Adrian Peterson Success Story

Success tastes the sweetest post many adversities. Growing up in a traumatic childhood, Peterson became an American football player with a single-season rushing record and won the NFL MVP Award in 2012. His father, Nelson, was a former basketball player at Idaho State University. His mother, Bonita Jackson was a track-and-field champion in Texas. You could say that Peterson had the genes for sporting success.

Childhood

As a child of age 7, Peterson had the misfortune to watch his older brother, Brian, die in a drunken-driving accident. Six years afterwards, he watched his father get arrested on charges of money laundering in relation to drug dealing. He developed anger issues, which he vented out into sports. At Palestine High School, he played various sports such as basketball and football and participated in athletics. However, he was best at football. As a senior running back, he rushed for 2,960 yards and achieved 32 touchdowns. He won the honor of National Player of the Year by various organizations.

Early Life

At University of Oklahoma, Peterson’s preferred method of playing seemed to involve mowing down opposition team players, even though he was capable of outrunning most defenders. In his third college game, he ran for 183 yards and reached the top mark of 200 yards 3 times while reaching the Division I-A freshman record of rushing 1,925 yards. In the 2004 Heisman Trophy race, he came in second. He was given the title of a consensus All-American. Peterson was troubled with several sports injuries during his sophomore year – a sprained ankle and a broken collarbone. He missed a total of 11 games due to his injuries.