The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- January 4, 1999

END ZONE -- Football players gain perspective with outreach efforts

BY KAY HAWES
STAFF WRITER

Football players at New Jersey City University (formerly Jersey City State College) aren't heartbroken when they twist a knee and have to miss a few games. They have learned that their problems probably aren't a big deal. After all, they can walk, jump, run, read and study.

Why are the Gothic Knights so appreciative of what they have? Because they volunteer weekly in a community outreach program that enables them to interact with physically challenged students at the A. Harry Moore Laboratory School in Jersey City.

They also participate in an outreach program at the university's Early Childhood Learning Center and at a local public school. And, beginning this year, these volunteer efforts will be year-round programs.

It all began three years ago when associate head coach Arnold Jeter organized a volunteer group of football players to help out with the physically challenged students at Moore.

"We kind of felt that if we would give back to the community, it would make us better people and bring us closer together as a football team," said Jeter, who is also an ordained deacon.

And what's the opposite of a large, strong and healthy student-athlete? How about a small, frail child who walks -- sort of -- with leg braces and crutches? Despite the differences, the players immediately took to the children, and the children immediately took to the players.

The players help with physical education classes and tutor the children in a variety of subjects.

So that the children would understand a bit more about their passion for football, the student-athletes held a very unusual type of football clinic.

When most teams host football clinics, they're hosting them for children who can run, throw and kick. But how do you show children in wheelchairs how football is played?

The plan was to give them a close-up look at how it all works, even if they couldn't participate. All the children gathered in the gymnasium, and the student-athletes demonstrated the offense on one occasion and the defense on another. Each took only about 45 minutes but made a lasting impression on both the players and the children.

"The players introduced themselves," Jeter said, "and gave their name, their year, their major and their hometown. Then they lined up in position and explained what their position entailed."

The players explained what skills they worked on, what their goals were, and what they did at different points during a play.

"Once they did that, we had them show how they would run a play," Jeter said.

The children got to see the offense and the defense run in a kind of close-up, slow-motion manner. They understood much more of what went on than either the players or Jeter had expected.

"The kids would ask them questions," Jeter said. "And the questions were very astute. The thing that I found out that surprised me the most though was that, even though they were physically challenged, mentally they were very sharp and just like anyone else. They had goals and things that they wanted to achieve, and they weren't afraid to share those with us."

The football clinic -- more than anything else the student-athletes have done with the children -- made a lasting impression.

"Every football player who walked out of there was transformed," Jeter said. "When we walked out of there, we found out how blessed we were to play football and go to school. Sometimes it's so easy to complain. Not after that."

And that was the beginning of volunteer outreach projects for the Gothic Knights.

The football players next began helping out at the university's Early Childhood Learning Center, where they read to preschool children and encourage them to develop a love of reading.

"The tots really seem to enjoy the student-athletes reading to them, and their parents --who are often students or employees of the university -- appreciate the efforts of the student-athletes," Jeter said.

Next, the players began participating in a community outreach program at the Alexander D. Sullivan School, a public elementary school in Jersey City. There, through "Partners in Reading," the Gothic Knights made more new little friends and emphasized the importance of reading.

All of those efforts meant so much to the student-athletes that they wanted to continue them after the football season.

"There was a core group that wanted to do things year-round, so we're going to do that," Jeter said. "Working with all of these children gives us so much more appreciation for our own blessings."

Dan Harrison, a sophomore running back majoring in psychology, is one of those student-athletes who plans to volunteer year-round.

"It's a real encouragement for me to work with them," Harrison said, noting that working with the physically challenged children was especially rewarding.

"Those kids are real brave, and they want to be treated just like other kids," he said. "I got a little knee injury this year, and working with them has shown me that my problems aren't anything compared to theirs."

Harrison thinks he might want to be a guidance counselor someday, and working with the children has taught him more than he expected.

"They look at us as role models, and we take that responsibility seriously," he said. "I taught them about football, but they taught me a lot about life."