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WELLSBURG - A former Detroit Lion encouraged pupils at Wellsburg Middle School to follow their dreams and not to let others persuade them to try drugs, which he said can not only impede their success but also destroy their lives.

"Whatever your mind conceives, if your heart believes, you can achieve," said Lem Barney, who was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1967, his freshman season with the Lions.

Barney went on to be named to play 11 seasons with the team, was named to seven Pro Bowls, ranked 97th among The Sporting News' 100 Greatest Football Players and was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

But such successes were far away for Barney at the age of 8, when his plans to become a professional football player received laughter from his classmates and discouragement from his teachers.

"They said I was too small and too slow," Barney recalled.

But Barney's parents provided the encouragement he needed. "They said, 'Every time someone tells you you can't do something you want to do, let that be an extra gallon of gasoline in your tank to help you accomplish the goal you want to achieve,'" he said.

Barney told the pupils at Wellsburg Middle School that with determination they also can attain their dreams but "You can't achieve them spending your time with airheads doing drugs."

He admitted as a young man he tried marijuana on three occasions. Each time it left him feeling sick and stupid, he said.

"I would never try it again. I was blessed enough not to have gotten hooked or have done something stupid while doing it," Barney said.

Barney said too often people let themselves be convinced to try drugs.

"Too many lives have been destroyed when someone has said, 'I'm going to try this one time,'" he said.

Barney said surrounding yourself with friends who are working to achieve the same dreams and adopting a positive attitude are keys to success.

"You need a PMA, a positive mental attitude," he said, adding someone's outlook affects their success.

"Attitude can keep you going or cripple your progress," Barney said.

Toni Taylor, a teacher at the school and chairman of the school's Red Ribbon Week committee, told the pupils, "We're trying to make each of you know that you are better off being who you are and not some pill you popped in for a day."

Each year the committee plans a week of activities aimed at discouraging youth from using illegal drugs and encouraging them to make positive choices.

Appearances during the annual event by Barney and other celebrities have been sponsored by Eagle Manufacturing, the school's business partner-in-education.

Also during the week, pupils viewed a video in which a former drug addict described his experiences and participated in various theme days aimed at deterring illegal drug use.

A few students shared with Barney that drug abuse has touched their lives.

One told him her uncle died from a drug overdose. Another said his cousin was in jail for doing drugs.

And a third said he knows someone who was arrested for stealing money for drugs.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)