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Rookie - 4   First Goal

Robert Goal
Most thrilling for Spotswood was scoring his first international goal.

"I was the leading scorer on my high school team and my club team in Birmingham," he said. "I had hundreds of goals but that one goal defeats them all."

"What I'd worked for my entire life was taken away and now it's back and it's at the ultimate level. It's inexplicable."

Drinking and Driving

Since his recovery, Spotswood has been speaking to church groups and other organizations about drinking and driving. He recently took his message to his largest audience to date, a group of 800 high school students at Birmingham's Mountain Brook High School.

Dr. David Stiles, Mountain Brook's principal, said  "Of of all the high school assemblies that dealt with drinking or drinking and driving, Robert's had the most impact. He's one of them. He's their age, and he's from their community. To hear him tell it in the first person is very powerful."

After his near-fatal alcohol-related crash, Robert Spotswood is telling other young people about his experiences to help keep them from making the same mistake. Journal Photo by Cara Morrison, Over the Mountain Journal

Pin Drop

"It was incredible," Stiles said. "You could have heard a pin drop. When you get 800 students in one place and get them quiet, that's an amazing accomplishment.

"They gave him a standing ovation when he was finished. You could see the impact. It was a huge wake-up call. And they had a deep appreciation for his attitude and his spirit in not giving up."

"When I tell people my story, the fact that I was intoxicated is one of my main points," he said. "I tell them how quickly you can go from the state select soccer team to a wheelchair after you have a couple of beers and step into a car."

"The amazing thing about Robert is that there's not a day that he's complained," said Mrs. Ashley Spotswood, Robert's mother. "He's taught our family and all of our friends many lessons through his courage and positive outlook on everything.

"He's never been one to feel sorry for himself, and he's tried to make the best of a very bad situation. He's grateful to be alive and to have his mind. He wants to do some positive things to help himself, and to help others.

"Robert has gained a great amount of maturity. He has a new serenity now that's amazing in a boy of 17. We can all learn from him."



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