Midland Christian Kicker Mason Horton Honoring his Family in Ukraine

ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) -Midland Christian kicker Mason Horton takes the field every week like many other athletes.

With winning and honoring his family on his mind.

For him, that family is in Ukraine.

His uncle, his aunt, and his cousins are still in Ukraine.

He is doing everything he can to stay focused to achieve his goals.

Mason grew up in a Ukrainian orphanage with his aunt and uncle taking him out on the weekend and for holidays.

He prays every day for his family’s safety in Ukraine.

“I always keep them in prayer. There are still Ukraine. My sister and my older sister keeps contact with them. She keeps contact with me on how they are doing and last time I heard about them they been doing good. I am thankful that god has been with them.” said Midland Christian kicker Mason Horton.

Mason moved to the United States five years ago with his adoptive family and is making the most of his opportunities in Midland.

“When I first moved here they needed a kicker so I said oh yes. I can find a job here. The coaches were like wow you can kick and my motivation was to become better every single day.” said Horton.

He played soccer when he was a child in Ukraine and learned when he moved here that soccer is a very different sport.

“I had trouble with moving from kicking the soccer ball to kicking the football. It was difficult for me to learn the techniques for football kicking than from soccer.” said Horton.

Now that he’s got the techniques down.

It’s all about the team and something his coaches value in a player.

“Mason is all about people which is funny because sometimes kickers aren’t all about people. Sometimes they are odd ducks. Mason is in everything that we do and is probably one of our best leaders.” said Midland Christian Defensive coordinator Matthew Counts.

Mason says his family in Ukraine is safe right now and he plans to continue to honor them by playing football in college.

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