For Want of a Pair of Cleats

[WJMorris3]

This story's just 30 minutes from my house.

To say Kingsway Regional High School's Connor Duffy can fill some big shoes this season is an understatement but it's also his biggest problem.

He's the perfect size to be an intimidating presence on the football field for the Dragons he's a 6-foot-8 junior who weighs a not-too-heavy 300 pounds and plays tackle on both sides of the ball.

The question is whether he'll get the opportunity to suit up for head coach Tony Barchuk. Duffy can't find cleats for his size 22 feet.

"A lot of guys in college and the NFL wear sneakers (on turf), but we need cleats to have the best traction," Barchuk said. "If it's raining and he has sneakers on ..."

"He missed a couple of days of practice last week because he rolled his ankle," added Connor's mother, Gretchen. "It's frustrating, he just wants to play football."

Duffy was a member of the JV team as a freshman, when he stood 6-5. He sat out last year, and his feet have grown four sizes since his last time on the gridiron. While he was able to find cleats online in his old size 18, his family has not been able to find any size 22s yet.

"They go up to 19, and after that they only sell them to special athletes," Connor said. "We had mini-camp in June, and I've been looking for cleats since the end of mini-camp. I thought I could just find them online, but I guess I can't."

A quick search on the Internet reveals that Eastbay.com doesn't have listing for sizes above 18, and no other easily-found site had sizes above 16, including Nike's online store. When Gretchen began contacting shoe manufacturers to try and see about purchasing them directly, she was told they don't make shoes that size except for professional football players.

Connor plays basketball in the winter and throws the shot put for the track team in the spring. While he couldn't find track cleats either, he was able to compete in his basketball shoes which have never been hard to locate.

"I could find my basketball shoes easily, but they just don't have the same size for football cleats," said Connor. "It's been a family project, everybody's pitching in to find cleats so I can play."

Gretchen wrote Preston of the Preston & Steve radio show on WMMR. After he mentioned it on-air, Channel 6 Action News got word of it and ran a story on Monday night's newscast. The family is hoping that media attention will help bring a resolution to the problem.

"I hope this will be a catalyst for other kids across the country," Gretchen said. "There's got to be other kids with the same problem. We (searched) size 22 (on Facebook), and found a lady in Florida whose son had a size 20 cleat. They finally got help from the Miami Dolphins, I think.

"We don't want somebody to pay for the cleats. We just need somebody to make them. I'll pay for them. If this works and we can get him cleats, find a source, I may start a website for oversized kids."

They have reached out to shoe manufacturers in addition to some professional teams, which they will continue, and the publicity could draw the attention of famous local athletes as well. The Eagles have made contact, but nothing definite has come of talks yet.

The problem is something that won't go away, either. Gretchen says Connor's doctor estimates he could grow to 7-2 before he's done. That would make him the tallest football player on record if he reaches the NFL, surpassing 7-foot former Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Richard Sligh.

He has aspirations of getting there, but right now he just wants to get onto the football field at all and that means solving his size 22 problem.

"It's really crazy," said Barchuk. "We had a kid we didn't have a helmet for, or needed larger pants and (someone) would help us out. But we've never had a kid with a problem with a shoe before. This is 2010 - could he possibly not be eligible to participate because of a piece of equipment?"

I feel sorry for this kid, really I do.

Er, Dennis, you got a pair of cleats this kid can borrow?

[LMU]

Sadly, the kid's got me beat by 2 sizes.