Guardians Linebacker Plummer Makes Impact off the Field as Well
October 5, 2023 - XFL (XFL)
Orlando Guardians News Release
Christen Reynolds simply had to reach out. Reynolds contacted Orlando Guardians team personnel recently because she wanted people to know that Guardians linebacker Terrance Plummer is not just just a guy in pads and a helmet, that he offers more than what he does on the gridiron.
Plummer has made such an impact on Christen and her son Liam that she simply believed he needed to get the recognition she feels he deserves.
"I think in this world we come across people very rarely that I refer to as influencers, as difference makers," Christen said. "When I think of Terrance and Liam, Terrance is a difference maker. I feel he needs to be recognized for everything Terrance has done for my son and my family. I just think we need to promote him ... not football-player him. I would just love for him to be recognized for him, not just the sport. It's bigger than football."
Plummer met Liam when the young man came to B3 Better, a training facility in Jacksonville, Fla., where Plummer works as a coach and trainer when he's not playing professional football. But what could have been a straightforward, transactional relationship between a trainer and a client became something much, much more.
Liam started attending B3 in an effort to improve his athletic performance after not making his junior high football team in seventh grade. The two "gravitated towards each other ... they just clicked" Christen said, while Liam smiled ear-to-ear, the expression on his face underscoring his mother's statement.
"From the beginning, he was a great guy, throughout the entire football thing" Liam said. "Soon, once we kept going to that Sunday class, he eventually became a male role model for me. He was able to just be there, always."
Christen is a single mother. Liam had some struggles on occasion as he began middle school, but Christen credits Plummer with helping them work through it.
"Seventh grade was rough for us, just interactions with students, responsibilities, and things like that," Christen said. "We had a tough go (for) couple of days. My philosophy was take it to the gym and work it out. We went in for the Sunday football clinic. While we were there, TP checked in with me about Liam and I gave him a quick recap. Terrance brought him into the back room and had a chat with him. It was a lot about self-discipline and self-affirmation. You have to believe in yourself ... be confident. Self-affirmation and self-advocacy is really what it comes down to."
"What I was trying to teach him was you always gotta have belief in yourself," Plummer said. "Believe in yourself before anyone else does. I was willing to bring the work to Liam, as long as Liam was willing to bring the smile to me. I'm looking at a kid who comes in with a smile but is going through so much, trying to figure out who he is and how he's developing and his mom was searching for that too. I felt like I was somebody who could give advice to him, give advice to his mother to kind of steer him in the right direction. When he was with me, I could instill that confidence and that love into him to let him know that as long as he believes in himself, he can be somebody in this world."
That interaction in the back room made a huge impact on Liam.
"That was really one of the first times I realized just how much love I have for Terrance and how much love Terrance has for me," Liam said. "That was the main realization of 'Oh, my gosh, this guy will be my role model.'"
After a year working with Plummer, Liam tried out for the team once again in eighth grade and Plummer was checking in daily to see how Liam was doing.
Finally, the news came that Liam made the team. He immediately wanted to talk to Plummer.
"When Liam found out he made that team... he had a big smile on his face. He gets in the car and he says 'Where's TP? I gotta go see him.' And we did. The two of them finding each other in the hallway... and the hug and the love that Terrance had on his face, there is no denying that his only interest was seeing the success of this young man."
When Liam was struggling a bit with what Christen simply attributed to him being a teenager this past spring, the two decided "Let's go see TP." It was during the XFL season, so Christen worked with Plummer's wife Mary to get on the pass list for friends and family to meet team members following a game in Orlando at Camping World Stadium.
"They found each other and it was like brothers. There's no other word, they both went right to each other with a big smile, big hug and they just stood next to each other and chatted. There's a bond."
Now, Liam is on the junior varsity team at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville. The pride in Plummer's voice as he talks about Liam's progression in football and life is obvious.
"I remember there was one point in time where we didn't know if Liam was going to be able to play football and now he's two years in," Plummer said. "He's steadily climbing. Our relationship shows me that if you have somebody who truly believes in you ... maybe somebody who's not of your skin color, who doesn't come from where you come from, but can see you, like truly see you, who you are and what you believe in and show you love in a way, it can mean a lot for a kid in a lot of different ways."
As for Plummer's impact on their lives, Christen said she could go on forever, but tried to put it as succinctly as she could.
"Terrance, he's not getting anything out of it. He's just a great guy, who's helping me navigate a teenage boy," she said. "TP offers us a sense of foundation. He's got such a sense of strong core values that it makes me want to be better, makes me want to be a better parent. I like seeing my son hope to be better. There's no denying that TP wants the best for you. He also identified early that this is a young man who needs guidance, that needs someone to show him a little discipline, but more importantly, someone to believe in him and that's what we found instantly with Terrance.
"What do I think of when I think of Terrance? I think he's God's gift to us," Christen added. "He's just inspired us in so many different ways. He's the type of man I want my son to grow up to be. TP is not a coach, he's not a trainer, he's a part of our family."
Liam clearly feels the same way.
"I remember, every time he saw mom, he would just walk up to her and give her a big hug," Liam said.
As for Plummer, he says he will always be in Liam's corner.
"The love that we have for each other is real, genuine and true," Plummer said. "And it's going to stay that way."
• Discuss this story on the XFL message board...
XFL Stories from October 5, 2023
- Few Battlehawks Bridge All-Inclusive Seats Remain - St. Louis Battlehawks
- Guardians Linebacker Plummer Makes Impact off the Field as Well - Orlando Guardians
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
