DANVILLE, Ill. — Justin March-Lillard returned to his hometown of Danville, Illinois, last week to deliver a speech he’d been waiting his whole life to give.

Previously, as a college athlete with his eyes set on the NFL, March-Lillard had spoken to kids in Danville about working hard to achieve dreams — no matter how big or far-fetched they may seem — keeping education and faith first, and the importance of knowing where you come from.

But this time was different.

Now living his longtime dream of playing professional football, March-Lillard, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, spoke to a gymnasium filled with wide-eyed teenagers about persevering after seeing dreams fulfilled.

A preseason knee injury derailed his rookie season, but March-Lillard told the crowd that he’s still developing, still learning and still reaching to be a better man and football player. It’s a message he intends to convey through his foundation, Keep Working Keep Praying, starting with kids in his hometown.

Knowing his roots

March-Lillard grew up in a small home with five children and two parents squeezed into a two-bedroom home in Danville. He can relate to the children at Kenneth D. Bailey Academy in a rational, yet personal way; he came from the same streets they did.

He says his parents, Randy and Michelle Lillard, are the reason he stayed on the right track with his NFL dreams.

“We were poor, but they never let us believe we were poor,” March-Lillard told the Danville (Illinois) Commercial-News. “They always made sure we ate and had what we needed and not worry about materialistic things.”

He added that he takes pride in the message of hard work he absorbed from his parents.

“I didn’t have the best shoes or clothes or much money to do things growing up,” he said, “but I had strong parents who taught me core values and morals.”

Now that he’s on the biggest football stage in the world, a place where morals often disappear as egos inflate, March-Lillard says he carries those strong values and lessons his parents taught him as a child.

“My parents call me constantly and make sure I’m being smart with my money,” he said. “I want to spend the money I have earned on helping others, but I have to be smart about it. I don’t make any big purchases or invest in anything until I’ve talked to my agent and financial advisers.”

A tough journey

The road to the NFL is not an easy one, and March-Lillard’s story is no different, starting with the improbable odds stacked against him. A high school football player has just a 5.6 percent chance in playing Division I football in college and a 2 percent chance of playing in the NFL. The reality of what he was up against began to sink in when his first choice for college, the University of Illinois, declined to offer him a scholarship.

He ended up playing for four years at the University of Akron, and he signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent last year. After two linebackers in front of him on the depth chart went down with injuries, March-Lillard found himself in the starting lineup for the team’s preseason opener in Arizona against the Cardinals. He enjoyed a solid game in Kansas City’s 34-19 win, but afterward, he remembers his knee “feeling weird.”

“I didn’t think anything of it and I played the whole game,” he said. “They told me I tore my meniscus and had to have surgery. I didn’t feel it because of all the adrenaline pumping through me.”

Doctors later told him he would have to sit out the entire season.

March-Lillard was devastated, but not defeated. He said it took him a while to see through it — and see it as a blessing in disguise.

“Because of that injury I got to finish my last course in college and graduate,” he said. “I got to learn from the sidelines from my coaches and teammates and really learn the side of football I hadn’t seen before.

“And I got to focus on my foundation and work on giving back.”

‘Keep Working, Keep Praying’

Last April, when March-Lillard was training for an NFL combine at the tail end of his collegiate career, he stopped by Kenneth D. Bailey Academy — Principal Tracy Cherry happens to be his mother’s best friend — to speak to the kids about the importance of education and faith, and taking advantage of opportunities in life whenever you can.

“I went there to try to inspire the kids, but they ended up inspiring me,” he said. “They surprised me with so much support they had for me. “

March-Lillard said he was overwhelmed with support from posters to letters going into the combine.

“When I went back to train after leaving Danville, I was even more confident and more inspired knowing how many kids were supporting me and looking up to me.”

What started as a saying for motivation between friends, “Keep Working, Keep Praying” is now a mission for March-Lillard.

His foundation “Keep Working, Keep Praying” is in the works, set to inspire children through faith-based education and community outreach — starting with his own hometown.

“It’s important to me to talk to these kids in Danville about what they can be,” March-Lillard said. “These kids need a role model and someone to look up to, who they can relate to at the same time.”

March-Lillard is planning his second annual football camp for kids in Danville and plans on coming back this spring to talk to the Danville High School football team.

“I haven’t been back to talk to the football team, so that will be interesting to talk to the guys who have a dream like mine,” he said. “My first target is focusing on kids back home. I know what it’s like to grow up there and I want to be able to influence those kids more.”

Matney writes for the Danville (Illinois) Commercial-News.