HE’S TRYING TO SEAL THE DEAL LIGONS DROPS OUT OF SCHOOL TO START TRAINING IN NAVY.(News)
Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) August 12, 2000 Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer Tom Waske, sports information director at Saginaw Valley State, received the phone call. It was a simple request, really: someone wanting to write about Aaron Ligons, a defensive back from Antelope Valley Christian High.
No problem, Waske said, until he checked the Cardinals roster. Ligons wasn’t on it, the result of him having flunked out of school.
“Some players, you need to lead them by the hand to get them to go to class,” Waske said, “and with all the help, you still never can tell if he’ll succeed or not. I don’t know if that was the case with Aaron.” Meanwhile, back in Lancaster, Ligons’ hometown, Mark Ligons knew but wouldn’t say. Still, Mark was shocked. His son had come to him with the news he would leave Saginaw Valley State and join the Navy. web site navy seals training
This didn’t just come out of left field. “This was from another planet,” Mark said.
It didn’t make sense at first. Aaron played under his father at A.V. Christian, excelling on offense and defense and setting a school record for touchdown receptions. Then he went to Division II Saginaw Valley State by way of Orange Coast College. With the Cardinals, he played defensive back in nine of the team’s 10 games (with four starts) and finished second with 47 tackles, including two for losses. He also intercepted one pass, caused one fumble and broke up eight passes. navysealstrainingnow.com navy seals training
“I was a little disappointed, but once he made his decision, I was behind him,” Mark said. “After the initial shock, me and my wife sat down and talked about it, and we think overall, it will be a positive.” Aaron, who Mark said wants to be a Navy SEAL, is in basic training in Great Lakes, Ill. and unable to be reached. Yet plenty happened in his one season in Michigan.
For one, the coach who recruited him, Jerry Kill, left for Emporia State before Ligons arrived. The new coach, Randy Awrey, differed from Kill in attitude, philosophy and outlook, and he regularly clashed with several players. Waske said one player quit mid-season and another fought openly with Awrey.
Asked about Ligons, Awrey said, “I think you’d better write a different article.” Ligons also hates losing, and Saginaw Valley did plenty of that. In Ligons’ senior year, AV Christian’s football team went 13-0, and the basketball team was 25-0. Saginaw Valley went 4-6, 4-5 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Mark Ligons said his son is happy now, and all of that football discipline has paid off. When Aaron calls his family on Sunday mornings for five minutes, he tells his father how easy basic training is.
“He said physical training is a breeze,” Mark said. “It’s the mental toughness and I think he can do that.” Plus, the father said, his son thrives on discipline.
“He’s happy with someone telling him what to do,” he said. “Comes a time when we all have to say, `It’s time to move on.’ ”
