By Steve Huffman
Salisbury Post
Isaiah Goodman admitted that four years ago he was dealing with a slew of issues.
“I used to get in a lot of altercations,” he said. “I had trouble controlling my anger.”
Isaiah was raised in Winston-Salem in what might politely be referred to as “a dysfunctional family.”
His parents were separated, and Isaiah was one of eight children involved in the mix. Isaiah was raised by his mother, though he said the situation was anything but ideal.
“I was the man of the house,” he said of life in his early years, “the oldest boy there.”
At times there wasn’t even a roof under which they lived. Isaiah said there was a period when the family was homeless.
“We had to be out in the streets,” he said.
All that changed four years ago when Isaiah’s cousin, Talita McCain, was granted custody of him. She lives in Salisbury, and Isaiah moved in with her.
Isaiah said the situation was far better than that in which he’d previously lived.
“She accepted a mother-type role with me,” he said. “I became like her son.”
Isaiah is graduating from Salisbury High School this year, an achievement that a number of people didn’t think they’d ever witness.
“Isaiah went from the type kid who hung out with the wrong crowd to the type kid that other kids enjoyed being around,” said Joe Pinyan, Salisbury’s head football coach.
Pinyan said he saw Isaiah when he was a freshman ó a tall, gangly boy who looked like he had the potential to pack on some muscle and turn into a football player.
Pinyan went immediately to Isaiah and invited him to try out for football. He did so and developed into a star in the Hornets’ defensive line.
“You always hope to find kids like that, the ones who are willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team,” Pinyan said. “Isaiah played any position we asked of him. He played an important role in four conference championships.”
Isaiah is hoping his football career isn’t over. He’s been accepted to Fayetteville State University and hopes to play football there starting this fall.
Pinyan said there’s a very real possibility that will happen. At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Isaiah has the potential to play on the college level.
“The sky’s the limit because of his size,” Pinyan said. “If they continue to put weight on him, he’ll be a good defensive lineman for them.”
Isaiah said he realizes he’s matured greatly over the past four years. He said his godmother, Ethel Vinson, played a role in his maturation.
“She’s meant a lot to me,” Isaiah said.
Likewise, Isaiah has meant a lot to Vinson. She said that when she met Isaiah, she worried he was about to become involved with gangs.
Vinson said she feels Isaiah’s lack of parental supervision was the main reason he struggled.
“All they want is someone who can respect them,” Vinson said of Isaiah and other teens like him. “They live what they see.”
Isaiah said a number of teachers and counselors at Salisbury High have played major roles in his development.
“I had the right people to push me through,” Isaiah said. “They told me that I don’t have to settle, that I can go anywhere in life I want to go.”
Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman @salisburypost.com.