By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Stephon Leary starts each morning with coffee to get his day started. He may have spent the wee hours of the night writing one of his books, which he does as he drifts off to sleep by speaking into his smartphone using the notes app.
After his coffee, he drinks green tea and lemon water to cleanse and help burn fat.
If he has an idea for a book or a coaching strategy or an invention, he doesn’t look for a keyboard, he uses his phone to capture his thoughts. From the phone he can email his notes to himself and then work with a keyboard and computer to fully compose the idea
His first book, They Call Me Coach, an autobiography was selling well, and he began his second book, Elevated Soul.
Elevated Soul is a self-help book that draws upon the psychological gems that are embedded in the Bible for coping with life. Intertwined throughout the book is a point Leary wants his readers to grasp, “you are more than what you see.”
Each chapter covers a topic such as anxiety, forgiveness, and other conditions that people who live with difficulties face. A reader can pick up the book and find a chapter that corresponds to their needs in the moment and glean a lot of guidance and motivation from Leary’s writing.
Not only is Leary an author, but he is also an inventor and holds a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for his XXCelerator Training and Rehabilitation Boot.
Prior to writing books and inventing, basketball was his life.
He has been a basketball coach at both the high school and collegiate levels. He was part of the coaching staff that led Liberty University to a 2002 championship in the Big South Conference. His career has taken him to Florida as a coach and down to Laredo working with Texas A&M as head basketball coach.
Since coaching, he has run a private athletic business providing coaching and mentoring to youth from around the Houston metropolitan community. As an NBA agent and trainer, he was introduced to a novice player who needed to be trained in two weeks.
Because of the time restraint, Leary adapted three training tools to be used as one unit. While working with the novice player, he noticed how rapidly he was progressing, so he tried the concept with his other students.
Their success led Leary to an idea which would require some engineering. To secure a properly engineered design, he returned to his alma mater, Liberty University. The college of engineering elected to develop his training boot for their capstone project.
Two books and one US patent were not something he thought he’d ever accomplish in his early life.
Leary grew up in inner-city Houston. He can quickly name off the different wards and neighborhoods of his childhood years. “It seemed like every time rent was due mom was packing us up and we were moving,” shared Leary.
He lived in a two-bedroom apartment with his six other siblings and his mother. She worked two jobs, and he didn’t get to spend much time with her.
While growing up, he had a lot of freedom as far as few rules at home, but there were rules in the ‘hood, rules that were unwritten and he had to learn the rules to survive.
“It’s the unwritten rules of the ‘hood that cause a lot of tension and pressure,” explained Leary.
In the ‘hood he made friends with other youngsters, and they’d trade off which home they would eat at depending on whose home had food (The bond with the other boys was so strong they have remained friends into their adult years).
Improvising, adapting, and overcoming became a way of life for young Stephon.
The neighborhood was full of unsafe scenarios and there was a lot that could have led Leary down a path of self-destruction. But basketball was his safety net and kept him busy developing his skills. He determined one day he would be a success and live in a safer neighborhood.
It was at basketball camp in Florida that his life began a new course. He found Christianity and gave his life to the Lord.
When he returned to Texas, he was invited to attend a Christian school in Katy. Then he was invited to visit a family in Katy. It turned out the family’s sons recognized him from the summer camp and were excited to have him in their home.
His life was on a fast track for some changes that were way out of his realm of expectations.
He was invited to live with the family for his senior year. His birth mother was hesitant at first, but she agreed to let him accept the invitation.
Living with the Johnson’s meant Stephon was required to follow rules that were not about survival of the fittest but were about becoming a fit person. All the children in his new home were required to follow rules, complete chores, and participate in family Bible devotions.
Lynne and David, who he calls mom and dad, were kind and loving to Stephon. They gave him structure and guidance, and they gave him some things that many take for granted such as knowing there was always a warm meal.
“He has been such a blessing to our family, he was a gift from God to us,” shared Lynne Johnson.
Liberty University offered Stephon a basketball scholarship and though no one in the family was familiar with the college, he trusted his basketball mentor who encouraged him to play for Liberty.
Playing basketball came to an end earlier than anyone had anticipated due to a knee injury. The injury was so severe even surgery could not correct it enough for him to return to his position as point guard. But that didn’t stop him from continuing as a team assistant and mentor.
After graduating he began his career as a basketball coach and athletic mentor. He has had his own business running basketball camps and providing private training for many years. It was during the pandemic that he developed his writing skills into two books.
For his future, Leary is eager to get out and promote his newest book and his boot. He hopes to find a shoe manufacturing company to partner with him in mass-producing the boot.
With his books written and his boot invented, Leary is considering getting back into full-time coaching at the collegiate level.
