Kennedy grad finds 'home' in Cedar Rapids

He loves the Iowa Hawkeyes.

There was nothing Grant Schnobrich wanted more than to be a part of the football program. Wearing the black and gold, running through the tunnel and onto the field before a screaming crowd at Kinnick Stadium would have been the best.

“That has always been my dream,” the recent Cedar Rapids Kennedy grad said. “Even if I walked on and didn't play for three or four years, that would have been OK.”

Iowa coaches contacted the 6-foot-3, 270-pound offensive lineman about being a preferred walk-on. It didn't pan out.

Schnobrich accepted a scholarship offer to play at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, the defending NCAA Division II national champion. Not a bad consolation prize, really.

But it's not Iowa.

“Yeah, kind of mad about that,” Schnobrich said.

“He's the best offensive lineman we've had since I've been here,” said Kennedy Coach Tim Lewis. “We have a (spread) offense, so I guess they questioned whether he could run block.”

Sometimes life's not fair. No one knows that more than Schnobrich.

Forget about football for a moment and imagine being a freshman in high school - a 14-year-old without a mother, a father, a home.

Schnobrich's mom had substance abuse problems and hasn't been in his life much. He hasn't talked to her for “a couple of years” and doesn't even know where she is.

Living with dad was always pretty good. He took a real interest in his son's athletics endeavors, whether it was football or basketball.

“I play for him,” Grant said.

But Andy Schnobrich had issues of his own no one really knew about. Grant went home from school during his freshman year at Kennedy and found his dad in the basement, a victim of suicidal hanging.

“I knew he was depressed,” Grant said. “Looking back at it, you could tell. But I was only in eighth, ninth grade, you know?”

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Schnobrich is the perfect example.

He could have left town to live with relatives, but Cedar Rapids was his home and Kennedy his school. Schnobrich lived with his half-brother for a while, but that didn't work out the best. His half-brother was 21, had a girlfriend and a baby. It was no one's fault, it just wasn't a good mix.

“After everything first happened, we talked about things a lot with him,” said friend and basketball teammate Kyle Slaymaker. “He doesn't really talk much about it anymore, though. I think sports helped him a lot.”

So did the Slaymakers ... and the Harmans ... and the Friaufs ... and so many others.

Kathy Slaymaker remembers getting a call from her son one summer day in 2006.

“Kyle called me at work,” she said. “He said, ‘Mom, can Grant come live with us? Things are not going well.'”

Stuart and Kathy Slaymaker talked about it and decided to open their home, even though there wasn't much room. There were times when Schnobrich stayed with Tork and the late Sheila Harman, parents of his friend Bond Harman.

“I can't imagine going through what Grant has gone through as an adult, let alone a kid,” Kathy Slaymaker said. “I don't know how he has done it.”

“I just had to mature, be an adult when I was 14,” Schnobrich said. “A lot of people wanted me to go to a therapist, but I didn't ever feel comfortable doing that. It used to be hard, difficult to talk about everything. I guess I'm at the stage now where it's easier.”

Schnobrich isn't the most talkative kid in an interview setting and speaks about his life in a surprising matter-of-fact tone much of the time.

He's so thankful for his friends and their families, his half-brother, all the people who have looked out for him. They gave him a place to live, even offered some financial support to make sure he had money to buy things like football cleats and basketball shoes.

“Grant is just this remarkable child,” said Kennedy Principal Dr. Mary Wilczynski. “It was a significant group of people that bonded together to help him. They wanted to make sure that he was going to be OK.”

Then there are the Friaufs.

Scott and Stacey Friauf have two daughters - Madison is 8 and McKenna 6 - and Scott has two grown children from a previous marriage. They had always talked about being a billet family for a Cedar Rapids RoughRiders hockey player.

Then Stuart Slaymaker, who works with Scott Friauf, told him of Schnobrich's story.

“We went to see Grant play a basketball game one night and talked to him some there,” Stacey Friauf said.

There was a follow-up pizza party a short time later. Schnobrich was asked if he wanted to live with the Friaufs. He moved in almost three years ago.

“They welcomed me with open arms,” Schnobrich said. “They are my parents. I love them.”

“We consider him our son,” Stacey Friauf said. “He will be in our lives forever.”

The Friaufs were on vacation in Texas all week but made sure they made it back to Iowa for the weekend. Schnobrich will play in the Iowa Shrine High School Football All-Star Game tonight at 7 in Ames.

There was a pregame banquet for players and their families last night.

“I don't worry about Grant going off to college at all,” Stacey Friauf said. “I worry that he won't be able to get home enough.”

Somehow you think her fears aren't justified. For if there's anyone who knows the value of “home,” it's Grant Schnobrich.