SportsLeader is a virtue-based mentoring and motivation program for coaches. This blog shares stories from coaches all over the country transforming lives. For more information contact Lou Judd - ljudd@sportsleader.org

Friday, February 25, 2011

Eagles Players Help Boy Nearly Bullied to Death / SportsLeader Testimony

An excellent piece by Rick Reilly of ESPN ... We need more NFL players to step up like this to help save our youth. 

Do your athletes help get rid of bullying at your school?

Maybe your athletes could go to a school and give a jersey to a bullied boy ...

Let's be part of the solution. SportsLeader helps coaches develop great young men like Mike Cook:


* - Please remember in your prayers Todd Brechbill and his wife Jennifer and family. They unfortunately lost their baby to a miscarriage. The baby was 10 weeks old.
...

By Rick Reilly ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=6120346

Among the burdens of a married American male are to provide shelter, put food in the cupboards and occasionally sit through showings of "The View."

Which is what my wife and I were doing last week when we saw something that made it hard to speak, much less drink our coffee.

A 13-year-old boy named Nadin Khoury told about how he'd been attacked by seven bigger schoolmates, kicked, beaten, dragged through the snow, stuffed into a tree, and hung on a 7-foot spiked fence, all while adults watched.

The boy was only 5-foot-2, but he'd made up his mind to stand tall no matter how much of his pride bled out. As the brutal video played on a screen behind him, his collar stayed buttoned, his spine straight, but his bottom lip quivered.

"Next time maybe it could be somebody smaller than me," he said, loud and clear, like the Marine he wants to be someday. "Maybe next time, somebody could really get hurt."

That's when host Elisabeth Hasselbeck said, "There are some guys here who want to tell you just how brave you are."

Khoury seemed at once shocked, overwhelmed and redeemed. Where once his chin stuck out as best it could, it now fell open in wonder.

From behind the curtain came three Philadelphia Eagles -- All-World receiver DeSean Jackson, centerJamaal Jackson and guard Todd Herremans.

Khoury seemed at once shocked, overwhelmed and redeemed. Where once his chin stuck out as best it could, it now fell open in wonder. He looked like a kid who'd forgotten it was Christmas morning. He wept without wiping his tears. Jackson sat as close to him as possible, as if to make the two one. He praised the boy for his bravery and added, "Anytime ever you need us, I got two linemen right here."

Nadin's mom cried, Whoopi Goldberg cried, my wife cried and I cried.

Why would a superstar athlete up and fly to NYC from LA with one day's notice to support a kid he's never met?

Rewind four months:

Eighth-grader Nadin has just moved to the Philly suburb of Upper Darby with his sister. Their mom Rebecca had lost her Minnesota hotel-maid job. That makes him the strange new kid at Upper Darby High School. That makes him prey. Walking down a steep hill to catch the bus, kids start taunting him about his mother, an African refugee who fled bloody Liberia in 2000.

"They were calling her names," Khoury told me. "Talkin' about her 'booty.' I didn't want to hear that so I told them to stop. They pushed me down and dragged me down the hill. I got up and fought one of them. ... The next day the other kids got on him about 'How you let a little kid beat you like that?' And I could see that it really made him mad. It bottled up in him until he was ready to explode."

Nadin Khoury hugs his mother, Rebecca, who has supported him through his fight against the bullies.
The bullying gets worse. Alley ambushes. Pushes and slugs and draggings. And then comes the attack on Jan. 11 by what Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood calls "a wolf pack." "I was afraid for my life," the boy recalls.

When one of the pack posts the video on YouTube, Nadin's mom has her proof and presses charges. The Upper Darby police ask if the family will bring the case public.

Rebecca thinks about the rebels in Liberia. Thinks about how they found her family hiding and dragged her father into the streets and murdered him there. Thinks about standing up to bullies, even the ones with AK-47s.

"I say to my son, 'Are you ready for this? This is not going to be little. This is going to be big.' And he says, 'Yes, Mommy.' And I say, 'Are you ashamed of anything?' And he says, 'No, Mommy.' So we do it."

The Philadelphia Inquirer writes a piece. A staffer at "The View" reads it. She finds out Jackson is Nadin's favorite player and reaches out to the Eagles. The Eagles call Jackson.

Jackson thinks of his childhood in South Central LA. Thinks of the bullying that went on in his childhood, the kind that ends in mothers flung across coffins. Thinks of Desmond, his 13-year-old brother.

"He's a small guy too," Jackson says. "Nadin reminded me of him. When I thought of kids doing that stuff to my little brother, man, that really got to me. Made me want to get my hands on those kids."

Next thing you know, Nadin is on a couch with his favorite NFL player at -- and on -- his side. Jackson takes the jersey he's wearing off his back, signs it and gives it to the kid. Then he gives him his cell phone number to back it up.

It only gets better from there.

Jackson starts an anti-bullying nonprofit -- DeSean Jackson Against Bullying. The family receives Eagles tickets, 76ers tickets, jerseys, T-shirts.

The director of admissions at Valley Forge Military Academy, LaToro Yates, sees "The View." He thinks of the bullies in his childhood. Thinks of the boys who terrorized him for the way he looked, the way he talked, the way he dressed.

Next thing you know, Nadin is being invited to the VFMA campus, where men like General Norman Schwarzkopf and J.D. Salinger and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald once walked.

"I admire this young man's courage," Yates says. "It takes courage just to come to school the next day. But to step up and go public with it to help other kids? Wow."

The academy is "working diligently to make the young man a cadet at Valley Forge Military Academy starting this fall," says Yates. Free.

The Upper Darby police, meanwhile, do a little dragging of their own. They walk into Nadin's school and drag the alleged attackers off in handcuffs. Eventually, charges were dropped against one but the others will pay for their bullying of Nadin. Their cases and final charges are still pending.

The fear isn't entirely gone in Nadin's house -- his mom still sleeps in the living room at night in case "somebody's coming to get my son," she says -- but for Nadin, stepping up for others has been the best thing he's ever done for himself. He's already turned down $1,800 for the jersey. "I'm going to give it to my son and he'll give it to his son."

I keep thinking about why I cried that day. I think it's that when the biggest and fiercest and most famous of us takes time to stand up for the smallest of us, it makes me proud to be a sportswriter, proud to cover these athletes, these men.

But I'm prouder still when a young, poor boy like this stands up with no idea any help is coming.

(Oh, and a note to the wolf pack: If you think Eagles players shouldn't be messed with, wait until you meet the Marines.)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Life and Perspective




Thank you so much for all of your congratulations and prayers with regard to our son's birth. This is one of the most inspiring aspects of the SportsLeader family - how we all care for each other so much. 

Coach Trent Todd has been a huge part of my life personally and that of SportsLeader. 

March 1st and 2nd will be his pre-transplant evaluation. A pre-transplant evaluation includes a complete physical, meetings with members of the Lung Transplant Team, and a series of tests, and is performed to make sure that Trent is physically able to undergo a transplant. The evaluation helps the Transplant Team identify and treat any potential problems before the transplant, as well as avoid potential complications after the transplant. 

He keeps thinking of others in the midst of all this.

Knowing Trent's situation it keeps things in perspective very quickly - that life is short, precious and we truly need to put the important things first.


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Bring 'Em Back Tradition



A great team tradition we learned from the movie Forever Strong was "Bring 'Em Back". A former player writes a letter to a current player playing his same position. Coach Chris Willertz had a ceremony where this was a part of it. The video is his intro talk.

Below is a sample letter one of their former wrestlers at 171 pounds wrote to one of his current guys.

This is a great way to keep your alumni involved and active with your program.

SportsLeader can help you in many ways with traditions to help you build up your players to be the leaders of tomorrow. "As Iron Sharpens Iron ..." we need one another. 

...
Feb 6, 2011

Dear 171,

As it currently stands you probably don't understand the importance of your position as the varsity 171. Many of us would give anything to go back a few years and retry our junior and senior seasons. You are helping to improve the warrior wrestling tradition that we helped to start.

Back in my freshman year we were the laughing stock of the school and no one gave us any respect.

You are privileged as a wrestler now to be able to have a full team and to be able to win tournaments. You are a part of a great period of warrior wrestling and as such should feel proud to be involved in it.

Your season is nearly over and it's this moment in time that you will always remember. Work hard and make it a happy and successful memory. You don't want it to end on a bad note. Work hard before, during and after practice and don't make this moment a memory of regret.

My junior year was my breakout year. I faced numerous state qualifiers and eventually became a district alternate. My Senior year I went to a wrestling camp, worked hard all off-season but then injured my shoulder in a match. Unfortunately I went through the motions after that. I wrestled hard in my final match and lost but finished strong.

End your season and career on a high note. Make sure you are able to be look yourself in the mirror years down the line and are able to be proud of yourself and know that you're a warrior.

Sincerely, Stearns

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Comfort Zone

There is a lot of truth in Dan's message below. It is men like him that make SportsLeader special.
...

By Dan Duddy
Head Football Coach Monsignor Donovan HS

The average guy will live til he’s maybe 85 years old right? My head football coach took over a losing football program last year at 84, so things are looking pretty good, agreed?

Plus if you think you’re old at 55, then do the math, like maybe you have 30 years left, so look back thirty years ago. I was 25! I have done a lot of living since 25 years old, and now I still have THAT much left again! 

But here’s the kicker, I THOUGHT I was LIVING at age 25. I never really began to feel life until I started “Coaching Virtue” in my football program. Especially so the two-way gifts that come from mentoring man-to-man, Virtue camps, becoming bold about my faith AFTER spending lots of time in self-reflection and prayer, and becoming a SportsLeader coach. 

When you hang around winners you win. There is so much more for you out there that you and me are absolutely oblivious too.

If you are not feeling outside of your comfort zone on a daily basis, you just ain’t finding what you were meant to be doing.

I was way too comfortable at 25. How about you, feeling a little comfortable?

Living a comfortable life is for boys. We need to establish a life of discomfort and lead them to do the same. There is a great deal of pleasure in discomfort. 

BRING IT ON!  

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Virtue Camp

As you make your plans for this summer I would like to encourage you to consider doing a virtue camp with your team or maybe at least with your leaders/captains.

A virtue camp is some time totally set aside to growing in virtue and leadership, giving your team an experience, a memory they could impact them for the rest of their lives. 

I've had the opportunity to speak with lots of young men after their season ... the top 3 memories of the season are usually:
Father-Son Jersey Night, Virtue Camp and one particular win ...

We've run quite a few camps for teams. Coach Dean Hood is bringing his Seniors in March ...

We can customize an experience for you. Let's get it on the calendar. Call to discuss. As a heads up - June fills up pretty quick.

Virtue makes you Stronger
Vice makes you Weaker

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Spring Break With A Purpose

Spring Break is coming up soon. The mere sound of the words is pretty pleasant and inviting, as it should be.

I was encouraged by the below story and I thought it would be a great example, some food for thought for you and your programs.

One of the most effective ways to teach leadership and virtue is serving others in need. Experiences become powerful life-changing memories.
...
Spring Break With A Purpose

A group of Boilermakers is headed to South Africa to work with children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Four Purdue football players will join athletics department chaplain Marty Dittmar and four former Boilermaker students on a spring break trip to South Africa to work with children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.

The group will be working with Bethesda Orphan Outreach in Hammerskraal, South Africa. Bethesda's vision is to help local churches in meeting the needs of orphan children that they may become disciples of Christ. Bethesda is carrying out that vision in South Africa, where nearly one in five people are infected with AIDS. Thousands of parents are dying daily, leaving behind countless numbers of orphan children who are desperately trying to survive.

In addition to conducting a Sports Day, the group is hoping to raise money prior to its trip to install as many as nine solar heaters in the homes of the orphans. None of the homes on the compound currently have hot water.

"I enjoy taking our Purdue student-athletes on trips like this," Dittmar said. "Certainly we go to help people, but I am even more excited by how it changes our student-athletes. They return with a greater appreciation of what God has given them here. I believe it makes them better students, athletes and leaders.

"Our student-athletes have such a wonderful impact in the lives of these special kids. The young people there are looking forward to the return of the Boilermakers."

The football players scheduled to make the trip from March 11 to 20 are Rob Henry, Kurt Lichtenberg, Caleb TerBush and Crosby Wright. They will be joined by former Boilermakers Nick Bertucci (wrestling), Lance Moe (track and field), P. J. Rose (tennis, current graduate assistant in compliance office) and Shane Summers (football), along Jordan Wallpe, who is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. 

Coach Kent Wright of Lebanon HS with some of his football players in Haiti last year.  A life-changing experience.

Monday, February 14, 2011

How do your coaches react after a loss?

Over the years I have had the opportunity to accompany quite a few different teams on game day. I've noticed a few similarities in most programs especially when it comes to the post game portion of the day ...

After a win, most teams are pretty similar: happiness, lots of love going around, guys talking with one another ... all good.

After a loss, this is the test where you separate the men from the boys.

What happens immediately after a loss really shows you if you are truly "about the kids".

Two examples. I accompanied both teams from pre-game to post game. Both teams lost on the last play in the final second of the game at home. Both were heartbreakers. Both teams had ample opportunities to win the game and the loss was bitter. I was routing for both of these teams so I was a bit down as well.

Team A: Team walks back to locker room. Coaches retreat to coaches room and silently mope for about 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes 1 assistant coach approaches the 3 studs on the team for a 5 second chat each ... 5 minutes later the head coach calls all players in and gives a 3 minute talk. The assistant coaches stayed moping in the coaches room. All the players went home bitter, lots of pent-up emotion ... Coaches still moping in the coaches room now only cussing out loud ...

The next day at films ... the coaches spent most of their time screaming at the kids about all their mistakes - letting out all that pent-up emotion. What did the kids learn from this film session? Next to nothing. They were too busy fighting with their own experiences of humiliation and anger to actually listen ...

Team B: As they break the huddle on the field, every coach goes up to a player and walks back to the locker room talking ... for the next 50 minutes every coach spoke with the 10 players from their mentor group. Players gathered in their unity groups and spoke with one another. Some were more emotional than others.

Head coach gathers all players and assistant coaches and brings some closure to the evening. It is painful but it is closure.

The next day at films ... coaches and players calmly walk through the game. There is no screaming, no cussing ... players helping one another understand their mistakes, Seniors offering to help Sophomores ... The players listened and learned from the film session.

...

Which team is truly "about the kids?"
Which team are you?

Friday, February 11, 2011

Coach Trent Todd: Who Else?



As coaches we have the unique opportunity to be able to mentor young people who CHOOSE to come be with us, who CHOOSE to want to learn from us.

What can we do to mentor these young lives even better?

Kevin Caffrey: I Want to Give What My Coaches Gave Me




Kevin Caffrey is a graduate of Monsignor Donovan High School. There he was able to experience the SportsLeader Virtue Program thanks to his head coach Dan Duddy. He shares what he learned and how he wants to impact other young men with his life.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Breaking Through the Wall

I had an inspiring conversation with Winton Woods Head Wrestling Coach Chris Willertz a few days ago. Chris does an awesome job of really going out of his way to mentor his players, to help them through their everyday struggles.

He has a wrestler on his team that has been steadily improving on the mat but not so much in the rest of his life. Unfortunately the young man shuts down pretty quick whenever you'd try to talk with him. Chris persevered. He tried again and again and again.

Then finally came the moment. 

The young man had reached the semi-finals of a particular wrestling tournament defeating 2 very successful opponents. He gave his all in the semi-final but lost a heartbreaker. But then in the subsequent wrestle-back matches where you strive to finish 3rd or 5th place, etc. He hardly gave any effort. He was a different and a defeated man before he even stepped on the mat.

Chris confronted him about this and the young man finally admitted it. "If I'm not wrestling for first place then I don't care."

Listening to Chris and how happy he was about this moment it was as if he had just won the State Championship, that he was going to the Olympics ... He had broken through the wall ... after almost an entire wrestling season - he had broken through.

Chris began to address that issue with him ... "So if I'm not voted father of the year I should leave my kids? If my wife doesn't give me an award I should just quit my marriage and leave?"

The moment was right and the young man opened up. No one had ever had this conversation with him before ... he had never LET anyone have this conversation with him ...

Thank you, Coach, for persevering. Thank you for mentoring when the majority of us would have thrown in the towel.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Inspiring Your Assistant Coaches



I was blessed to be a part of an amazing Character Building Clinic this past weekend with coaches from all over the country. They were passionate about changing lives, they shared how their purpose in coaching is to help boys become men.

There was a buzz in the room that was truly contagious ... that you were excited to learn a few new things, a few new ways to help your players grow in virtue, grow in strength. I truly wish I would have had more time to sit down and simply listen to every coach in the room.

One of the lessons-ideas that hit home with me the most is that the character program that you have is only as strong as yourself and your assistant coaches ... that the players don't necessarily hear what you teach, they "hear" how you and your assistants act and live ... and that inspires them to take the messages to heart.

Sometimes we think that this activity or that tradition is going to really make an impact. Things don't change lives - people do. 

So the first step to making our programs stronger - is to help the coaches on our staff grow stronger in virtue. If we are humble enough to strive to grow and change ourselves, our players will see that and they will want to change as well. Humility is contagious!

Here is an awesome testimony from a 27 year old assistant coach. He talks about how he has grown personally by making an effort to mentor his players. Imagine having a staff full of guys like this. His Head Coach, Dan Duddy, has an awesome virtue program because he has helped his young coaches grow first. 

Watch the above video if you want to be inspired.

Virtue=Strength
Vice = Weakness

Monday, February 7, 2011

2010 SportsLeader Coach of Uncommon Strength: Kent Wright


The SportsLeader Character Coaches Association would like to congratulate Coach Kent Wright of Lebanon Indiana High School for this year's Coach of Uncommon Strength Award. Here below is a letter from the Principal of Lebanon High School Kevin O'Rourke.

...

On behalf of the students, staff, parents, and our community as a whole, we are proud that Coach Wright has been recognized by SportsLeader as the Coach of Uncommon Strength.  This is a great honor, and one that I can attest is well deserved.  Coach Wright is a tremendous educator.  I use the word educator, because his teaching extends well beyond the football field.  Coach Wright’s positive influence on our students and community is evident in his coaching, teaching, and through the multitude of opportunities he creates for the youth within our community.
As a classroom teacher, he is an exceptional educator and mentor to all his students.  Coach Wright consistently receives praise from parents of students that have struggled in PE in the past, because Coach Wright builds all his students up from what they can do as opposed to tearing them down for what they can’t do.  He is recognized for building a culture in his PE class where students support one another through positive encouragement.  His classroom becomes a team effort where students are taught and encouraged to inspire one another in a positive manner to do their personal best.  As a testament to Coach Wright’s ability to influence students to become better leaders and role models, we started a new course this year taught by Coach Wright called Teen Leadership.  This is an elective course that has a very wide range of students.  Coach Wright’s influence in this course helps mold his students to become better leaders, which has a ripple effect throughout our schools activities and overall culture.
As a coach, Coach Wright does a tremendous job of team building.  He has a strategic plan for building his team, and his concentrated efforts are greatly appreciated within our school community.  Coach Wright takes his team on a several day boot camp over the summer to help build their commitment to one another.  The message is simply putting the needs of the organization ahead of oneself.  In addition, members of the team are broken into year-long platoons where points are awarded for such things as community service and academic achievement.  Character, Integrity, and Moral Judgment are all highly valued traits that are woven into the fiber of Coach Wright’s teams.  While wins and losses are important, it is reassuring to know that we have a varsity football coach that values the opportunity to mold the character of his players with their future in mind without compromising character flaws for wins.
As a person, Coach Wright walks the talk.  He represents the same values and traits that he expects from his students and athletes.  He is always willing to help others along the way.  As an example, Coach Wright has taken team and community members to Louisiana to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.  Then, most recently, he spent several weeks last summer in Haiti with numerous football players and community members helping clean-up and rebuild a country ravaged by a hurricane and earthquakes.  These opportunities provided by Coach Wright were life changing events for our student-athletes.  Most importantly though, these opportunities where not provided simply to build character in our student-athletes, they were provided because Coach Wright recognized a need and opportunity to help others.
Coach Wright is an outstanding teacher, coach, and community member.  He is a man of Christian principles that provides countless opportunities for our students to become better people.  I greatly respect the fact that he is as committed to students that are not athletes, as he is to the students in his football program.  As principal of Lebanon High School, I can attest that Coach Kent Wright is truly an ideal representative of the Coach of Uncommon Strength.  Our student-athletes and school community as a whole are benefactors of the commitment Coach has made to building a program based on character and integrity.  We are appreciative of all of Coaches hard work, and proud that he has been recognized by SportsLeader of this very deserving and prestigious honor.
In Tiger Pride!
Kevin M. O’Rourke
Principal
Lebanon High School

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Friday, February 4, 2011


Coach Jim Stofko of St Thomas More College was kind enough to share this letter with me. It is from one of his players this past season. I had the pleasure of meeting Matt earlier this year. What a tremendous young man. He spoke to our Conquest group with a few of his teammates. 


I highlighted a sentence that hit me the most. 

One player - one soul at a time.

God bless, Lou

...
Dear Coach Stofko and Family,

Thank you for all of your help and support in making my dream of representing the United States in our game against Mexico possible. Because of your generosity, I was able to have an experience of a lifetime and see what it really means to say we are blessed to live in such a great country.

The game ended with a final score of 48-7 in favor of the United States. I was able to meet many great people from all over the country, but what will always stick with me forever is the expressions of gratitude of the children of Mexico as they got pictures and autographs with me.

It just shows how things as simple as a smile, a signature on the back of their shirt, or the moment it takes to get a picture with them can make their holiday. The simple things can mean so much to people and with your help I was able to experience it first hand.

I also wanted to say thank you for everything this past year. I can not say enough about how great it was to have a coach that cared so much about myself and our team and or got to know me as an individual as much as a player. I have always had coaches who said they would help me with anything but you went beyond it all. I know you will always be my coach, but you became a great friend as well.

I knew I could always count on you to correct me or push me to be better, little differently than Coach H. would, but it still carried the same respect and instilled that desire inside me to be the best and to strive for nothing less than perfection. I will always carry that with me in everything I do in life.

Happy Holidays and God bless,
Matt Clark #40

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Youth Sports - Sportsmanship

Recently I had a conversation with a parent of an 8 year old boy who played youth football for the first time. His team practiced 4 days a week and played games on Saturday. He was at every single practice and every single game. He tried his best.

During the last game of the season, late in the 4th quarter with his team winning 30-0 he went up to his coach ... "Coach, can I go in? I haven't gotten to play all year and we're winning pretty good?"

His coach said, "No, you're not good enough maybe next year."

Personally I would have had "a good long chat" with this "coach" a lot sooner but ... I've heard tons of stories like this. I've seen tons of coaches like this ... youth teams with 45 players and only 12 play the whole game.

This is why 73% of kids quit sports by the age of 13.

Little kids want to play, they want to have fun, they want to learn how to play the sport. 

A friend of mine, Ron Jennings, has started a league called Sportsmanship First League, SFL, www.sfl1st.com     

He started the Lakota Stallions youth football league 5 years ago with 70 players grades K-6. This past season there were 440 players on 22 different teams. Their player retention rate is the highest in the country.

If you're a head coach at the high school level maybe consider checking this out. You'll be glad you did.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

A Surprise Phone Call



As Coach Trent Todd says in this short video, "Someone is always listening."

2 coaches from Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy were very kind and shared some info with me that I found very encouraging. I'm hoping it encourages you as well.

Part of the SportsLeader program is to give your older players opportunities to mentor the younger players. CHCA decided to call it their BEST program. BEST is for BExcellent Succeed Together.

It pairs up Junior-Senior football players with 7th-8th grade football players. They meet on Sunday nights in the Winter-Spring. It's some fun, faith, formation and food - and in the process the older guys mentor the younger ones. They started this back in 2007.

Coach Bob Paola received a phone call the other night from Brianna, the leader of the Big Brother Program in an inner-city Elementary School in Erie, PA. Alec Swartz, a former standout QB for CHCA, is now playing at Mercyhurst College in Erie and he had applied to be a Big Brother. In his application, Alec talked about the BEST program, how it helped him and that he wanted to continue mentoring a young person.

Brianna called because she wanted more info about Alec and the BEST program ... it turns out she is going to implement some of the same things SportsLeader and BEST are all about.

"This year is going to be special because our to-be juniors will participate as LEADERS this year making them the first group to come full circle in the program by being student-athletes being mentored by our LEADERS and now they will be the LEADERS who will mentor the young student-athletes."

...

Are your Seniors mentoring younger students?
Let's start it or make it stronger. The above story could be about one of your players next year!

Last Call for Free Character Building Clinic on Feb 5th