La Gaceta Newspaper

One of Dontrel Hall’s earliest Christmas memories is decorating the tree with his parents and brothers – complete with the lights and putting the star on top. Then, “while watching the presents under the tree, (I) eagerly waited for Christmas morning so we could unwrap them together,” the Hillsborough County educator, YMCA staff member and author said.
Another memorable holiday for him was when he played football at Concordia University in Wisconsin. “We made the NCAA playoffs (in) back-to-back seasons and it was always in late November before Thanksgiving, so the games were cold and it was Bowl season for college football,” Hall said.
During his senior year, he played in the All-American Bowl in Minneapolis at the Metrodome, home of the Minnesota Vikings. “This game was in late December and the best players in the region for Division II and Division III competed. The next week I graduated from Concordia … with my bachelors of science in business,” he said.

Dec. 20, 2024