Coach I share your pain.....I have had kids that I have mentored in the 3rd-5th grade say things like "whats poppin" as if I am to respond even one asked me "what I was doing in a certain part of town as if I needed his permission. I looked him in the eye and kept my path. Some we save some we can only try.
EF Club we had in New Brunswick, NJ empowered the kids with coices and it felt good to see 10-20 jr coaches battling it out on the board each lunchbreak. At our banquet the once "baddest" kid told the audience I was like his "dad" It touched me. We had visits by great coaches, ED.Roche, Joe.Greco, The Raiderman and as each Coach arrived the students cheered anticipating the next one. Once all 3 Coaches was there a ball was had by all. When Coaches were a great distance away we did telephone conferences with Coach Pratt, Coach Rip, Coach Norbert, Coach K-Lo, The National 1, and others I may have forgotten....etc so we gave them something that many may never of had ...a male role model in their lives. To some even a "heroe". These coaches were all introduced to me by my greta friend and mentor Coach Ed.R and we met when I was buying EF stuff on ebay to start the league for my students.
My job ended there and I saw two of my old students since then, one was i awe with seeing me and how he still plays EF and the one that said I was like a "dad" to him barely wanting to speak. It hurt for I did not know if the streets had a greater hold on him or did he feel like I abandoned him and his capacity to love is diminishing?
God has that answer. I now have another program in a not so troubled school district but they play. Not as many jr coaches, and the parents give great support. I am in the process of getting something started back in NB at the Teen Center by playing some games their and getting them back involved. Had a game a few months back the kids were excited. Working on getting some more games there with Coach Jabs and Coaches from all over the US.
Coach perhaps we can have a teleconference with our youth or some common bonds can be established for us to empower them with a universal voice.
PLMK
There is hope