The identical query haunted Zaylon Thomas when he was a young person attempting to get to highschool as a senior making ready for commencement and a promising athlete in search of his subsequent choice.
What’s subsequent?
The UCLA sprinter and excessive jumper continues to be asking himself that when he has seemingly every part he might need. The sophomore attends his dream faculty. It’s surreal to take a seat within the stands at Drake Stadium and marvel at a postcard-worthy view of UCLA’s campus. But he stays consumed about envisioning his subsequent steps.
Specializing in what’s subsequent will preserve him away from what as soon as was.
Thomas battled homelessness beginning in eighth grade, crisscrossing the nation with mom Wanda McKinney. Dwelling in three states in 5 years, Thomas doubted whether or not he would graduate from highschool. Now he’s dreaming of leaving his mark at UCLA.
Regardless of virtually no formal coaching in highschool, Thomas now competes within the 200-meter and 400-meter races, 400-meter relay, excessive soar and lengthy soar. In January, he helped UCLA’s 1,600-meter relay group produce the fourth-fastest time in class historical past with a time of 3 minutes, 9.65 seconds on the New Mexico Staff Open.
Thomas opened the out of doors season on March 26, operating the 200 on the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational. McKinney, flanked by her father William, Thomas’ older brother Xarius and his cousin Sheaun, threw her arms within the air when Thomas crossed the end line with a heat-winning time of twenty-two.32 seconds. It was the primary time she received to observe him compete in school.
“It was fairly the journey,” McKinney mentioned.
The relocations began when McKinney misplaced her job. The payments piled up. The electrical energy received reduce off. They couldn’t keep of their Sacramento house anymore. McKinney tried to begin over in Maryland, the place she hoped to begin a enterprise with associates.
When that didn't take off, McKinney despatched her son again to California to dwell along with his grandparents for a yr. However he missed his mom and requested to be along with her.
Thomas is a mama’s boy, McKinney mentioned. They discovered refuge in homeless shelters, motels and associates’ homes. They often lived out of theirvehicle, braving chilly Maryland nights, showering in public gyms and promoting virtually each merchandise that they had. Generally, they nonetheless didn’t have the funds for to purchase a gallon of fuel.
By way of day by day challenges, the bond between mom and son was constant. After they had little else, having one another was sufficient.
His mother is “the very best individual on the earth to me,” Thomas mentioned.
“[She] was simply all the time attempting to determine the subsequent step, regardless that we didn’t know what the subsequent step could be,” Thomas mentioned. “[She] would all the time strive to determine in little increments: that is the way you’re going to get to highschool after which after faculty, that is how we’re going to do it, that is how we plan issues. It was identical to discovering out minor steps to make main impression on one thing.”
Thomas’ uncooked athletic skill helped him excel in any sport he tried, however with out construction he lacked confidence, mentioned McKinney, who's on monitor to open a counseling facility this yr. He dabbled in basketball and soccer, Thomas’ old flame, however didn’t begin monitor till his senior yr of highschool when he and his mom relocated to Nevada.
Observe coaches at Las Vegas Centennial Excessive knew Thomas was a gifted athlete and tried to get the basketball prospect to present operating a strive. He didn’t hear till he realized children on the monitor group have been getting school scholarship affords. It may very well be his manner out.
Two months after ranging from scratch, Thomas gained the Nevada Class 4A state championship within the excessive soar, clearing 6 ft, 5 inches within the state closing. He was an explosive sprinter — although he gave up the 100-meter sprint after he slipped out of the blocks throughout his first meet — and had a private better of 48.77 seconds at 400 meters.
Thomas’ performances within the quarter-mile race caught the attention of UCLA assistant Curtis Allen. He was recruiting at a meet in New Mexico when he watched Thomas go from sitting on the sideline on a chilly day to operating the 400 lower than quarter-hour later, an almost unheard-of feat for a race that normally requires ample warmup time.
Allen knew the child had expertise however he wasn’t certain if he had the grades.
When Thomas launched himself and despatched Allen his transcripts, the UCLA coach famous passing grades in courses like biology with failing marks in health club. He requested concerning the disconnect.
Every year in class was like a restart, Thomas instructed Allen, assembly new folks in a brand new faculty with new academics as he and his mother moved from state to state. Getting to highschool proved difficult some days. He had 4 outfits and three pairs of sneakers for a whole faculty yr, attempting to combine and match combos as finest he might so his classmates wouldn’t catch on.
“It was exhausting to get to highschool typically after which after I was in school, it was exhausting to focus as a result of I didn’t have a lot,” Thomas mentioned. “It was simply exhausting attempting to behave pure in school and be a traditional pupil.”
Following recommendation from Allen, Thomas went to junior school. Allen instructed him that if Thomas received his teachers in line, they may begin the recruiting course of for him to switch to UCLA.
Going through yet one more new faculty in a brand new state, Thomas enrolled at Faculty of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif. However he was near getting kicked out, he mentioned, till athletic director Brent Davis and faculty president Brent Calvin intervened to get him a second probability.
In Thomas, Davis noticed a great child who was put in a nasty state of affairs. He was “extraordinarily clever,” however guarded. As a substitute of dashing Thomas onto the monitor, Davis knew step one was simply to get Thomas to begin trusting the college school, coaches and directors. Davis and monitor coach Kenny Jackson thought it was finest to not have Thomas compete in his first yr as he centered on teachers.
As a substitute, he joined a piece research program, cleansing up stadiums and arenas after sporting occasions.
Homelessness pressured Thomas to develop up shortly, he mentioned, however the specter of squandering an opportunity to go to UCLA by not following by means of at junior school pressured him to mature.
“If I mess up this chance, no person’s going to need me,” Thomas mentioned of his ideas on the time. “It undoubtedly was one other wake-up name for me to get my head on straight and keep centered if I actually wished to return to UCLA.”
Allen had laid out comparable paths for different promising prospects in his teaching profession, however many by no means adopted by means of. He hoped Thomas was totally different. In a yr, as promised, Thomas despatched Allen his transcripts and it had all A’s and B’s.
“As soon as he received it executed, I might see that he wasn’t simply a median child,” Allen mentioned. “He was a extremely motivated child that wished to achieve success, wished to be nice, wished to do one thing constructive on this world.”
Thomas’ junior school monitor profession was restricted to only two meets after the pandemic struck in 2020. He excessive jumped 6-8 3/4 in his school debut whereas he stayed on monitor to switch to UCLA.
Now a sophomore at UCLA, Thomas has had just one full monitor season in his profession. His pure athleticism oozes off his lean, muscular, 6-foot-5 body as he rounds the nook of the monitor or leaps over the bar within the excessive soar. Thomas comes early to follow a number of occasions per week to wonderful tune approach that can take him increased and make him quicker.
Thomas has decathlete athleticism, Allen mentioned, however the place he may also help the Bruins probably the most is within the excessive soar and 400.
The quarter-mile race is likely one of the hardest, Allen mentioned. That’s why Thomas is ideal for it as a result of he’s all the time pushing towards what’s subsequent.
“You must have a beast mentality,” Allen mentioned of operating the 400. “A few of the totally different turmoils and issues he went by means of in his life, I feel it makes you relentless and it makes you by no means wish to hand over.”
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