CityView Magazine

22 September 2023 Brice says when he first arrived in America, he didn't really like it here. He was a soccer player in Ethiopia, but that eventually changed. "Once I got to know football, I just started liking it," he says. "You've got to be a part of it, all in. at's what family is like too." John Bryan agrees. "ey all know we are a team," he says. "We all care about each other. ey don't ever discriminate." Cape Fear football coach Jake omas is amazed at how the McKenzie children come from different countries and ethnic backgrounds yet have all developed positive attitudes and are just good people. "ey have good family support," omas says. "At home, they do a good job of giving them what they need and making them feel loved." omas adds that the McKenzie family is collectively supportive of Cape Fear High School. Teamwork at home e teamwork continues at home every day as the family members get ready to go their separate ways each morning. "ey ask each other, 'Have you got your water bottle? Have you got your backpack?'" Julia says. "ey are constantly asking what to do to help out." "Our house is a family," says Bryan. "We're all teammates, no matter what we're doing. We're like a bag of Skittles. We're McKenzies." Of course, having four teenagers involved in sports means a busy schedule of turning out for games for the McKenzie parents, as well as the other siblings who have grown up, moved out and started their own families. "We don't miss a game," Julia says. "Wherever they go, they all want to follow." Sometimes the couple have to split up to cover all the contests when there are scheduling conflicts, and they get plenty of support from the older siblings along with multiple nieces and nephews. "One of the greatest joys is to go see your child perform," says Bryan, a former Cape Fear football player. "To see the other children sitting beside you in the stands, rooting them on. You know what you're doing is a positive, if you can blend 12 lives that weren't together and they become a family. "We are proud of who they are, who we are and the God we serve." In the end, Julia says, the thing that makes it all worthwhile is seeing each child find the thing he or she wants to do in life and shining at it. "ere are so many kids that need an opportunity to be loved and valued," she says. She encourages others to do the same. "It will be the hardest, most beautiful thing they ever do, but the beauty outweighs the hard." Bryan agrees. "We walked through hell to get these children to today, but we would walk through it again." Follow Earl Vaughan Jr. on Twitter: @EarlVaughanJr.

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