Jalen Hurts' new book leads to the surprise of a lifetime for Philadelphia students
By Staff
On Wednesday afternoon, 10 first-grade students from KIPP Philadelphia Elementary Academy made their way to Hair Connections in North Philadelphia for a field trip.
The students were expecting a casual day, but instead they got the surprise of a lifetime.
Jalen Hurts, fresh off the release of his children’s book, Better Than a Touchdown, emerged from the back of the barbershop to an eruption from the students.
That low-key field trip turned into a private book reading from Hurts himself. The quarterback flipped through the book while the students answered his questions. He got to learn each of their names as he showed them that you’re not limited to one thing in your life.
“My inspiration behind this book came from just where my mind was when I was a kid,” Hurts said. “It’s just an act of me paying it forward because I knew what truly inspired me when I was younger, so it allowed me to keep pressing forward, keep going, and I just wanted to pay it back.
“I think everybody goes through their own path and everybody has their own road to success and where God takes them, where they’re destined to be, and who they’re destined to become. Challenges are inevitable. All of it is how you respond to those challenges, and I think the kids definitely grasped that today, so that was exciting, and I’m just excited to spend that part of the time with them.”