Get used to these 10 fresh faces

January 08, 2006
Detroit News staff reports

Take a look at the photo above. The ninth-graders The Detroit News have recruited for a four-year study of high school athletes could not be much different.

Five are male and five are female.

They are tall -- DaShonte' Riley is 6-foot-10, perhaps en route to seven feet. And short -- Audrey Huth barely stretches beyond five feet. They are muscular -- Dion Sims is already a standout in two varsity sports and looks like a full-grown man. And slight -- Stephanie Morgan has the lean frame of a long-distance runner.

They're African-American, Caucasian and Hispanic.

They come from city, suburb and small town. One, Eyob Habtewold, was born in Ethiopia.

They attend public, private and parochial high schools. One, actually, still is in middle school although she competes for her high school.

They're even pretty equally split on math -- four say it's their favorite subject, three say it's their least favorite.

But spend some time with them and their similarities are equally apparent. And that's not counting twins James and John Martinez.

They're solid students and outstanding athletes. They're articulate and confident.

But they're also all 14-years old and adjusting to the universal academic and social challenges of high school.

In all, we're talking 10 class acts.

Over the course of their high school careers we'll visit them periodically for insight into their lives, and by proxy, the lives and times of all Metro Detroit teenagers.

We'll share their joy over victories and sorrow over defeats. We'll ride along to the prom, join them on the job and prepare for the SATs. We'll pour over college brochures -- and at least for some, recruiting letters.

We'll talk about issues that affect them -- academics, dating, parents, peer pressure, their futures.