Preston Veal might be only 12 years old, but he’s built for football.
Standing just over 6 feet tall and weighing about 230 pounds, Preston has long towered over his teammates and rivals. That physical dominance has been a defining trait since he started playing the sport about four years ago.
Heading into his seventh grade season with the Lassiter Jr. Trojans, Preston was locked in. He had been relentlessly training the past few months at team practices and on his own.
“Preston is one of those kids that all you need is just the right support system and the right guidance and it’ll be an easy paved road for him to be able to be a (Division I) athlete. There’s no question about it,” Jr. Trojans head coach Brandon Jones told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution during a recent interview.
But a devastating crash near his Cobb County home and in front of an elementary school has forced him to step away from the game he loves.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Preston was crossing the street when he was struck by a cargo van June 23, causing a long list of injuries: a tear to his aorta, broken ribs, a broken left femur, a fractured left knee, a torn right anterior cruciate ligament, a fractured right tibia, a laceration to his liver that caused blood to pool in his abdomen, bruised lungs that led to blood clots, and road rash. The leg injuries, though, could be the most devastating to his promising football career, one of his doctors said.
Nearly a month later, Preston returned home from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. On July 24, he began what is expected to be a grueling course of physical therapy. It’s an all-too-familiar journey for young athletes who suffer significant injuries.
Is a return to football possible for Preston? He intends to find out.
“My goal is to not crush his dreams and … allow him to heal and get back to where he needs to be, even if it’s going to take quite a while,” said pediatric hematologist Dr. Prashant Raghavendran, who has been on Preston’s case since the start.
‘The most scariest, devastating call that I’ve gotten’
Preston never left the house alone. But his parents had recently given him some independence and allowed him to make the 10-minute walk to Davis Elementary School, where he and his younger sister attended.
That June afternoon, Preston just wanted to shoot some hoops. The school’s lone basketball goal, tucked behind the parking lot where the buses line up, was familiar ground where he said he practiced the moves he watched his favorite player, LeBron James, make.
As Bernice Veal was finishing work shortly before 4 p.m., she got a call from her son’s phone.
“I answer, ‘Hey buddy,’ like any other day, but it wasn’t his voice, it was someone else,” she recounted, adding that “it was the most scariest, devastating call that I’ve gotten.”
The caller said Preston had been struck by a vehicle while crossing the street. Police confirmed the van hit him on Jamerson Road, just east of Turtle Rock Drive. A crosswalk directly in front of the school traverses Jamerson Road toward Preston’s neighborhood.
Cobb police spokesperson Eric Smith said the driver has not been charged and the incident remains under investigation.
Preston has become the face of a community push for a protected crosswalk. Police installed a temporary speed monitor near the site. Cobb County spokesperson Ross Cavitt confirmed the Department of Transportation will install “rectangular rapid flashing beacons,” signage that flashes to alert drivers about pedestrians, by the end of the year.
Since the incident Bernice Veal has feared leaving her son’s side in the chance something will happen while she’s away. She put her job as a nurse at a dialysis clinic on hold for a month so she could focus solely on Preston’s recovery.
High expectations in football
There was a time when Preston could basically bring an opponent down with just his fingertips. At a recent physical therapy appointment, he giggled as he said his favorite thing about football was that “you get to hit people.”
That now feels distant.
“If he’s able to bounce back from this situation, and he’s able to get back on the field, I don’t see why not — I don’t see how he couldn’t go to the next level,” Jones said about Preston’s ability to impress college scouts.
Athleticism runs in the Veal family. Bernice Veal said she ran track and played soccer at Mississippi State University, and her husband, Damien Veal, played basketball in college. Doctors project Preston could reach 6-foot-7.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Jr. Trojans team mom Megan Wagers said kids don’t want to go up against Preston simply because of his stature. He had been playing offensive and defensive line most recently.
Jones, who became head coach this year but was the team’s defensive coordinator last year, said college recruiters could start paying attention as soon as Preston’s eighth and ninth grade seasons if he’s able to get back on the field by then.
“We all had high expectations for Preston this year because of what we’ve been seeing from the spring games and then also the summer conditioning,” Jones said.
In a hospital bed
Usually full of laughter around his friends and family, Preston became quiet in the hospital. He slept through the pain, maintained a look of grief, and became uninterested in TV and even video games, his mother explained.
Football seemed to be the only thing he couldn’t get off his mind. Jones said Preston woke up from dreams of him participating in football drills, and Bernice Veal said her son often asked when he would be able to return to the field.
But as Children’s physical therapist Anzika Tuliva told Preston, the young standout needs to walk as much as possible, do his leg and calf raises, massage his quad muscle to promote healing and loosening, and bend his knees if he wants to play again.
Regarding the deep tissue massages, “They’re going to do it,” Preston said with a smirk on his face while pointing to his parents.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Because of the extent of Preston’s condition, Raghavendran explained there’s a risk of reinjury, particularly with his torn ACL and other leg injuries.
“He has to be very, very careful, because both of his legs have had pretty significant bony injuries and now ligamentous injury that could predispose him to reinjury that can be significant,” Raghavendran said.
Because of the completely torn ACL, Preston said he didn’t feel any pain in his right leg — but his left leg still felt tight, the muscles stiff and sore, while he tried to stretch it during physical therapy.
‘He will have a successful recovery’
Even when Preston is cleared to play football again, things won’t pick up where they left off. Jones said he will have to recondition himself and set new goals.
Bernice Veal said it was a difficult conversation to have with her son, but he understands football is off the table this season.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
“I definitely think he will have a successful recovery and possibly be back on the field next year,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Lassiter football community has stepped up. Wagers organized meal deliveries and launched a GoFundMe campaign to support the family with their mountain of medical bills.
Bernice said her son has been cracking jokes since being home while remaining his typical shy self around others. She is relieved to finally see his personality shining through again.
Preston will be in physical therapy three times a week for three to six months before he can return to some day-to-day activities. But Tuliva said he’ll be able to run, jump, ride his bike and do more strenuous things only after the ACL tear is fully addressed, which she said could take longer.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
So far, he can walk short distances and climb stairs with a slight wobble — even with his left leg in a brace.
Until then, Preston still intends on being part of the football team. He said he will attend games but is unsure how the season will go without anyone his size on the field.
He was named an honorary team captain and will participate in the coin toss at the start of games, something he said he’s looking forward to, despite being a timid kid who usually doesn’t like the spotlight.
“I do see him at the sidelines — sitting, whether in a chair, wherever — and cheering his teammates on,” his mom said.
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