By Tommy Wells
sports@mineralwellsindex.com

It had been a hard practice for Laramie Stroud, one of the many tough ones in the machine known as Strawn High School football.

His head hurt from tackling teammate Trey Doyle in practice. His legs burned from the 100-yard wind sprints he and his teammates are ran, and the sun ... well, it’s Texas in August so you know the drill.

To say the least, he was beat up and tired ... and sitting in the shade with the others watching practice looked pretty tempting.

Quitting, however, isn’t something the senior defensive end would even consider. Especially after a chance meeting with a disabled fan last month.

Rusch Dillard – he reminds himself every step he forces his body to take – you did this to me.

The top-ranked student in his class at Strawn, the 17-year-old Stroud’s outlook took a major shift over the Fourth of July weekend when he attended Strawn’s July Fourth celebration and, by accident, happened to meet Rusch, a Mineral Wells Junior High School student who was sitting with his mother at a table.

While reaching across the table, Rusch happened to catch sight of the ring Stroud had on his finger.

“I was just reaching across the table and he caught a glimpse of it,” said Stroud, who moved to Strawn as a third grader from Eastland. “He saw it and asked me what it was.”

Almost without thinking, Stroud told him it was the ring he and the other members of the Strawn Greyhounds football team had earned for winning the state championship last December.

Rusch’s eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face.

His dream, Rusch said, was to meet a champion.

With plenty of enthusiasm, Rusch peppered the son of Mike and Gina Baker with a barrage of questions. Each one tempered with a smile, bright eyes and a genuine look of joy.

At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, Stroud answered the boy’s questions, smiled kindly – and then noticed Rusch was in a wheelchair.

“When I saw he was in a wheelchair, it hit me how much we take for granted,” he said. “He was really, really excited to meet someone who had a state championship ring. I run every day and never really think about it, but here he was in a wheelchair and he was just excited to meet me.”

“I thought to myself when he was talking to me, ‘he has so many obstacles in his way and they are much harder than anything we (the other players) face that it’s amazing,’” said Stroud. “He was so happy and full of life. I think we could all take a lesson from him.”

“I’ll be honest, I admire him more than he probably admires us,” Stroud said.

Stroud added to Rusch’s joy shortly after meeting him. He removed the Superman “S” engraved ring from his finger and placed it in the boy’s hand.

“I let him wear it for a while,” he said. “You can’t believe how excited he was by that. Just wearing the ring made him really happy.”

Stroud was far from done making Rusch’s day. After returning home, Stroud returned to the Fourth of July celebration with a couple of items: a football and a framed picture of the 2008 Strawn Greyhounds state championship team.

The gifts delighted Rusch, who was treated to a “touchdown run” last year during a Mineral Wells Junior High School game.

“I’m just happy that I could make his day by doing something so small like that,” he said. “To see a smile on his face made my day.”

“It made me realize no matter how hard things are for me, it’s nothing compared to what he goes through every day,” said Stroud. “I think I’m happier to have met him than he was to meet me.”

Although he hasn’t had the opportunity to meet Rusch again, Stroud said he tries to keep up with him when he can. He’s heard through friends at church that Rusch often asks about him.

Could a second picture and autographed football be in store?

“I would definitely do it again for him,” he said. “If we win state again, I wouldn’t mind a bit meeting him again. If it made him smile, I’d do it. It’s the least I can do after what he did for me.”