Red Bud’s Kevin Crafton has been named the IHSA’s nominee for the 2010 National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) National Spirit of Sport Award.
The NFHS Spirit of Sport Award aims to recognize individuals who exemplify the ideals of the positive spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics.
Student-athletes, coaches, athletic administrators, administrators, trainers and other individuals associated with a school’s athletic and activity programs are all eligible to be nominated. The NFHS will announce one national Spirit of Sport Award winner and eight section winners in late February or early March.
Crafton is currently a standout two-sport athlete at Red Bud, playing on the Musketeer football team in the fall and the baseball team in the spring. He had been a three-sport athlete until high school and intends to rejoin the school basketball team next year as a senior after broken bones in his foot and surgery on a torn meniscus cost him his freshman and sophomore seasons on the hardwood, respectively. 
Crafton lines up all over the field for the Red Bud football team, playing running back, wide receiver, linebacker and defensive back. He also earned All-Cahokia Conference honors as a kicker last fall, while finishing third on the team in scoring and tackles, catching five passes for 187 yards and snagging a trio of interceptions.
 On the baseball diamond, Kevin pitches, plays first base and centerfield and routinely hits in the number three or four slots in the Musketeer batting order.  
Crafton, who was a subject of a County Journal feature story several years ago, has excelled at all of these endeavors despite losing his right hand in a meat grinding accident nearly seven years ago when he was nine-years-old.
After losing his dominant hand in the accident, Kevin was forced to not only relearn how to play sports, but also the small day-to-day things that came with little thought or effort like brushing his teeth, writing his name, tying his shoes and playing video games.
 “I am very honored to be nominated for this award. I have always tried to work hard in everything I do,” said Crafton. “When I lost my hand, it required me to work twice as hard on a lot of things, as well as to spend a lot of time thinking through how to do things that came easily to me when I had two hands. So in that regard, it is exciting to have my hard work recognized.”
Crafton’s resiliency, determination and fearlessness in the face of adversity has left his teammates and coaches to use words like “inspiration” and “amazing” when they describe him. With the aid of a prosthesis, Crafton is a staple in the high school weight room and has become one of the team’s strongest players. He also recently taught himself to do a standing back flip and has reached a point where he can accomplish everything he had done with two hands.
 “I have a lot of positive influences in my life that have helped me overcome my accident, starting with my parents and my family,” added Crafton. “All of my coaches, especially the football staff at Red Bud, have also been incredibly important as well. They always push me and don’t treat me differently from any of the other kids. They didn’t change or lower the expectations for me and that motivated me to set higher goals.”
 “The nomination process for this prestigious award has unearthed so many exceptional stories of service and overcoming adversity within our state,” said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. “Kevin Crafton is an exemplary model of that. He is a young man who suffered a debilitating injury and could have spent his life asking ‘why me’, but instead asked ‘why not’. Why not continue to not only participate, but to strive and excel in all the things that he loves to do.”