COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ? Alex Means, a few hours after his son was born, lay on a couch in a hospital room. He was the only one in the room not sleeping.
Means was 21 years old when Dallas was born June 7, 2011, and he still had two years remaining at the Air Force Academy before he would graduate. Previously, he had worried about things like moving up the depth chart at outside linebacker on the football team. His nervousness in the hospital room went well beyond that.
?I remember lying there thinking, ?This is real,?? Means said. ?I look over and see a baby sleeping and think, ?That?s mine, and what am I going to do? How am I going to be a father? How am I going to balance all this?? I just didn?t know.?
During these moments of uncertainty on the couch, he noticed his newborn son getting restless, so he got up to tend to him.
?I stood over him, and it?s the first time I remember crying in a long time. Just tears coming down my face, thinking, ?This is the most beautiful thing I?ve ever seen,?? Means said. ?Everything, all the worries, were just gone. You look at him and you realize everything is going to be OK.? ?
Having a child at that period in Means? life wasn?t ideal. Being a cadet is difficult. Being a cadet and a football player leaves almost no free time. Being a cadet, a football player and a father seems close to impossible. And the administrative process that followed Dallas? birth wasn?t easy. Means thought about quitting Air Force, since he hadn?t started his junior year and could walk away with no penalty.
A year later, Means is in a great place. He?s possibly Air Force?s best returning player, after a team-best six sacks last season. His son is growing fast. Dallas could probably pass for twice his age, which isn?t too surprising considering his father is 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds. Dallas? mother, Perri Leake, and Means are engaged to be married. Leake is a second lieutenant, having graduated from Air Force this year.
Means didn?t plan for his college life to go this way, but he?s happy it did.
?It?s been a crazy ride, but I wouldn?t change it for anything,? Means said. ?It?s been a blessing, all the support I?ve had to make it possible. I love my son to death. I love spending every second I can with him.?
When Means was dealing with concern and worry about becoming a father and what would happen with his Air Force career, he could have used reassurance that it would all turn out this well.
His head was swimming for a while. In addition to the uncertainty of any first-time father, he knew that he couldn?t have a dependent as long as he was at the service academy.
A 1994 directive from the Department of Defense states that no service academy student shall be married or have a dependent. Based on the longstanding directive, the Air Force Academy presents some options. A female cadet can resign, or take a medical turnback and return after she gives birth. That?s what Leake and Means decided to do.
?Each of these are worked out on a case-by-case basis,? academy spokesman David Cannon said. ?Everything is catered to what the cadet wants to do.?
Leake had her parents adopt Dallas so they could complete their academy careers. Leake?s mother moved from Missouri to Colorado and helped take care of Dallas while Means and Perri Leake were in school. Leake?s mother lived with her daughter Meredith, a former academy graduate who is married to former Falcons football player Aaron Kirchoff and had a child about a month after Dallas was born. After Means graduates next spring, the couple plans to marry in June or July and then they will start the process to become Dallas? legal guardians again.
?Her parents were the reason all this was able to happen,? Means said. ?It all came down to her parents saying, ?You two need to finish school.??
Before that, Means thought about quitting so he could take care of Dallas and let Leake finish school. He said the idea of leaving Air Force crushed him. He talked to outside linebackers coach Matt Weikert and head coach Troy Calhoun, and they offered that graduating from Air Force would be the best long-term option for his family.
?I remember going to coach Calhoun and he said, ?Anything you need you let me know; I have full support for you,?? Means said. ?When I heard that, I couldn?t leave this program.?
Means said his teammates? reaction also helped him through the anxious time. He mentioned quarterback Connor Dietz, offensive tackle Jason Kons, linebackers Patrick Hennessey and Ken Lamendola, defensive lineman Nick DeJulio and safety Brian Lindsay (who would become Dallas? godfather) as some teammates who offered to help however they could.
?They?re like, ?Sweet, we can?t wait for him to be around,?? Means said. ?They were all supportive. The support made it easier.? ?
Means didn?t get any breaks. He had a full class schedule of about 18 class hours each of the past two semesters. He fulfilled the daily military duties of every cadet. He played in all 13 Air Force football games last season. He often had to do homework after playing with Dallas for a couple of hours at night, but he got used to a little less sleep.
Means said he has matured tremendously through the past year. He expresses his love for Leake, who he proposed to after her graduation ceremony. His gift to her was a large box, and inside that box were other boxes. The smallest box was a ring box, but Leake found it was empty. She turned to see Means on one knee. Dallas gave her the ring as Means proposed.
Means said when he looked at Dallas in the hospital room the night he was born, he had a reassuring feeling that everything would be OK. A year later, that has proven true.
?It?s been great, just to see something you created grow up in front of you,? Means said. ?Just seeing him grow up ? he?s throwing a little pillow football around now. From going to crawling to walking to starting to talk ? it?s been the single greatest experience of my entire life.?
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