Service -- Learning Through Photographs
This first photo is highly emblematic of the project that I undertook for this assignment. It is of me and the coaches of the junior league football team that I volunteered for. The person standing right next to me is the head coach, who I worked a number of long hours with to not only help the players on the field, but to help off the field as well. His work ethic was tireless and an inspiration to me and the rest of the staff. The rest of the gentlemen with us are the assistant coaches who have specialized in different aspects of the sport. Both the offensive coordinator and the defensive coordinator are depicted, as well as the special teams specialist. This photo in particular captures the nature of my job, and that of the other supporting coaches. We were responsible for getting these children in a condition to compete with others. Moreover, we were responsible for acting as role models for these young men, so that they could pattern themselves after us and not become wayward people due to the temptation of their surrounding neighborhoods. I personally know that each of these men that I am standing with have taken this responsibility seriously, and that it animates their efforts both on and off the field.
The second photo is a candid shot of the coaches and I in the locker room during halftime of a critical game we were playing. The game was against...
This particular photon truly hones in on the essence of what we, as coaches, were trying to accomplish. We were attempting to beef up our defense to account for the other team's star running back, who had effectively 'burnt' us in the first half nor nearly 100 yards. At the point this photo was taking, we were introducing a new defensive formation that we had only used early in the year during a preseason game. I am pleased to say that not only did the formation work (we were able to stop the running back), but we also won the game. The third photo was selected for my reflection because it illustrates me and the students interacting during one of our games. It underscores the close relationships that I was able to foster with these young men.
I can tell my friend who is not from the community that I was working in with these student athletes that despite the neighborhoods that most of these children call home, they are very good people. They truly have a wide variety of potential and, I have learned, are at critical junctures in their life. They actually see bad examples and the proverbial wrong path every day; meanwhile, they also see positive examples and lives that can be more fulfilling from staying in school, excelling in their studies, and playing hard on the football field. These social issues that are…
