CRAWFORD HESTER-MCALESTER

You hear coaches talk a lot about “program kids”. These are players that have generally played in the shadows but have stuck with the game and given it all for their team. McAlester senior lineman Crawford Hester is one of those guys as new coach Jeff Craig explained. “Crawford is one of those guys that hasn’t gotten to play much during his time as a Buffalo but has hung with it and is now getting his chance. He’s got good size and we’re looking for good things from him this year. We’re still having some growing pains with him but he’s starting to pick things up and I think he’ll step up and be one of those senior leaders we need him to be.” But Crawford’s story isn’t so much about football. He’s an accomplished tennis player for the Buffs. “We went to state my sophomore year which was a pretty big deal and some of our guys got to go again last year. I saw tennis when I was in seventh grade, and I knew the coaches and my stepdad played tennis in high school so that’s what led me to that sport.” Another passion of Crawford’s is aeronautics. “When I was little my mom took me to an air show in Norman, and I saw all of those planes flying around and thought it would be cool to do that. And when I got into high school and saw they had an aeronautics program, I jumped in. It takes the place of a foreign language credit because you have to learn to read things like weather maps which is kind of like reading a foreign language. We learn a lot of math and physics and right now we’re building a plane which is really cool.” Hester started playing football in third grade. “It was tough at first, but my little league coach helped me stick with it. I like the mentality of oneness that you get in football. I believe that if we all work together as one, there’s no one that can stop us.” Crawford would like to play college football if he gets the chance, but his ultimate goal is to get a pilot’s license and continue his work in aeronautics.

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