AHSAA News | ‘Walking testimony’: Geraldine senior doesn’t let club feet slow him down (2024)

BRYANT-JORDAN SPOTLIGHT: RIVER WALLING

Overall winners in Bryant-Jordan Scholarship will be announced on April 15 in Birmingham

GERALDINE, Ala. – Some players motivate others with their performance. Others inspire with a positive attitude. A third group shines by thriving despite adversity.
It’s rare to find a player who falls into all three categories, but that’s how those who know Geraldine senior River Walling describe him.
“He’s one of the finest young men that I’ve ever coached,” Geraldine football coach Michael Davis said.
Added government and economics teacher Lindsey Wade: “Everyone at this school would probably tell you that he’s one of the best kids in the senior class.”
Walling was born with club foot, a condition in which the foot is turned inward, sometimes so severely that the bottom of the foot faces sideways or upward. In Walling’s case, both feet were affected and his case was so severe that he said both feet essentially appeared “upside-down.”

The severity of his case meant he needed surgery, In fact, he had three surgeries before his fourth birthday and was required to wear braces and “special” shoes to help his feet heal.
In kindergarten, though, he removed the braces largely out of embarrassment and began walking without them.
“It felt like nails were going through my feet when I walked without my braces,” he said, “but I got used to it. I was able to walk without them.”
That’s just one example of the toughness and resiliency Walling has shown throughout his life, which helped him become one of 52 regional winners in the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program’sAchievement category.A total of 104 high school senior student-athletes – 52 in the program’s Achievement category and 52 in the Scholar-Athlete category – have advanced from area nominations. All will be recognized at the 39thannual Bryant-Jordan Awards Banquet to be held Monday night, April 15, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel. The banquet will be live streamed at the following link: https://youtube.com/live/UsOJ5MVrDG8?feature=share

Each regional recipient receives a $3,000 scholarship. From the regional winners, the Bryant-Jordan Selection Committee will select class winners and the overall recipients of theLarry D. Striplin, Jr., Scholar-Athletestate award and theKen & Betty Joy Blankenship Achievementstate award. The class award recipients will receive an additional $3,500 scholarship, and the two individuals named the overall state award recipients each receive an additional $4,000 scholarship as the overall state winners. More than $12 million in scholarship funds has been distributed to student recipients by the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program since its inception in 1986.
“He’s a walking testimony to everyone,” Davis said. “He’s motivation to everyone because he doesn’t make excuses. If River is not making excuses, why should someone else? That’s the way his teammates look at him, and he receives so much respect from his teammates because of how much grit he has. The way he goes about his business and doesn’t complain is truly an inspiration to all of us.”
Walling began playing sports as a second grader, despite his mom’s reluctance, and grew up playing football, basketball, and baseball. In high school, he concentrated on baseball and football.
His condition left him with what he described as “skinny legs,” with almost no calf muscle. That left him with little ankle flexibility and diminished leaping ability, but it’s a point of pride that he never missed a game because of a foot or ankle injury.
“Kids always asked me why my legs were so skinny in elementary school,” he said. “They still do. People look at me weird like there’s something wrong with me. I really didn’t let it bother me. … I’m one of the fastest (players) in my grade.”
On the football field, he settled in at linebacker and became one of the Geraldine’s leading tacklers. In 2021, he played on the Geraldine team that defeated rival Fyffe 20-19 to end the Red Devils’ 51-game winning streak, which was the nation’s longest at the time and second longest in AHSAA history.
As a senior, he enjoyed a second victory over Fyffe, a 17-6 victory, and a trip to the Class 3A quarterfinals. Walling played a major role as the Bulldogs made its deepest playoff run since 2000 and finished 12-2, earning All-Region and All-County honors.
“On and off the field, he’s just a man of character,” Davis said. “Everything you want a young man to be, he’s got it. The obstacles he has overcome and to find himself and to go down the road he’s going, I’m proud of him. I really am.”
Throughout high school, Walling has worked a series of part-time jobs, including helping a local contractor with electrical and plumbing work. He has received a scholarship to attend Northeast Community College, where he plans to seek certification in electrical and plumbing trades. He wants to eventually own his own business, perhaps after also earning a business degree at Jacksonville State.
“He’s one of the hardest working kids I have ever taught and I’ve been doing this for 20 years,” Wade said. “How he handles life, how he handles everything. He learned to deal very, very well. Those coaches will tell you he never complained about his feet. Never. So, he’s very gifted athletically, and he’s very gifted with the way he treats people and his work ethic.”
Asked what he’s learned from overcoming his condition, Walling offered a simple response: “You’ve just got to keep going and don’t let it stop you from doing what you want,” he said.
The complete list of Bryant-Jordan Regional winners are listed below:
2024 Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program
Scholar-Athlete Regional Recipients
CLASS 1A
REGION 1: Landon Hanks Kinston High School
REGION 2: Parker Townsend Sweet Water High School
REGION 3: Makasiah Burns Autaugaville High School
REGION 4: Daymion Winfrey Alabama School/Blind
REGION 5: Haley Hendrix Victory Christian School
REGION 6: Cale Tittle Lynn High School
REGION 7: Amelia Tafazoli St. Bernard Prep School
REGION 8: Caroline Lambert Waterloo High School

CLASS 2A
REGION 1: Brodie Medlen Wicksburg High School
REGION 2: A.J. Dyson G.W. Long High School
REGION 3: Reagan Taylor Horseshoe Bend High School
REGION 4: Alex Montgomery Westminster-Oak Mountain School
REGION 5: Eli Moore Winston County High School
REGION 6: Ciara Calvert Cold Springs High School
REGION 7: Emily Driskill Whitesburg Christian Academy
REGION 8: J.D. Martin Pisgah High School

CLASS 3A
REGION 1: Ryan Cobb Straughn High School
REGION 2: Maci Caldwell Houston Academy
REGION 3: Wilson Albrecht Trinity Presbyterian School
REGION 4: Karli Wood Randolph County High School
REGION 5: Emily Huang Fayette County High School
REGION 6: Luke Rhinehart Piedmont High School
REGION 7: Ephan Benjume Plainview High School
REGION 8: Thea Hamlin Elkmont High School

CLASS 4A
REGION 1: Ashland Ross Satsuma High School
REGION 2: Jack Simmons Geneva High School
REGION 3: Avery Rogers Prattville Christian Academy
REGION 4: Jackson Burel Talladega High School
REGION 5: Noah Morgan Cleburne County High School
REGION 6: Makenna Shirley Oneonta High School
REGION 7: Lauren Buchanan DAR High School
REGION 8: T.J. Carter Westminster Christian Academy

CLASS 5A
REGION 1: Gianna Estrada St. Paul’s Episcopal School
REGION 2: Carter Sanders Headland High School
REGION 3: Kevin Honer Brewbaker Tech Magnet High School
REGION 4: Molly Conway Beauregard High School
REGION 5: Madison Moore Jasper High School
REGION 6: Avery Prickett Alexandria High School
REGION 7: Coy Mier Arab High School
REGION 8: Avery Watts Russellville High School

CLASS 6A
REGION 1: Price Beall Spanish Fort High School
REGION 2: Samantha Wilson Stanhope Elmore High School
REGION 3: John Walker Northridge High School
REGION 4: Presley Lively Helena High School
REGION 5: Kayla Warren Homewood High School
REGION 6: Austin Ray Clay-Chalkville High School
REGION 7: Maggie Rosencrance Decatur High School
REGION 8: Brady Bolding Muscle Shoals High School

CLASS 7A
REGION 1: Sanders Daniell Fairhope High School
REGION 2: Amelia Cantwell Prattville High School
REGION 3: Collin Pate Hoover High School
REGION 4: Bhavya Chalasani James Clemens High School

AHSAA News | ‘Walking testimony’: Geraldine senior doesn’t let club feet slow him down (2024)

References