Olympic Volleyball Player Emerges Resilient From Family Addiction History
Sean Rosenthal may or may not be someone you have even heard of until this week of the Beijing Olympics. That is, unless, you are a fan of the competitive beach volleyball scene. As usual, NBC tells the background stories of each Olympic athlete they feature. Sean Rosenthal is not only a tremendously gifted athlete, he also endured difficult times as a child and teen because his parents had addiction problems. Sometimes kids can emerge from the most dire situations with impressive resiliency.
Tough Times With Drug Addiction At Home
Sean grew up in a home with six other children with multiple fathers. His father was alcoholic and has died according to the NBC Olympics site. His mother apparently struggled with methamphetamine addiction and struggled to keep jobs. They lived on welfare and had a hard time making ends meet. One website indicates that his mom was a former meth addict, but it is unclear how much of role she had with his upbringing. His grandmother took him in, but he still didn’t do well in school.
Sean had great athletic talent, but couldn’t keep up his grades to qualify for any sports teams. He even woke extra early doing some kind of electronic cable installation work before school to help pay bills. The details of his childhood aren’t much deeper than that from online sources. But they certainly paint a troubling picture with seemingly little hope for a good life.
Sean Rosenthal Discovers Volleyball and Rises Above Difficult Childhood
Now here is the point where nearly anything could have happened. His mom’s hooked on meth, his dad is an alcoholic (or has already died - the sources weren’t clear on this). It would have been pretty easy to just jump on the same track as mom and dad, drowning his sorrows in alcohol and drugs. He wasn’t making it in school, lots of chaos at home, and had few material splurges compared to others his age.
Instead of succombing to a drug addiction, he found an outlet that highlighted his natural gifts. He played beach volleyball and other sports as much as possible, and eventually became skilled enough to join the professional ranks as a teenager. Here’s the key - it’s not just that Sean was highly gifted as an athlete. He could have been an amazing mathmatician, or an artist, or a writer, or great with little kids.
Kids With Addiction in Family Need Encouragement
The point is somehow he had enough positive influence and mentoring to find his gifts and act on them. It’s hard to know how much support he got from his mom or dad. Most likely, he got this from his grandmother, perhaps coworkers, perhaps friends he met on the beach, or in other sports. Maybe even a coach somewhere.
Finding out how kids come out of highly addictive households to do exceptionally positive things with their lives is something that certainly needs more research. What encouraged Sean to do sports instead of drugs? I don’t know him personally, so I can only speculate. If she was a former meth addict, perhaps she spent some time in drug treatment - who knows? Regardless, it is inspiring and encouraging to know that even as a mother’s drug addiction or father’s alcoholism takes center stage in a family, some kids can come out shining.
Hope Lives For Kids Growing Up With Addiction
Will Sean ever have problems with addiction in his own life? It’s hard to say, but probably something he should keep in the back of his mind with his family history. If he remembers the lessons he’s learned from finding and using his natural gifts, chances are good he will keep on shining.
Tags: Drug Addiction, Olympic Volleyball Player Emerges Resilient From Family, Sean Rosenthal Olympics Volleyball
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