Tuesday, September 13, 2005
JOE FREEMAN

KEIZER -- Maurice Luster bent over, wrapped his hefty arms around his mother and kissed her on the cheek.

His father turned to him and casually told him he'd see him in a week.

"No, you won't," Luster recalled saying. "I'm going to prove you wrong."

He released his mother, walked away from his parents and entered the Oregon Youth ChalleNGe Program campus, his new home for the next 51/2 months. His parents disappeared as a thick metal door slammed shut behind him, and people wearing camouflage began screaming in his face.

"Run!" they yelled. "Now!"

So he ran. Maurice Luster -- all 6-foot-5 and 321 pounds -- was no longer just another high school dropout or a troubled teenager, plagued by bad habits such as skipping school, drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. He now was one of 150 such teenagers.

But he was determined to change, and soon he would set three goals that would alter his life: play football for McNary High School as a senior; become the second person in his family to graduate from high school; and join the Marines.

Days later, Luster laid in his bunk bed amid rows of bunk beds in a military-style barracks. It was the summer of 2004. His body was sore, his mind was tired and he wondered how he had arrived at his current predicament.

Growing up, Luster lagged behind his classmates in school, but always gave his best. By high school, however, he started mingling with the wrong crowd. He used drugs and alcohol and began to feel a general indifference to school. He slept at a friend's house more often than he did his own.

"I just didn't care about anything," Luster said. "I had no motivation. I was more concerned with being the class clown and skipping school."

Luster's best grade during his first three semesters at McNary was a D. That meant he couldn't play football as a sophomore. Football had been the only thing he looked forward to in life and without it, there was no reason to show up for school. So Luster dropped out midway through his sophomore year.

His weight ballooned to more than 320 pounds and his self-esteem plummeted. Some family members told him he never was going to amount to anything.

He told himself he would prove them wrong.

That's how Luster ended up at the OYCP, a government-funded program designed to help troubled teenagers improve their lives and learn to be successful students. The program -- technically labeled an alternative school in the Bend-La Pine School District in Central Oregon -- holds two sessions a year, pulling 300 or so kids from all 36 Oregon counties.

There are few requirements to join: you must be between 16 and 18 years old and you must be failing school or be classified as a high school dropout.

"The program is not for all kids," director Richard DeMars said. "It's for kids who realize they're in trouble, want to turn around their lives and need discipline to get their acts together. This is a no-nonsense program. They do things our way on our terms and we don't negotiate that."

The first two weeks -- which resemble a military basic training camp -- are especially challenging. Luster, like his fellow "cadets," ran five miles a day, climbed ropes and scaled towering walls. The moment that metal door slammed shut, Luster was removed from television, radio and caffeine. "Yes, sir," and "No, sir," became key phrases in his vocabulary.

"I'm not going to lie," Luster said. "I wanted to quit the first couple of days. But I didn't. I wanted to be there. It was my choice to go and I was going to listen to everything they said."

Those who make it past the first two weeks transition into the classroom portion of the program and must embrace a rigid schedule. Luster attended class from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. After two hours of physical training and a three-hour mandatory study hall, he was required to be in bed by 9:30.

DeMars said the average grade-point of kids entering the program is 1.1. The goal is to raise the participants' achievement levels in reading, math and language by two grade levels.

When Luster was in eighth grade, he read at a fourth-grade level. He graduated the OYCP with the highest GPA of any cadet and earned 12 high school credits. He also excelled at the physical aspect of the program, and by the time he left nearly six months later, he weighed 250 pounds -- 71 fewer than when he arrived.

Luster was voted the outstanding cadet in his class and instantly became a role model for anyone trying to lose weight, particularly for a football player in light of the recent tragedies involving overweight linemen.

"Maurice was a good cadet from the start," OYCP staff member Anthony Washington said. "He had a lot of heart, a lot of motivation and a lot of drive and desire. You could tell by the end of the program that he carried himself with a lot more pride and dignity and had a lot more self-esteem."

There were all kinds of distractions surrounding McNary's football practice last Wednesday. The marching band rehearsed a song over and over on a nearby field as the director stood on a platform 30 feet in the air. A big yellow construction vehicle beeped loudly while hauling a giant row of metal bleachers.

But Luster, a member of the McNary scout team, concentrated hard on drills.

Playing defensive end, he rushed the quarterback during a pass play, nearly blocking a throw. A few minutes later, on offense, he created a hole for a running back to slip through. When called to another field for another drill, he was the first to arrive.

"I've never seen him more motivated," Maurice's father Richard said. "He wants to do the right thing and he's working hard at it."

Luster is on the verge of fulfilling all three of his goals. He returned to school last week and needs just four credits to graduate. He is undergoing the process of joining the Marines and plans to enter under the buddy system with friend Nick Duren on June 12, 2006.

Playing in a game is the only objective he has yet to meet -- but that could change this week. To play, Luster first has to be granted a hardship by the Oregon School Activities Association because he did not pass enough classes his last semester at McNary. Last week, the OSAA and McNary worked out an agreement, and if he meets a set of goals by Thursday, he will be eligible to play at home against Corvallis on Friday.

"Maurice is a success story," McNary defensive line coach Ted Anagnos said. "He makes you proud to be a coach. Most kids who go through the hardship process don't make it in life. This kid has a chance. He's going to serve his country and serve himself, which is a great, great thing. He'll benefit America rather than drag America."

McNary coaches say Luster possesses untapped talent, but they have no idea what type of impact he will make on the field -- but that's not what's most important to them.

"We're just here to support Maurice," McNary coach Tom Smythe said. "He made the choice to turn his life around. I think he has potential to be a really good player. But that's not why we want him to be eligible. He's earned that right. He deserves that right."

Duren, who also plays for McNary, said Luster has an entire team rooting for him.

"Maurice has always been a good guy, always," Duren said. "If he was doing the right thing or if he was doing the wrong thing, it didn't matter. He's always been a loyal friend, a nice guy and a guy you could trust.

"If he takes the field this Friday, there are going to be a lot of proud people on the McNary sideline. A lot of guys in his position would have dropped out and quit. He didn't. I can't tell you how much respect we have for him."