as I was about losing football, I knew I couldn’t dwell on it. I kept telling myself: This isn’t the end. I’m still a kid. I’ve got my whole life ahead of me. I can figure out a new plan.

One thing I was sure of was that I still needed sports in my life. I loved competing and being part of a team. I also loved the rush I got from running fast.

That reminded me: What about track? Maybe that could be a way for me to still have a future as an athlete.

Once I was healed from the surgery, I started training. At my first track meet, I was put in only one race. I wasn’t even thinking about winning.

When I got to the finish line, I looked back. I had won by a long shot! I couldn’t stop smiling.

For six weeks after the surgery, I had to rest. The time dragged. I was in awful pain at first. And I was devastated about losing football.

I used the time to think. I tried not to dwell on what I had lost. I told myself: This isn’t the end. I’m still a kid. I’ve got my whole life ahead of me. I can make a new plan.

I knew this: I still needed sports in my life. I loved competing. I loved being part of a team. And I loved the rush I got from running fast.

That made me think: What about track? Could that be my sport?

Once I was healed, I started training. At my first track meet, I had only one race. I never thought I would win.

When I got to the finish line, I looked back. I had won by a lot! I couldn’t stop smiling.

The six weeks of required rest after my surgery were the slowest six weeks of my life: I was in terrible pain for the first week, and I was devastated about giving up football.

I used the time to think about my situation. Although I was deeply disappointed about losing football, I decided not to dwell on the disappointment. I kept telling myself: This isn’t the end. I’m still a kid with my whole life ahead of me, and I can figure out a new plan.

One thing I felt certain about was that I still needed sports in my life. I loved competing and being part of a team, and I loved the rush I got from running fast.

As I thought about my enjoyment of running, it occurred to me that track might be the key to my athletic future.

After I recovered from the surgery, I started training. At my first track meet, I was entered in only one race and never even imagined that I might win.

When I looked back from the finish line and realized I had won by a long shot, I couldn’t stop smiling.

Moving Forward

JerSean Golatt/Getty Images for Scholastic Action Magazine

A Need for Speed
Zeke loves the rush he gets from running fast.

I’ve been running track for three years now. It’s going well. I’ve broken a few school records. I even got to run in the Junior Olympics in 2021. It felt amazing to be running with the best young athletes in the country. Now I hope to go to the Olympics someday.

Five years ago, I couldn’t have imagined my life off the football field. It would have been so easy to give up once I lost that dream.

But losing football actually helped me open my mind to other activities. In addition to track, I joined marching band and chorus.

I’ve learned that life will surprise you. You can’t always control what happens, but you aren’t powerless. The real power comes in picking yourself up and making new plans when the ones you had don’t work out.

There’s always a second chance. I’m really glad I found mine.

I’ve been running track for three years now. It’s going well. I’ve broken some school records. In 2021, I ran in the Junior Olympics. It felt great to be running with the best young athletes in the country. I hope to go to the Olympics one day.

Five years ago, I couldn’t have pictured my life off the football field. Losing that dream was hard. I could have given up.

Instead, I tried new things. I didn’t just run track. I joined marching band and chorus too.

I’ve learned that life will surprise you. You can’t always control what happens. But you’re not powerless. You can make new plans when the first ones don’t work out. You can try again. That’s real power.

There’s always a second chance. I’m glad I found mine.

In the three years that I’ve been running track, I’ve broken a few school records—and in 2021, I even got to compete in the Junior Olympics. Running with the best young athletes in the country was an incredible experience. Now I hope to go to the Olympics someday.

Five years ago, I couldn’t have imagined my life off the football field. It would have been really easy to give up after I lost that dream.

But losing football actually encouraged me to consider other activities. In addition to track, I joined marching band and chorus.

I’ve learned that life will surprise you, and you can’t always control what happens—but you aren’t powerless. The real power comes in picking yourself up and making new plans when your original ones don’t work out.

There’s always a second chance. I’m really glad I found mine.

ACTIVITY:
Problem and Solution

You’ve just read “Racing Toward a New Future.” Now it’s time to do this activity.

What to do: The story describes a problem that Zeke faced and how he solved it. Fill in the blanks in the chart below. First, identify the solution. Then, write in details from the story that help you understand the problem and solution.