CHULA VISTA, Calif., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A 55-year-old unemployed carpenter has played football for a San Diego-area college this season.
Dave Wade, who has been living in his van for the past four years while attending Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Calif., enrolled in a football training class over the summer, KSWB-TV, San Diego, reported.
He eventually decided to try out for the team.
"I've always wanted to play but I never got that opportunity," Wade said.
Coach Ed Carberry did not realize at first that his rookie was two years younger than he was. But Wade did well enough in practice for the coach to give him a spot on the kickoff coverage team.
Wade was honored as Special Teams Player of the Week after an Oct. 8 tackle in a game against San Bernardino Valley College.
"The guy kicks the ball," Wade said. "I run down there as fast as I can and out of the corner of my eye I see this guy running up the middle super-fast with the ball. The guy had me beat so all I did was stick my left arm out. I caught him right underneath the chin strap and clotheslined him. The guy just went straight down."
Wade sleeps in his van in the college parking lot. He hopes to get a job in manufacturing engineering and a better place to live soon.
