by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Dennis Lafferty III is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, his clan is raccoon and his tribal town is Tuckabatchee. He is a 16-year old sophomore football player at Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma. His parent’s are Dennis Lafferty Jr. and Elizabeth Lafferty. The family lives in Norman, OK.
“I take the time to work on my skill set outside of the season,” said Dennis. “I also participate in our offseason conditioning in order to try and get faster and stronger. I am a center on our schools football team. We are in Division 6A-1 and the largest class in Oklahoma. I was the starting center on our junior varsity football team and am working hard to try and be the starting varsity center this coming year. I started this year at 6′ and 240 lbs. and am currently 6’3″ and 270 lbs. and still growing.”
“Being a football player I feel that I am representing being Native Americans, my tribe, my school and my family,” said Dennis. “I try to do my very best and achieve the high expectations that I have set for myself. I think that Native Americans when given the opportunities are exceptional athletes, and I want to be a role model for others to follow. Football is a tough sport and is very taxing when you add also being a student, but I feel that being Creek gives me an inner strength to persevere.”
“JR Conrad had been a big influence on me in my football career,” said Dennis. “He is Native American and was the first freshman to start at the University of Oklahoma. He also played pro football. I also have been attending his Trench Mafia training sessions the past four years. He has really helped me in my football technique.”
“But what I really remember is when he told us that he was going to help us to strengthen our relationship with God, help us to be better men and learn some football at the same time. One time I was upset with something that another person said to me and JR told me the only two people that can tell me what I could or could not do were God and myself so unless they were one of those two people to shake it off.”
“It ages me a bit, but Big D is family, his aunt Leslie and I were friends at OU,” said JR Conrad, Trench Mafia trainer. “She actually introduced my wife and I. She is my wife’s best friend and was her maid of honor in our wedding. Beau, Dennis’s dad is like a brother to me, so when I say Big D is family he truly is a nephew. Dennis has been coming to Trench Mafia offensive line sessions since heading into his eighth grade year. In that time I have seen his skill level, confidence, and pride soar. He dominates the classroom and he has invested endless hours and weekends into his craft to become dominant on the field as well. I have seen him build lasting relationships, get in the middle of the entire group to demonstrate, and teach which takes tremendous courage and leadership.”
“There is no better feeling when a shy kid walks confidently into a session and goes to work and smiles, those are the true moments, the gifts I get to witness from these uncommon young men. Dennis is everything we want in our guys at Trench Mafia to be humble, a hard working student-athlete, a servant leader, thankful, and grateful. I couldn’t be more proud of his progress and growth, he represents his family and the Creek Nation in a great way. No doubt Big D has big things in store from the Creator and who knows he might even smile.”
“I am constantly working on my technique in order to improve,” said Dennis. “My dad told me an amateur practices until they get it right and a professional practices until they can’t get it wrong. I also need to learn that after a bad rep I need to get my mind right so it doesn’t affect the next rep.”
“Spiritually I know that my talent was given to me by God,” said Dennis. “I work hard to try not to waste what I have been given. But, I also know that I will take this as far as God wants me too.”
“I try and just relax and rely on my technique to help me get through,” said Dennis. “I also seek the encouragement of my teammates. Offensive line is a brotherhood and I know the guys next to me will pick me and we can get it done together.”
“My parents have put me and my sister Taylor on lockdown,” said Dennis. “We have not left the house in about three weeks. Physically I have been doing body weight exercises, jogging and going for walks in our neighborhood. Mentally, I am able to connect with my friends over the phone. We have been playing games on-line so I still get to kind of hang out with my friends.”
“I play football because I love the game,” said Dennis. “I would love to have the opportunity to play it professionally one day. But, my Dad says that I need a back-up plan in case my dream of playing doesn’t come true. My back-up plan is to be a physician. I hope to one day be an orthopedic surgeon. So I take my grades every bit as serious as I take my football.”
“I am a member of the gifted and talented club at my school,” said Dennis. “This spring I received a nomination to represent my school and the State of Oklahoma at the Congress of Future Medical Leaders Award of Excellence and was invited to go to Boston this June. Hopefully I can do both like Laurent Duvernay-Tardif that plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, because he is a pro football player and also has his Doctorate in Medicine.”
Photo Credit: Dennis Lafferty
Great article on this fine, young man. Dennis is such a great kid and he has made his family extremely proud of him. He has many friends and is a great brother to his his sister, Taylor. Thank you for acknowledging him.