When your nickname is “Bullet” — you better be fast.
Well this week’s Hometown MVP is a young man who’s not only one of the fastest in Massachusetts, he’s a leader in the community.
Ta’Qaire Bell is a senior wide receiver at Cathedral High School located in Boston, who is a leader wherever he goes.
“I’m a team player,” Bell said. “A team comes first for me, you know, and it goes inside and outside of the classroom.”
Don’t let his five-foot-eight stature fool you, he’s a big time talent.
Now in his senior year at Cathedral, Bell is one of the top wide receivers in Massachusetts. A two-time all star, named to the all-state team, and scored 13 touchdowns last year. He still wants more, though.
“I want to be a Super Bowl champ — I feel like that’s a childhood dream,” he said.
With Bell’s speed, he’s also a standout in track. He’s a back-to-back 100 meter league champion, league MVP and he’s never lost a race.
“You don’t realize how fast you were until, the race is finished, you look back, and you still see people running,” he said.
But he’s “more than just the athlete that you see out here on the field, behind the helmet” — with a 4.03 GPA, he’s also a star in the classroom.
“He grabs the kids that struggle and he sits down with them and helps them right through it,” head coach Derrick Beasley said.
Bell stays busy in the offseason by helping to run Biloball sports clinics for kids who are on the Autism spectrum.
“If it’s out here on the field, it’s in the classroom, or if it’s putting smiles on kids’ faces or getting to see them every weekend, I feel like, you know, that’s where I’m meant to be in life,” he said.
Now, Bell is looking at colleges and preparing for the next chapter.
“Wherever I go, I know I’m going to cause havoc on the football field and be a role model in the classroom,” he said.
Bell lives with his mom and three siblings and has already received offers from some smaller schools, but his coach believes more will start pouring in.
He plans to study sports medicine, and stay close to home so his family can watch him play.
