Extra Effort: Stark County shot putter earning national recognition for Future Farmers of America
STARK COUNTY, Illinois (WMBD) – Chelsey Stotler is an elite shotput throwers for Stark Countyl, After a top 5 finish at state last year, she PR'd at the Indoor Championships in March.
'Since fifth grade, my mom and my dad have pushed me towards it to be the best shot put thrower that I can be. I just fell in love with the sport and I would continue to be better,' Stotler said.
Chelsea's mom was a star thrower in her own right before she enlisted in the Army.
'My mom threw collegiately for two years before she enlisted in the military. It's super exciting to watch them watch me succeed,' she said.
Having a military parent meant Chelsey was raised to be a leader. She's the Stark County Future Farmers of America president. One of her research projects earned Chelsey second place in a national competition.
I worked with probiotics and Chobani Greek yogurt, and I freeze dried it to see if the fat content would affect it. And I found that the fat content did not affect it. Basically, I found somebody like Secret Recipe for their probiotic strains. I did email them and they promised me coupons. I have not seen the coupons yet.
Chelsey Stotler
As her senior year, wraps up, Chelsey has one more project for competition, and wants to thank her parents for the character they instilled in her.
I partnered with Southern Illinois University at Carbondale to work with their patented RHD on soybeans as a bio stimulant. It increase their yield and increased their height, basically how they photosynthesize. Those values have still stayed with me. Direct service, it's how I am and what I do.
Chelsey Stotler
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Shaq's Dad Once Showed Him A Homeless Family And Said: I'm Tired Of You Spoiled, Rich Athletes Who Don't Perform And Blame It On Pressure
Shaquille O'Neal is a Hall of Famer and one of the most dominant NBA players in history, but even he had moments early in his career where he struggled to handle the spotlight. One of those moments resulted in a life lesson from his late stepfather that would stay with him forever. After a rough game against the New York Knicks during his rookie season with the Orlando Magic, O'Neal felt overwhelmed. 'I let the pressure get to me,' he recalled in a 2024 interview. His stepfather, the late Army drill sergeant Phillip Harrison, wasn't having it. He called his son and told him to come home immediately. 'Be here tomorrow at 0500 a.m.,' Harrison instructed. 'Yes, sir,' Shaq replied. Don't Miss: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — Shaq showed up on time the next morning, and they drove in silence. When O'Neal spoke, his stepfather snapped, clearly angry that Shaq had let pressure get to him. As they drove under a bridge, they saw a homeless family sleeping in a tent. They waited in the car, silently, for more than an hour as the family slowly woke up — first the man, then his wife, and finally two young children. 'He said, 'What happened to the game yesterday?' I said, 'Man, I don't know. I let the pressure get to me.'' Harrison then gave it to him straight: 'That's pressure. Pressure is when you don't know when your next meal is coming from.' O'Neal retold the same story in a recent interview on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' where he emphasized his stepfather's frustration with athletes who complain. Harrison had said, 'I'm tired of you spoiled, rich athletes making all this money who don't perform at the level that you're supposed to perform to, blaming it on pressure.' Trending: Invest where it hurts — and help millions heal:. That moment changed O'Neal's perspective. He got out of the car and spoke to the man, who had recently lost his job and was struggling to take care of his wife and two kids. Moved by the encounter, Shaq called a friend and arranged a three-bedroom apartment for the family for $36,000. He also found the man a job through another contact. Two years later, the man had started his own lawn service business and was cutting Shaq's grass in Orlando, Florida. 'Pressure to me is when you don't know where your next meal is coming from,' O'Neal told Jimmy Fallon. 'So I don't really believe in the word 'pressure' anymore.'Shaq's appreciation for his parents showed up in other major ways. When he signed his first NBA contract in 1992, he didn't just buy them gifts—he put them on the payroll. 'The first thing I did was incorporate 'Shaq,' and then I put my mom on salary and put my dad on salary,' he said in a 2022 interview on 'Drink Champs.' His stepfather was earning $60,000 in the Army. Shaq asked him, 'How much you make in the Army?' When Harrison said the number, Shaq replied, 'Now you making half a million a year.' Harrison cried. Shaq asked his mom what she wanted to make and ended up paying her $750,000 annually. Read Next: The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement —?UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Shaq's Dad Once Showed Him A Homeless Family And Said: I'm Tired Of You Spoiled, Rich Athletes Who Don't Perform And Blame It On Pressure originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Shaq's Dad Once Showed Him A Homeless Family And Said: I'm Tired Of You Spoiled, Rich Athletes Who Don't Perform And Blame It On Pressure
Shaquille O'Neal is a Hall of Famer and one of the most dominant NBA players in history, but even he had moments early in his career where he struggled to handle the spotlight. One of those moments resulted in a life lesson from his late stepfather that would stay with him forever. After a rough game against the New York Knicks during his rookie season with the Orlando Magic, O'Neal felt overwhelmed. 'I let the pressure get to me,' he recalled in a 2024 interview. His stepfather, the late Army drill sergeant Phillip Harrison, wasn't having it. He called his son and told him to come home immediately. 'Be here tomorrow at 0500 a.m.,' Harrison instructed. 'Yes, sir,' Shaq replied. Don't Miss: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — Shaq showed up on time the next morning, and they drove in silence. When O'Neal spoke, his stepfather snapped, clearly angry that Shaq had let pressure get to him. As they drove under a bridge, they saw a homeless family sleeping in a tent. They waited in the car, silently, for more than an hour as the family slowly woke up — first the man, then his wife, and finally two young children. 'He said, 'What happened to the game yesterday?' I said, 'Man, I don't know. I let the pressure get to me.'' Harrison then gave it to him straight: 'That's pressure. Pressure is when you don't know when your next meal is coming from.' O'Neal retold the same story in a recent interview on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' where he emphasized his stepfather's frustration with athletes who complain. Harrison had said, 'I'm tired of you spoiled, rich athletes making all this money who don't perform at the level that you're supposed to perform to, blaming it on pressure.' Trending: Invest where it hurts — and help millions heal:. That moment changed O'Neal's perspective. He got out of the car and spoke to the man, who had recently lost his job and was struggling to take care of his wife and two kids. Moved by the encounter, Shaq called a friend and arranged a three-bedroom apartment for the family for $36,000. He also found the man a job through another contact. Two years later, the man had started his own lawn service business and was cutting Shaq's grass in Orlando, Florida. 'Pressure to me is when you don't know where your next meal is coming from,' O'Neal told Jimmy Fallon. 'So I don't really believe in the word 'pressure' anymore.'Shaq's appreciation for his parents showed up in other major ways. When he signed his first NBA contract in 1992, he didn't just buy them gifts—he put them on the payroll. 'The first thing I did was incorporate 'Shaq,' and then I put my mom on salary and put my dad on salary,' he said in a 2022 interview on 'Drink Champs.' His stepfather was earning $60,000 in the Army. Shaq asked him, 'How much you make in the Army?' When Harrison said the number, Shaq replied, 'Now you making half a million a year.' Harrison cried. Shaq asked his mom what she wanted to make and ended up paying her $750,000 annually. Read Next: The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement —?UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Shaq's Dad Once Showed Him A Homeless Family And Said: I'm Tired Of You Spoiled, Rich Athletes Who Don't Perform And Blame It On Pressure originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Shaq's Dad Once Showed Him A Homeless Family And Said: I'm Tired Of You Spoiled, Rich Athletes Who Don't Perform And Blame It On Pressure
Shaquille O'Neal is a Hall of Famer and one of the most dominant NBA players in history, but even he had moments early in his career where he struggled to handle the spotlight. One of those moments resulted in a life lesson from his late stepfather that would stay with him forever. After a rough game against the New York Knicks during his rookie season with the Orlando Magic, O'Neal felt overwhelmed. 'I let the pressure get to me,' he recalled in a 2024 interview. His stepfather, the late Army drill sergeant Phillip Harrison, wasn't having it. He called his son and told him to come home immediately. 'Be here tomorrow at 0500 a.m.,' Harrison instructed. 'Yes, sir,' Shaq replied. Don't Miss: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — Shaq showed up on time the next morning, and they drove in silence. When O'Neal spoke, his stepfather snapped, clearly angry that Shaq had let pressure get to him. As they drove under a bridge, they saw a homeless family sleeping in a tent. They waited in the car, silently, for more than an hour as the family slowly woke up — first the man, then his wife, and finally two young children. 'He said, 'What happened to the game yesterday?' I said, 'Man, I don't know. I let the pressure get to me.'' Harrison then gave it to him straight: 'That's pressure. Pressure is when you don't know when your next meal is coming from.' O'Neal retold the same story in a recent interview on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' where he emphasized his stepfather's frustration with athletes who complain. Harrison had said, 'I'm tired of you spoiled, rich athletes making all this money who don't perform at the level that you're supposed to perform to, blaming it on pressure.' Trending: Invest where it hurts — and help millions heal:. That moment changed O'Neal's perspective. He got out of the car and spoke to the man, who had recently lost his job and was struggling to take care of his wife and two kids. Moved by the encounter, Shaq called a friend and arranged a three-bedroom apartment for the family for $36,000. He also found the man a job through another contact. Two years later, the man had started his own lawn service business and was cutting Shaq's grass in Orlando, Florida. 'Pressure to me is when you don't know where your next meal is coming from,' O'Neal told Jimmy Fallon. 'So I don't really believe in the word 'pressure' anymore.'Shaq's appreciation for his parents showed up in other major ways. When he signed his first NBA contract in 1992, he didn't just buy them gifts—he put them on the payroll. 'The first thing I did was incorporate 'Shaq,' and then I put my mom on salary and put my dad on salary,' he said in a 2022 interview on 'Drink Champs.' His stepfather was earning $60,000 in the Army. Shaq asked him, 'How much you make in the Army?' When Harrison said the number, Shaq replied, 'Now you making half a million a year.' Harrison cried. Shaq asked his mom what she wanted to make and ended up paying her $750,000 annually. Read Next: The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement —?UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Shaq's Dad Once Showed Him A Homeless Family And Said: I'm Tired Of You Spoiled, Rich Athletes Who Don't Perform And Blame It On Pressure originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.