Brothers Unite, in School and on Field

On the official roster sheet for the 2008 Arvada West football team you see the names David Thurston, a junior starting linebacker, and his brother Paul an incoming freshman who will start on the offensive line for the Wildcats varsity.

But the brothers don't appear on any school attendance records. CFI caught up with the two Thurston brothers to see how their days go as home-schooled student athletes.

CFI-How long have you been home schooled?
David- Our whole lives. Our parents have been our teachers for us and our four younger sisters.

CFI- So tell me how your average school day goes?
David- I usually get up at 8 a.m. and do a little devotion cause my dad is a pastor and I do it with him. Then my mom makes breakfast for everyone. Then we start school and our school is more like a college cause we are self taught. We have to do it all on our own, then our dad will grade it.

CFI- Do you have any tests you do for the state to see if you’re on the same learning scale as your teammates?
Paul- Yeah, we do a state test every year where we go to a certified state person but our dad is certified so we just do it at home.

CFI- How many hours a day do you do class work?
David- We do two hours of math and two hours of history, then the last two hours is reading and science. Then we do two hours of lifting everyday.

CFI- Do you have to turn in a weekly eligibility report like the other player's do?
David-Yeah my dad has to send one to the school every week so we can play.

CFI- Have you ever wanted to try public schooling?
Paul- No, I like home schooling and have really never thought of going to a public school.

CFI-What, if any, was the difference between Broomfield's football program and A-West?
David-I like it at A-West cause you get to practice your position the whole practice and at Broomfield there were not enough kids to do that. And that our practice now is just a lot faster than there, and the knowledge of football with the coaches seems a lot better.

CFI-How have the other players treated you guys coming in and taking two starting positions.
Paul- The players have been great. No one has even really said anything they all seem to be a bunch of great guys and the coaches are really good.

CFI- What’s your height and weight and 40 time?
David 6'1”, 210 pounds and 4.8.
Paul- 6'4”, 225 pounds and I think around 5.0. I have not been timed yet.

CFI- Paul, you have come into the spring as the only incoming freshman who got to practice with the varsity and you earned yourself a starting spot on the O-line. Were you intimidated or scared at first?
Paul-Not really, I was fired up to be practicing with them and I just tried to psych myself up and I'm pretty confident of my abilities as long as it’s not my brother coming at me with a blitz.

CFI- David, you played at Broomfield as a freshman. Why did you transfer?
David-Cause my uncle Guy Thurston was the O-line coach at A-West and we wanted to play for him cause he has helped us since we were kids in weight training and football techniques.

CFI- Do you have any big dreams of playing football in college?
David- I just really want to earn a college scholarship. I don't really have a favorite, just want to play football and maybe study math cause I like it.
Paul- I have always liked USC and would love to play there some day.

These two brothers appear to have the drive and know what it’ll take to play at the next level. Putting it on the field will no doubt be hard, but with this kind of structure in their lives, who knows how far it can take them.

Check back with CFI to find out how Arvada West and the Thurston brothers do this coming season.