EARNING A FULL RIDE

Forehand estimates he and his wife, Martee, spent a total of $12,000 on their son’s athletic activities, including registration costs to play youth sports and participate in special camps, equipment costs and team participation fees to play football at Pelham High School.

“It definitely added up,” Forehand said.

Forehand’s football playing career began on a Pelham youth team in the Over the Mountain league, which is now known as the Jefferson/Shelby Youth Football League. Forehand paid between $100 and $200 annually in registration costs, while also estimating the family budgeted $50 to $60 toward equipment costs each fall.

Once Forehand graduated from youth football to scholastic sports, registration and equipment costs were packaged into a $1,600 spirit pack each season during his high school playing career.

The parents and player were responsible for either raising money through opportunities to help cover the costs, including serving as vendors at special events at the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Pelham, or simply paying the spirit pack costs to cover physicals, uniforms, travel, etc. during each season.

However, Forehand said the school worked with families who couldn’t afford the $1,600 bill.

“They didn’t force everyone to pay it,” Forehand said. “There were a lot of opportunities to work it off.”

In addition to Forehand’s team participation, Justin’s parents also estimated they dished out $100 per year for him to participate in day camps during summers throughout his high school career.

Forehand, who said Justin participated in two separate lineman camps during the summer before his senior season, said the family tried to get the best bang for its buck by putting Justin directly in front of college coaches.

“Looking back, I wish we would have done more camps,” Forehand said. “That’s where you really get your name out there.”

Forehand said he knew other families that paid more than $1,000 to production companies to produce highlight videos to circulate among college coaches.

Forehand had a family friend put a video together for Justin, rather than paying for the video.

Forehand said the costs to accentuate Justin’s skills to college coaches would have been much higher if he had paid a company to produce a highlight video.

“We checked into it,” Forehand said. “(Camps) were a relatively inexpensive way to get your name out there quickly.”

The combination of youth and scholastic sports and special training paid off Feb. 1 on National Signing Day, with Forehand earning one of the few NCAA Division I full scholarships available.