DeMoine Adams, a motivational speaker, visited Hay Springs Schools on Wednesday, October 8th. DeMoine talked about challenges that he faced as a student, from stuttering to being bullied to not having an ACT score that would allow him to go to college and play football.

DeMoine discussed how his younger years looked. He had a problem with stuttering and was not the smartest kid in the class. DeMoine went to special classes to help him to improve.

When he was in high school, several colleges were looking at him to play football. The problem was his ACT score was a 13; he needed a 20 to be accepted into a college. DeMoine studied and took the ACT at least 6 times before he scored a 20. He achieved that goal but he didn’t stop there. He asked himself, “What more can I do? As a first-generation student, DeMoine received his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in three years with minors in English, History, Communications, Ethnic Studies and African Studies and then received his Master’s degree in Educational Psychology.

DeMoine is pursuing a Doctorate degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Currently, DeMoine is the CEO for TeamMates Mentoring and his business ‘The Game Plan – Ready, Set, Perform’.

“I liked how he persevered through getting bullied and played for Nebraska and he did things that people could not do. I liked that he came to a small town like Hay Springs.”

“I like DeMoine Adams because I know Day by day that is what I will tell myself I can win because I have to put my I in team.”

“I enjoyed DeMoine Adams because he is a football player. I like what he said,” that the teachers throw the pass and we have to catch it.” He also said that he won the weight lifting award too. He said that he helped lead them to the Big 12 Championship. That is why I enjoyed DeMoine Adams.”

“I liked DeMoine’s speech. I thought it was inspiring because he talked about real life things like football. I believed him because he has experience. I admire him because he went through being bullied as a kid.”

“I like DeMoine Adams because he interacted with us a lot. Another reason is because he was a football player. He said, “Everyone has to put in 100% to win and I can apply this to football. Those are some reasons why I liked DeMoine Adams .”

“Today I learned about leadership. I really liked that he talked about leadership and that when you want to win, there is an “I” in win so you need to all participate.”

“I liked DeMoine Adams as a speaker. I like him as a speaker because he is very fun. I also like him because he gives amazing advice. I like that he said that there is an ‘I’ in win. I can use this in football because it tells me that I am a part of how to win.”

“DeMoine Adams has very good words of advice. He is a CEO of two businesses. I really liked how he told us that he believes that we can do anything we put our minds to and be nice to everyone.”

“I heard about sports, learning things, being nice to people, listening to teachers, to focus on your homework, and to be a good role model to other people too.”

“I love how DeMoine Adams inspired all of us to keep going and not to give up, even though he had speech issues. He kept going and made it to the NFL from Nebraska and is now a CEO. He showed us what happens if we just keep going and how we keep the ‘I’ in win. He was very funny and a very enthusiastic guy and made everyone in the room smile just by his presence. That was my first impression of him and I already love his attitude and the happiness he spreads to people around.”

“So today we had a motivational speaker at our school for an assembly. His name was Demoine “Demo” Adams. He talked about not being a follower and being a leader. He told us about his hardships and also told us how he overcame them. Also, to keep going and never give up.”
-Ian Hahn

“He told us how to be a good leader and to never give up. He told us not to be a follower but to be leaders. Do not lead in the bad things; lead in the good stuff as a leader. He also told us he had trouble in school and kids made fun of him, but he never gave up on trying to learn how to do things like that. He played for Nebraska in college. He played for a Canadian league before going to the NFL. He played for Green Bay, Tennessee Titans, and San Francisco 49ers. He took his ACT score 8 times and never gave up trying to improve it.”
-Jaxon Agler

“Demoine Adams, a former Nebraska Husker football player, also a motivational speaker, came to our school today to give us a pep talk. He spoke to us about putting in the work to get the outcome you want. He told us about his life and hardships to help us understand that people that you may not think are cool or people you don’t like still deserve respect because you never know what they are capable of. As a kid, he wasn’t the greatest in school; he stuttered and even had problems with bullies picking on him. That didn’t stop him, though; his teachers pushed him to be the best version of himself, and he put forth the effort, and then he became successful. He pushed us to want to be the same, to want to be leaders and be the best versions of ourselves. He may not have been the smartest, but that is ok, you don’t have to be the smartest or the fastest or the best athlete, it is about the effort you put into your goal.”
-Holden Johnson

“When Demoine Adams came to give a pep talk at our school, I felt motivated to always push and get my homework done and keep on going, even though you are struggling. The thing I have a hard time with is keeping my homework load simple, but since I was sick and missed a day, I have to take responsibility over that and get it done. So most of the speech motivated me and made me have an urge to get things done and be a good student athlete and student. So tonight I’m going to get all of my work from Monday done and turned in, and always try my best in everything, and always give 100%. Even though I am not that smart yet I still try my hardest in anything I am not good at or anything like that. So this was also a reminder that I got this, and I need to stay strong and just get things done with 100% effort.”
-Angel Morgan

“This morning, Demoine Adams came to Hay Springs, NE, who played college football with the Huskers, played in Canada for one and a half years, and ended his football career with three pro USA teams. Demoine talked about how to be a leader and how we win games. He helped realize that my biggest enemy was myself and always will be. Not only did he help me learn that but he also helped me learn to never quit. Never quitting is very important, not only in sports but in school. Demoine used to always get bullied for beginning differently, but being different made him who he is today. For example, not going to parties instead he went to lift. With learning not to quit, it really made me think about how in the future it will get better in time. Just because something happened the way he wanted, he never quit. like he said,” In my SATs I got tackled but I never quit!” He also kept going and never quit.”
-Leighton Haller

“What I liked about his speech was that he talked about how its ok to struggle a little. You should stand up to people who are being jerks to others. He talked about how we need to give 100% not 50% and be committed to school/sports and do your best. He also played for multiple football teams. He told us that he had to take the ACT test about 7 or 8 times because he didn’t get a 100% the first time he took it.”
-Halyee Daringer

“Demoine Adams is from Lincoln, Nebraska. He was a defensive end; he played for the Packers, Titans, and the 49ers. He is a motivational speaker, and he wants to motivate young kids to work for what they want and to never give up if they fail. He took the SAT eight times before he passed and could go to college. That taught me that you should never give up, even when it’s hard and there isn’t a me in team, but there is an I in win.”
-Kiley Tausan

“Demoine Adam is a motivational speaker, and he motivated middle and high school students to do their best in everything that they do and to be a leader. Demoine Adams used to play in the NFL as a defensive lineman and outside defense on the Huskers, Green Bay Packers, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers, and a Canadian team. Something I learned from him is that it doesn’t matter what type of person you are, you just have to believe in yourself so you can do the best you can in school, sports, and everything else. I also learned that if you do your best in school you can be successful in many things because Demoine Adams did his ACS 8 times before he could join the NFL.”
-Andrew Bonsall

“I learned about how kids bullied him and how he had to go to a special class and work, and how his teachers helped him. How he played for the Huskers and his life story growing up as a kid, he was made fun of . He played for the Packers then the 49ers. He told us to respect our teachers and then he talked about how we needed to tell the teacher if there are any problems and he was very inspiring.”
-Rylee Briggs

Words of advice from DeMoine:
Don’t go to parties.
Don’t stop trying.
If someone on your team doesn’t do their best you’ll lose.
Do things that are good for you instead of bad for you.
To believe in yourself.
Be nice to others.
If you can’t do it now keep trying.
Winners never quit and quitters never win.
Have a good attitude.
Give your A game.
Be patient.
There is no I in team but an I in win.
Always give your best.
Don’t bring yourself down.
Be a role model.
How to better understand things.
Be positive.
Be better people.
How he went from stuttering to a motivational speaker.
Be a good role model.
You get out what you put in.
Be a leader.
Believe in yourself.
Believe and you can achieve.
Not to let obstacles stop you.
Don’t stop, keep going.
Show respect to your teachers.
Never give up.
Always stand up for people getting bullied.
How important the saying “Day by day” is.
It is always you vs you.