CLASS OF 2022: This is the ninth in a series of Daily News stories about unique and inspiring students who are preparing to graduate from high school in Ionia and Montcalm counties.
CARSON CITY — Sports have always been a major part of Owen Blackport’s life.
Owen Blackport credits sports with helping him earn better grades. He will graduate from Carson City-Crystal High School on Sunday and is going to to play football for Alma College on a full-ride scholarship. — Submitted photo
Owen’s love for sports was instilled in him by his father, Thomas Blackport, a standout baseball player who received a practice invite from the Cincinnati Reds right out of college. Thomas was a die-hard Michigan football fan, spending every Saturday yelling at the TV.
“I take after him,” Owen said. “He had an extremely dry sense of humor which I have.”
At the age of 7, Owen could be found hanging out at sports practices at Northpointe Christian in Grand Rapids, where his father coached baseball and Tim Swore coached football.
No one knew that one day Tim would marry Owen’s mother, Tammie.
COACHES FOR FATHERS
Thomas Blackport was diagnosed with cancer just three months after marrying Tammie. He beat cancer but was told by doctors he would never have children.
Thomas and Tammie then proceeded to have three sons, Thomas, Nolan and Owen.
Thomas, who worked at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, was diagnosed with cancer a second time. This time it hit harder. He died at the age of 45 in 2013. Owen was 9 years old.
Tim had gotten to know the Blackport family at North Pointe Christian, where Thomas coached baseball while Tim coached Owen’s older brothers in football. The two men were friends, and when Thomas died, Tim remained close with the family, having already built relationships with the three sons.
Tim and Tammie ended up getting married in 2015. Owen and his two brothers became part of an extended family, with Tim’s six children, Ellie, TJ, Nick, Zach, Jess and Josh.
“I guess my relationship with Owen is one of destiny,” Tim said. “Owen would hang out with me at football practice … he was 7 at the time and just wanted to help and be around the team. It is a part of his servant’s heart and is a big part of who he is today.”
Owen Blackport as a young boy smiles for a photo with Tim Swore, who was at that time coaching football for Northpointe Christian. After Owen’s father died from cancer, Tim became Owen’s stepfather. — Submitted photo
Tim, who grew up in Iowa, played football for Northwestern St. Paul in Minnesota. He pursued a career in television broadcasting — mostly sports — then switched to a coaching career in 2007 as an assistant for Forest Hills youth football. He was named head coach of NorthPointe Christian in 2008, the first year of that school’s football program, and he went on to coach 11 seasons there.
After attending Northpointe for most of his life, Owen who was a freshman moved to Florida with his family after Tim was offered a coaching job down there.
“Going to Florida doesn’t just feel like switching states, it felt almost like a different country, the culture is so much different than anywhere I’ve been,” Owen recalled. “It was a chaotic time, but it was a great experience for me going forward in life.”
About halfway through his first school year in Florida, Owen and his family moved back to Michigan due to job reasons. Owen began attending Lowell — another new experience.
“I had never gone to school with more than 500 kids and Lowell had 1,400,” he noted.
Owen’s time going to Lowell was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. He switched schools yet again during his junior year when Tim was offered a football coaching job at Carson City-Crystal, as well as the position of dean of students.
“I am very glad that I made the switch as the best school I have been to has been Carson,” Owen said. “CC-C is more down-to-earth than other schools, I feel like. Everyone at Carson is more personable and more open to everyone. I felt welcomed by everyone when I first got there and still do.”
FOOTBALL BROTHERHOOD
Owen, 18, will be graduating from CC-C on Sunday and he credits sports with helping him focus and achieve better grades. He’s graduating with a 3.5 GPA, which he says, “isn’t anything spectacular, but based off of how little effort I put into my freshman year, it’s a lot better than I thought it would be.
Owen Blackport, at right, is pictured with his fellow Carson City-Crystal football team captains before a game going out for the coin toss. — DN file photo
“One thing I noticed helped me in high school that I want a lot of the younger kids to know is that sports helps so much more than they realize,” he shared. “I didn’t play a single sport my freshmen year and that’s when my grades were the worst and when I started playing football wrestling and track, my grades shot up from B’s and C’s to A’s.”
While playing sports for CC-C, Owen was part of two district championship football teams, plus an outstanding track team with two conference championships, two regional championships, one state championship — “and hopefully we will have another championship soon.”
Owen played defensive end and guard on offense for CC-C, under the coaching of his stepfather.
“Having your stepdad as your football coach is about what you would expect,” Owen said. “You’re held to a higher standard in and out of practice and even when practice stops football never ends. A lot of nights I sit at home with him telling me new plays or different techniques and ideas he’s come up with.
“It can be frustrating at times, that’s for sure, when you feel like you’re doing your best at practice but you still get yelled at, but so is the life of a coach’s son,” he said. “It definitely helped me to become a more disciplined and smarter player. I love the family and the brotherhood behind football. Each one of my teammates has my back and vice versa.”
From left, Carson City-Crystal football coach Tim Swore, his stepson Owen Blackport and his son TJ Swore, a former assistant coach, pose for a photo on the CC-C football field. — Submitted photo
Owen will be attending Alma College this fall on a full-ride scholarship. He will also be playing football there. He plans to study communications and hopes to one day get a job in sports broadcasting and journalism.
“He is strong-willed, so we have had plenty of times when we disagree, but we always work through it,” Tim said. “I am proud of Owen because I know how he has worked hard to overcome fear and anxiety, and to add to that he had to adapt to four different high schools while navigating moving and a pandemic, but he found an incredible group of friends here in Carson City and we will forever be grateful.”
