Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sticking with it
Panthers’ Gumm stays the course, chewing up opponents.
SILOAM SPRINGS — Luke Gumm was ready to give up football.
It was the summer of 2015, before his sophomore season at Siloam Springs and Gumm, like most 10th-grade football players, was likely looking at an upcoming season that would be spent playing on the junior varsity squad.
“Like a lot of sophomores, I’m sure he was a little apprehensive about moving up and playing in senior high,” said Panthers coach Bryan Ross.
At the time, Gumm stood 5-foot-5 and weighed just a tick more than 130 pounds.
But despite his small stature, Ross and the Siloam Springs coaching staff saw something special in Gumm, who had moved into the district from Phoenix before his freshman year.
“You know, it didn’t take long for us to see that he had a little bit of ability,” Ross said. “We could see that he had good hands and he could run a little bit. So we felt there was a future for him if he would stick with it.”
So when Ross opened up his email on the morning of July 6, 2015, the first day back from the dead period, he was caught off guard a bit by an email he had received from Gumm.
“Hey, coach it’s me Luke and I would like to say over the past week especially, I’ve (been) praying for God to show me what he wants me to do and after going to camp this week, I feel like he wants
me to get to know him better and I feel like to do that I must get rid of some things in my life and that’s why I have decided to step down from football. I love the game and my team, but some things are just more important in my life. Hope you understand. Sincerely, Luke”
Ross will be the first one to tell you that coaches — especially in football — aren’t all-knowing despite what some may think. And especially when it comes to dealing with teenage kids.
“As a coach, you don’t know the right thing to say all the time or the right way to be because we’re not mind readers and we’re not perfect,” Ross said. “I think if you speak from the heart and try to speak the truth, that people see that.”
Ross sat down and responded to Gumm’s email.
“Luke, I truly believe that you can do both. My experience has been that we get to know God through how He works in our everyday lives and the lives of others. There is no doubt that our relationship with God should take priority over everything else, but I don’t believe that it should keep us from limiting our activities. We all have to make our own choices, and I understand where you are coming from, but I think you can strengthen your relationship with God and have a big impact on some of our players at the same time. I hope you will reconsider, but we must each do what we believe the Lord has called us to do. I coach football because I enjoy it, but also because I believe it gives me a chance to impact lives for Jesus. Maybe you can play for the same reason :) BR”
Ross’ return email to Gumm had more impact than he knows.
Gumm kept the email, which he shared with the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and he decided not to quit football — a sport he’s been fascinated with ever since he moved to the United States in December 2008 when he and his sister, Beza, were adopted from the African country of Ethiopia by Mark and Julie Gumm.
“I think when I first came here, I’d seen some high school games, and I thought (football) was just really awesome,” said Luke Gumm, whose first name is Wendemagegn, his Ethiopian name. “Then I seen on TV all the commercials and everything and all the superstars. I was like, dang, I want to be like that someday.”
Seven games into the 2017 season, there’s no telling where the Panthers would be without Gumm, now a senior and the Panthers’ top wide receiver and one of the more exciting playmakers in the 6A-West Conference.
Heading into today’s game at El Dorado, Gumm leads the Panthers with 31 receptions for a team-high 597 yards, an average of 19.3 yards per catch. He’s caught seven touchdown passes and also played well on special teams, returning punts and kickoffs, and kicking PATs and field goals.
Gumm still isn’t very big. On the Panthers’ roster, he’s listed at 5-foot-7, 138 pounds, but it’s not something Ross or the Panthers worry about anymore.
“Football is so much more than just physical stature,” Ross said. “A lot of it is want to and having some ability. Yeah, we’d like every player to be 6-2 or 6-3 and all that. Players come in all sizes and shapes and heights and weights. If you can play, it doesn’t really matter.”