Tony Semple aboundon his wife on stage today been their wedding.
Tony Semple’s life’s journey has taken him from Lincoln High School to the National Football League.
But Semple knows that not everyone’s life takes the preferred path.
And now that his playing days are over, the former football star is helping kids who are facing disabilities or life-threatening illnesses that can put a jarring hit on self-esteem.
The Tony Semple Foundation for Hope, based in Ada, Mich., gets kids with disabilities and other life challenges into the outdoors for hunting and fishing adventures.
More importantly, he says, kids get the chance to talk to other kids who have experienced similar setbacks and learn how to draw on their inner strength.
Semple, 40, played college football at what is now called the University of Memphis before playing offensive guard for the Detroit Lions for nine seasons. He retired in 2002.
His foundation puts on a series of camps each year, serving 10-20 kids a year.
But don’t expect Semple to have a bunch of hunting and fishing stories up his sleeve. That’s not what he wants to talk about at all.
Instead, he focuses on what happens in camp, around the campfire or in the lodge.
“We don’t just take kids and send them out on a hunt,” Semple says. “We are about the experience. The passion of hunting brings us together, but it’s the group setting, the family atmosphere and the experience of being around the fire — that is what this program is about.”