For His Dad – Campus Magnet's Frank Cox III is dedicating this season to his recently deceased father

Frank Cox III's 17th birthday, on Sunday, August 6, was similar to others he spent with his father and best friend, Frank Cox Jr. For eight hours they went out on a fishing boat on Sheepshead Bay, then returned to their Jamaica home, ate dinner with their mother and wife, Leotis, showered, watched television and got ready for bed.
It was then, at the end of the younger Cox's birthday that the entire family would be shaken to its core.
Frank Cox Jr., a former insurance agent who was semi-retired, had been on dialysis for three years, suffering from kidney disease. At midnight, he sat up in his bed, complaining of shortness of breath. He keeled over, a heart attack overwhelming him. Cox Jr. was taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital in an ambulance, but never made it there alive.
When Cox III, better known as Frankie, and his mother were informed, shock, disbelief and anger overtook the 17-year-old. He punched a nearby white wall with all his might, breaking a bone in his right hand. &#8220He was inconsolable,” said Leotis Cox, a real estate agent with ERA Top Service Realty in Queens Village. &#8220It took him an hour to calm down. We went outside and he dropped to the ground.”
But after dealing with the grief that night, Cox III set out on a mission - to honor his father in every possible manner; to excel on the football field, improve his grades and go to college. &#8220[Before] my father died, he told me [to] live my life, keep focused, put all my emotion and focus into something I like.”
So far, Cox III is managing to balance out the void left with his father's passing by using it as a motivational tool. His hard work has enabled him to become the top lineman - and only two-way starter - on the Campus Magnet football team, a surprising 2-1 thus far.
Relegated to the bench as a junior, the stocky 5-foot-9, 255-pounder worked relentlessly in the off-season, lifting weights (he can now bench press an impressive 315 pounds), running, doing drills and watching game films. &#8220Frank's truly been a leader,” Campus Magnet Coach Eric Barnett said. &#8220He makes it to every practice. … He's come a long way.”
Even after all the strides he's made, and then his tragic loss, Cox III nearly missed his senior season. The broken bone in his hand, suffered after punching that wall at Mary Immaculate Hospital, needed surgery, a doctor told him. They would have to put pins in to hold the bones in place. Cox III wanted to play through the pain. &#8220He got up and said ‘I need to play football,' ” Leotis recalled.
Yet she knew, as their doctor had suggested, that surgery was the logical decision. But logical, she also realized, couldn't help her son now. &#8220It was a very hard decision,” Leotis Cox said. &#8220Football is very important to Frank. I decided to let him play.”
The sport has created an outlet for him in the absence of his dad. It keeps him busy, allowing him to forget the pain, although it remains. Leotis worries how her son will cope once the season ends. But for now, she can spend every Saturday in the stands cheering him on. And Frank can use the emotion of loss to create his own success.
&#8220When I'm on the field …,” Cox III said after a recent win over Thomas Jefferson in Brooklyn, pausing for several seconds, his voice starting to crack. &#8220I'm doing it for my father, in my father's honor. He wanted me to do well, be involved in sports, keep myself occupied. Every time I step on the field, I just think of my father, to make my father proud, and right now I think he's proud.”
Cox III is also raising his grades, finishing his work as soon as he gets home, and will soon take the SATs, all in hopes of going to college.
&#8220He worked hard last year, and this year, he planned on making it his year,” Leotis said. &#8220He's working extremely hard. It's even more important now. He has the knowledge that even though his father is not here physically to see him, maybe somewhere he's looking over him. He's dedicating all this to his father. So it's even more important to him.”