Hi, my name is Gloria, and I am a family friend, fundraising for Damon Badenhorst.  Damon a graduate from...high school, has been accepted as a student athlete to study and play football at West LA College. There is no scholarship and although his family is doing everything they can to help make the opportunity a reality, funding this dream is beyond his family's financial capabilities.
There is no money for housing and currently the plan is for him to live in a van in Culver City, CA where the college is. We are hoping to raise enough funds to help with tuition and get Damon into a shared accommodation situation where he can have a safe place to sleep, eat and study. If you find it in your heart and are able, Damon would be forever grateful for any contribution towards his tuition and living expenses. 

  Here is his story through his father's eyes.

It's 6 a.m. on a cool February day in the middle of the football off-season and Damon is at the turf field, alone, going through his running back drills. It's cold and miserable and he would rather be in bed like his friends, but he knows that the work has to be done. It is only a few months until practice starts and he is determined to get better. Damon first put on the protective football pads at age 13, not totally sure how to hold the ball and run through people. By his junior year in high school, he played in a quarter-final game in the city's biggest stadium and scored 14 of the 17 points his team had that day. Along the way, he received recognition as Offensive Rookie of the Year.

It was painful missing out on playing in the crucially important senior high school football season because of the pandemic. His only option was to go to the field and train. Throw the ball around, do reps and cycles. Get better, get stronger. Do the work and wait until the opportunity to play again presents itself. Finally, a chance. There is a team in White Rock that has a spot for him and they really like his attitude and passion to play. Ten games later, all the way to the semi-finals in the mud and rain, Damon concludes his season with big numbers and a trophy for being the “hardest hitter”. It was so good to play again and to be around people who share the passion for the game.

Armed with more experience and more video evidence of his success, Damon turns his focus to football in the United States. This is a hard arena for a young man from western Canada to be noticed. Undaunted, Damon puts his best video together and starts sending it to coaches and athletic directors in places he has never heard of before. His determination paid off. There is another opportunity out there waiting. Another chance to take all the hard work, experience and cold mornings and place it on the field. There’s also another challenge: the expense. His family is doing everything they can to help make the opportunity a reality, but going from Canada to West LA College is proving difficult. There are sacrifices, and Damon will have to stay in a modified van to decrease costs in the expensive city. At least there is safe and secure parking arranged. It is going to be difficult to be away from friends and family in an unfamiliar place, facing new challenges, alone. There is still the field though. There are team brothers waiting. There is an opportunity. And the work still needs to be done.

If you find it in your heart and are able, Damon would be forever grateful for any contribution towards his tuition and living expenses.

You can watch his highlight video on YouTube: Damon Badenhorst Football Highlights. He can be reached at [email redacted]

Thank you for believing in him.