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StumbleuponFlyers football team provides life lessons, first taste of turf
Thursday, October 23, 2008
UD's James Ward pairs up with Brandon Aning of the Monroe Hornets youth football team to do stretches during the Hornets' visit to Welcome Stadium during the Flyers' 'Tuesday Night Lights' outreach program Tuesday, Oct. 21.DAYTON — The University of Dayton football team has given up less than one sack per game this season, but the other night Flyers quarterback Rob Florian — no matter which way he turned, twisted or stretched — found himself hemmed in by two guys from the other team.
Colin Wilson and Zack York of the Monroe Hornets pressed Florian far more than any defender from Davidson, Drake or Central State has been able to do this year.
But then that's what "Tuesday Night Lights" are all about.
Most Tuesday nights of the season, the Flyers invite area youth league teams to join their practices at Welcome Stadium. That's how the Monroe sixth-grade team and the Black Eagles, a flag football team of 7- to 9-year-olds from the Kettering YMCA, found themselves side by side with the college guys Tuesday night, Oct. 21.
"Coach (Rick) Chamberlin gives them a pep talk and then they go on the field and warm up with the team," said Stacey Ferranti, a UD junior who's interning with the athletic department. "It's an opportunity for them to be a part of our family and have fun, too."
And did they ever.
The Hornets — with their gold pants and blue jerseys over their pads — arrived before anyone else, and as soon as they stepped onto the plush, new artificial turf at Welcome, they acted, well, like kids.
Somersaults into the end zone, zig-zagging sprints across the field, whoops, hollers and lots of laughter.
The younger Kettering kids, who play on a grass field next to the YMCA, arrived next and were in awe.
"Most of these kids have never been on turf," said their coach, Scott Saad, a UD middle linebacker himself once. "This is a big thing for them to be inside a college stadium."
They were part of the Flyers fold, as well, said Chamberlin.
"Tonight, you guys aren't just Monroe Hornets or Black Eagles," the coach said in his from-the-heart talk. "You're in our place. You're part of our team. You're Dayton Flyers."
'Our kids are loving it'
The Hornets, who play other Southwestern Buckeye League teams, have finished their regular schedule and are awaiting three postseason games.
"After the regular season, we try to do some fun things with the kids," said head coach Mike Kaiser. "Last week we went to see the (Ernie Davis) movie, 'The Express.' (Tonight), we have a picnic and practice and (Tuesday) we came here. Our kids are loving it."
Chris Wilson, the Hornets offensive coordinator agreed: "After seeing this, we'd like to bring our kids every year if we could."
With the players assembled in the Welcome bleachers, Chamberlin talked to them about his own football maturation:
"I started playing football when I was 10 years old. Do we have any 10-year-olds here tonight?"
"I WAS 10," piped up 11-year-old Christian Jones.
As parents laughed, Chamberlin never missed a beat: "You're over the hill now."
Chamberlin told the kids how he had not known how to block, tackle or even line up, and how the most influential people in his football career had been his pee wee coaches: "They taught me the game. They developed my love for football."
Several of the kids told him they'd like to play college football, and that's when he hammered home a point.
"Let's say I come to Monroe six years from now to recruit you. The first thing I'll ask is not how fast or strong you are or how many touchdowns you scored. I'm going to ask what kind of grades you have. And if you don't have good grades, I'm not talking to you."
Dave Roediger — whose son, Sam, is a Driscoll Elementary fourth-grader and plays for the Black Eagles — liked what he heard: "He really brought up some good points to the kids."
But for everything the youth-leaguers got, the Flyers got just as much in return, said UD offensive coordinator Dave Whilding.
"Our guys like it because they're a hero for a night. They're the big guys, and I think it makes them feel good kind of adopting a kid, doing calisthenics with him and talking to him about football and his life. They think — and rightfully so — it's kind of helping these little kids."
Mutual admiration
When it was time for the youth leaguers to take the field — sometimes with parents in tow to take some photos — Chamberlin told them to seek out the Flyers with their same number or the guy who played their same position.
And so Monroe's Jordan Yareletts pared up with UD strong safety Steve McDonald, who soon was asking him about how he felt about going into junior high next year and whether he went to watch Monroe's high school team play.
"It was awesome," Yareletts said.
And while the two kids who flanked Florian thought it was "pretty cool," it was York's mom who was most impressed. "He told them to keep their grades up and not do drugs," Mandy Hoffman said.
For Florian, this was as much remembering the past as it was trying to guide someone's future.
"All of us enjoy this, too," he said. "It's the highlight of our week. We were all sixth-graders once.
"I remember going to (Cincinnati) Elder games, sitting on the sidelines and yelling guys names, just hoping they'd acknowledge me. And if you got a high-five from them, it made your night.
"The other thing about these Tuesday nights, it brings a new life to our practices. Sometimes you get so intense, so focused, and this reminds you to have a little fun, too. It reminds us of the love we had for this game right from the start."
And when warm-ups were finally done, and it was time for the youngsters to retreat to the sidelines, there was a bit of dismay from one Hornet.
"Can we hit?" Christian (I WAS 10) Jones had asked Chamberlin earlier.
With a faint smile, the UD coach had declined: "No, we've got a game this weekend. I don't want you hurting my players."
And yet on this night — even though the Hornets and Black Eagles had not been allowed to hit — it was evident they had left a mark on the Flyers.
