The University of Mississippi Athletics
Stringfellow Recognized by Boys & Girls Clubs
2/6/2008 | Track and Field
From Capitol Street to the Olympics: The Savante' Stringfellow Story
Some might say the odds were stacked against former Ole Miss Rebel Savante' Stringfellow from the start. He came from single parent family in an area of town where many kids turned to drug use and violence.
However, Savante' had a loving mother who wanted only the best for him. He became a member of the Capitol Unit Boys & Girls Club as a young child, and it proved to be just what he needed. One day, the Club had a track meet. An eight-year old Savante' came in third place, and few then could predict the heights to which he would one day soar. Something special came alive in him that day.
He became a responsible adolescent who did well in school and sports. He remained involved at the Boys & Girls Club and often helped out with the younger kids who needed a chance like he did.
Then, it was off to the University of Mississippi, where Savante' would rewrite the record books in the long jump. He was selected as an All American six times, won three NCAA titles, and still holds the Ole Miss long jump record. In 2005, he was inducted into the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame.
Savante' competed in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and then became the top-rated long jumper in the world in 2003, winning the 2004 World Indoor Long Jump Championship. He now resides in Jackson, Miss., and says his greatest treasures are not all the gold medals, but his two children, daughter Makenzie, 5, and son, Kennedy, 3.
Savante' was asked about his experience at the Boys & Girls Club.
How did your involvement with the Boys & Girls Club affect your life? Do you ever wonder if your life would have been different had you not been a Boys & Girls Club member?
"It would be tough to say how my life would have been different, but I was raised by a single parent. We went to the Club after school and it was an excellent way to stay out of trouble. So many of the other kids that grew up with me have been in and out of trouble because of the lack of supervision and I think the Club directed me on the right path. I heard how some people say the Club was the best thing in their communityfor me, it was the only thing in my community."
What values and life lessons did you learn at the Club?
"Accountability, sportsmanship, leadership, self respect, character. These are the things that I think a lot of youth these days do not have. Back when I was going there, they demanded it. And it wasn't just me. As I have grown up, the people I see doing positive things around the city went to the Boys & Girls Club with me as a kid and those positive traits followed them throughout life."
For more information on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Mississippi, visit http://www.bgccm.net/.
