Christ School lineman's journey with disease prepares him for bright future
ARDEN -- The hair loss started with his eyebrows.
Then it moved to his eyelashes.
By the time Ian Adams had entered the third grade, he couldn't run his finger through his sandy blonde hair without removing large patches from his scalp. He wore baseball hats to school but found that only exasperated the problem.
"I couldn't control it," Adams said. "I had five bald spots, about the size of two half dollars before I shaved it. It just became more and more obvious."
His classmates thought he had cancer. They had never heard of alopecia universalis, an autoimmune disease that causes complete hair loss all over the body.
“"I just felt like I was the one who was wrong. I felt like I had to change who I was to be accepted."”
— Ian Adams
"It was so hard explaining it to him," said his mother, Diane Adams. "It was hard for him to understand that it was not his fault, that it was just happening because it was happening."
Adams' disease was non-life threatening, but it began a dramatic shift in his life that forced him to deal with bullying, depression and deep self exploration at an early age.
Those lessons have shaped the Christ School sophomore lineman into a rising star on the football field and a young man with dreams of motivating others.
"People always stared," Diane said. "When he was younger, it was hard because it made him stand out. Now that he's older, it's cool because he stands out. He embraces it."
Wearing a Mask
Embracing his hair loss took time.
Adams said he was teased every day during the fourth and fifth grades at Hendersonville Elementary. A new kid in town became Adams' main bully.
Adams coped with it by turning the jokes around on himself. He became the class clown.
"I just felt like I was the one who was wrong," Adams said. "I felt like I had to change who I was to be accepted."
He struggled to make friends, and those that he did, he didn't trust.
"I felt like I was constantly hiding," Adams said. "Like my friends weren't real. I was afraid to let people in to get to know the real me."
Adams excelled as a swimmer and wrestler but was kept at arms length by his peers.
"People liked him because he was good at sports," his father, Scott Adams, said. "But the moment the game was over, no one was inviting him to spend the night or hang out. He did not do a good job at choosing friends at first."
To avoid his elementary school tormentors, Adams' family enrolled him into Rugby Middle School instead of Hendersonville Middle School. There he got a fresh start and in seventh grade, discovered football.
Finding a Voice
Football allowed Adams to find new qualities in himself. He was a top player on his middle school team and help lead Rugby Middle to an undefeated season during his eighth-grade year.
"I found a strength in my leadership. I realized people are willing to follow me. I have a demanding presence. I'm also big and bald," Adams said, laughing. "Maybe that had something to do with it."
After his freshman year at West Henderson High School, Adams transferred to Christ School and reclassified as a freshman.
Christ School's football coach at the time, Mark Moroz, had a personal understanding of Adams' disease.
Moroz was diagnosed with alopecia areata, a milder form of hair loss, as a child.
"We had very similar experiences when we were younger," Adams said. "He understood what it was like to be excluded. It made me feel comfortable to have someone who understood me."
Lean On Me
Adams dealt with a major setback before his first season with Christ School, missing 2017 because of a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Without football, Adams said he spiraled into depression. He was forced to deal with the feelings of his past that he had tried his best to ignore.
"That depression was amplified by feelings I didn't realize were there before the injury," Adams said. "Things from my past had just built up over time, and I bottled it up and held it in for a long time."
This time, though, he wouldn't have to face it alone. He felt safe enough to confide in his teammates.
His honesty helped him grow closer with his teammates, especially running back Sidney Gibbs, who had dealt with his own season-ending injuries.
"Football, especially at Christ School, has been the best thing in terms of camaraderie and friendship that Ian has ever had," Scott Adams said. "His teammates will never quite know how important they are to him."
In the first game of the 2018 season, Gibbs broke his right leg, ending his high school career. Adams was quick to be by Gibbs' side.
"He was there for me," Adams said. "So I was there for him."
Adams developed trust for his peers and lasting friendships for the first time.
"There is no other sport that allows me to be a part of a team, make the friendships I have made and also hit people," Adams said. "The friends you make on the line are the best friends you'll ever make."
Standing Out
As Adams' abilities on the football field grew, he began to realize his lack of hair was an advantage.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman has high hopes of playing Division I football, and it doesn't hurt to stick out.
"I talk to lineman who are like, 'I'm so big and everyone stares at me,' " Adams said. "Well, people have been staring at me since I was 8 years old."
He's easy to pick out of a crowd when he attends summer college football camps, even at Clemson University.
"There are a thousand kids at those camps, but (Clemson coach) Dabo (Swinney) knows Ian," Scott Adams said. "They never forgot him."
His look, along with his ability, has become his brand.
"People always ask, 'If you could grow hair would you?' My answer is no," Adams said. "It's who I am. I would, though, like to grow a nice beard."
Adams said he hopes to have a future in football as a strength coach for a major Division I football program, but if not, he hopes to find other avenues to motive people.
"I think that God gave me alopecia for a reason. I don't know what that reason is, and it's been hard at times, but I have a feeling I'll be very grateful for the training it has given me while growing up," Adams said.
ARDEN -- The hair loss started with his eyebrows.
Then it moved to his eyelashes.
By the time Ian Adams had entered the third grade, he couldn't run his finger through his sandy blonde hair without removing large patches from his scalp. He wore baseball hats to school but found that only exasperated the problem.
"I couldn't control it," Adams said. "I had five bald spots, about the size of two half dollars before I shaved it. It just became more and more obvious."
His classmates thought he had cancer. They had never heard of alopecia universalis, an autoimmune disease that causes complete hair loss all over the body.
“"I just felt like I was the one who was wrong. I felt like I had to change who I was to be accepted."”
— Ian Adams
"It was so hard explaining it to him," said his mother, Diane Adams. "It was hard for him to understand that it was not his fault, that it was just happening because it was happening."
Adams' disease was non-life threatening, but it began a dramatic shift in his life that forced him to deal with bullying, depression and deep self exploration at an early age.
Those lessons have shaped the Christ School sophomore lineman into a rising star on the football field and a young man with dreams of motivating others.
"People always stared," Diane said. "When he was younger, it was hard because it made him stand out. Now that he's older, it's cool because he stands out. He embraces it."
Wearing a Mask
Embracing his hair loss took time.
Adams said he was teased every day during the fourth and fifth grades at Hendersonville Elementary. A new kid in town became Adams' main bully.
Adams coped with it by turning the jokes around on himself. He became the class clown.
"I just felt like I was the one who was wrong," Adams said. "I felt like I had to change who I was to be accepted."
He struggled to make friends, and those that he did, he didn't trust.
"I felt like I was constantly hiding," Adams said. "Like my friends weren't real. I was afraid to let people in to get to know the real me."
Adams excelled as a swimmer and wrestler but was kept at arms length by his peers.
"People liked him because he was good at sports," his father, Scott Adams, said. "But the moment the game was over, no one was inviting him to spend the night or hang out. He did not do a good job at choosing friends at first."
To avoid his elementary school tormentors, Adams' family enrolled him into Rugby Middle School instead of Hendersonville Middle School. There he got a fresh start and in seventh grade, discovered football.
Finding a Voice
Football allowed Adams to find new qualities in himself. He was a top player on his middle school team and help lead Rugby Middle to an undefeated season during his eighth-grade year.
"I found a strength in my leadership. I realized people are willing to follow me. I have a demanding presence. I'm also big and bald," Adams said, laughing. "Maybe that had something to do with it."
After his freshman year at West Henderson High School, Adams transferred to Christ School and reclassified as a freshman.
Christ School's football coach at the time, Mark Moroz, had a personal understanding of Adams' disease.
Moroz was diagnosed with alopecia areata, a milder form of hair loss, as a child.
"We had very similar experiences when we were younger," Adams said. "He understood what it was like to be excluded. It made me feel comfortable to have someone who understood me."
Lean On Me
Adams dealt with a major setback before his first season with Christ School, missing 2017 because of a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Without football, Adams said he spiraled into depression. He was forced to deal with the feelings of his past that he had tried his best to ignore.
"That depression was amplified by feelings I didn't realize were there before the injury," Adams said. "Things from my past had just built up over time, and I bottled it up and held it in for a long time."
This time, though, he wouldn't have to face it alone. He felt safe enough to confide in his teammates.
His honesty helped him grow closer with his teammates, especially running back Sidney Gibbs, who had dealt with his own season-ending injuries.
"Football, especially at Christ School, has been the best thing in terms of camaraderie and friendship that Ian has ever had," Scott Adams said. "His teammates will never quite know how important they are to him."
In the first game of the 2018 season, Gibbs broke his right leg, ending his high school career. Adams was quick to be by Gibbs' side.
"He was there for me," Adams said. "So I was there for him."
Adams developed trust for his peers and lasting friendships for the first time.
"There is no other sport that allows me to be a part of a team, make the friendships I have made and also hit people," Adams said. "The friends you make on the line are the best friends you'll ever make."
Standing Out
As Adams' abilities on the football field grew, he began to realize his lack of hair was an advantage.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman has high hopes of playing Division I football, and it doesn't hurt to stick out.
"I talk to lineman who are like, 'I'm so big and everyone stares at me,' " Adams said. "Well, people have been staring at me since I was 8 years old."
He's easy to pick out of a crowd when he attends summer college football camps, even at Clemson University.
"There are a thousand kids at those camps, but (Clemson coach) Dabo (Swinney) knows Ian," Scott Adams said. "They never forgot him."
His look, along with his ability, has become his brand.
"People always ask, 'If you could grow hair would you?' My answer is no," Adams said. "It's who I am. I would, though, like to grow a nice beard."
Adams said he hopes to have a future in football as a strength coach for a major Division I football program, but if not, he hopes to find other avenues to motive people.
"I think that God gave me alopecia for a reason. I don't know what that reason is, and it's been hard at times, but I have a feeling I'll be very grateful for the training it has given me while growing up," Adams said.
