Kingsway football player in search of size-22 cleats
CONNOR DUFFY sat on the ground outside of Kingsway High and tried his best to ignore teammates as they walked by en route to the football team's annual conditioning competition.
CONNOR DUFFY sat on the ground outside of Kingsway High and tried his best to ignore teammates as they walked by en route to the football team's annual conditioning competition.
"Hey Connor, when did you become a model?" one player joked.
"Those must be some pretty amazing feet," another said with a smile.
"That's fine," Duffy said. "Look, if it was one of them I'd be saying the same things. I'm just looking for a pair of cleats."
Duffy has been thrust into the media spotlight over the past week due to his mission to find a pair of football cleats. You wouldn't think it's that big of a deal until you understand that the 6-8 junior is still growing and already has size-22 feet.
That's right, size 22.
"For basketball I just went on Eastbay.com and found a pair of 22s," said Duffy, who was sporting a pair of all-black Nike hightops, size 22, yesterday morning. "It was easy to get my basketball shoes, so we figured that it would be easy to get my football cleats as well. But I can't find football shoes. I didn't play last year because my parents wanted me to get my grades up but when I played as a freshman and my shoe size was 18, they were easy to find."
Duffy is ready to play this year and when the Dragons open their season against Delsea on Sept. 10, he wants to be dressed in the varsity red-and-black uniform right down to his cleats. Duffy, who plays tackle on both sides of the ball, is eager to show what he can do, but without cleats he will be hampered to some degree due to the lack of traction on the grass fields across South Jersey.
"It's been surprising because I don't think any of us realized just how difficult of a task finding him cleats was going to be," veteran Kingsway coach Tony Barchuk said. "You need a pair of shoes, go buy a pair of shoes. This is 2010. Go online, that's how all of these kids do it. But if you think about it, how many size 22s are there in this world?"
The response this past week has been uplifting for Duffy, who weighs "on a good day 330," but he hasn't had any luck yet. He said he has been contacted by Nike, adidas and Under Armour, which is going through its roster of professional players trying to find a comparable shoe.
"We've had a lot of people call to see if they can help," Barchuk said. "I've called a few schools like Boston College and Penn State but we haven't found a match yet.
"The kid is a big kid and he definitely has a ton of potential. It's our objective to give every kid every opportunity to succeed and, in this case, the proper shoe is important."
For now Duffy is practicing with his high-top Nike basketball shoes. Fortunately, the first few days are all about conditioning and weight-room work where Duffy, who has done a 405-pound dead lift, was easy to find among a cast of teammates more because of his Mohawk haircut than big feet.
"I can play in these," said Duffy, who walks around with an easy smile. "The problem is, on grass it's hard to get under a defensive lineman. It's hard for me anyway, but I really need the traction."
The Dragons don't play on an artificial surface, and as the temperature gets colder, grass fields will turn to dirt, mud and, possibly worst of all, frozen ground. None of these conditions favors shoes built for the hardwood.
"For any lineman, the key is always their footwork," Duffy said. "Our feet is where we start every play. I've always been the biggest lineman, so in a way I'm used to it but it's always been a battle."
A battle even when he's had the right shoes. *
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