Coaching at Brown...

Coaching started extremely slowly for me. The first few days we only had 4 or 5 kids that could practice. All the kids are required to have a physical before they can practice and this is a very difficult task with these kids. Whether it's because the parents don't know how to get a physical or they don't have the money it is no easy task to get kids on the field. I had meetings with kids during school and was basically walking around the school recruiting kids. I just wanted 11 guys to be able to play a game. Well, eventually I had nearly 20 kids and then... Grade Reports came out. I spent 45 minutes telling about 10 kids individually that they could not play because of grades. One of our best athletes had 7 F's. After hearing more of these kid's stories I quickly realized why they did not care about grades or physicals. They have a lot more to worry about than that. My heart brakes for these kids!

I never thought I would have liked coaching until I started coaching football at Brown Intermediate (in Keller Park). I realized that I not only like it, but I LOVE it! These kids are such a joy to be around. They are not a joy because they never fight, are well behaved, and always listen to me, but because they are in desperate need of somebody to provide stability in their life. They deeply desire a "big brother" who will encourage, discipline, and love them. I love these kids. Some days I get so frustrated with them, but always look forward to pouring into them for 2 hours the next day. This has been a great way to start building relationships with kids in the neighborhood.

We are now up to 22 kids (depending on who shows up each day). Yesterday was our first day with full pads and hitting. The kids had a blast... and so did I!

(Some of those pictured above are not on the team anymore.)

-Kory