Kingsessing: Through Teamwork, Coach Teaches More Than Football To Youth
As a sixth grade student, Dontae Privette walked by the Kingsessing Recreation Center every day to get to school. “I’ve always just been connected to Kingsessing and this neighborhood,” said Privette, who grew up nearby in West Philadelphia. Now he’s constantly at the center, where he works as the executive director of the Kingsessing Roadrunners, […]
Olney: Coaches Teach Young Players More Than Just Football
The youths of Philadelphia are growing up in dangerous times. The city’s 2013 Youth Violence Prevention Plan states that, “Over the past six years, 5,051 young Philadelphians ages 14 to 24 have been shot or killed.” The coaching staff of the Olney Eagles tries to keep their players away from violence by giving them a safe, supportive environment […]
Kensington: Timoteo League Coaches Leading Players in Positive Direction
Timoteo continues to grow. The Timoteo Flag Football League began in 2005 when three churches decided to create an outlet where the youth of Philadelphia could learn leadership skills. The three churches, Bethel Temple, Light House and Urban Hope recruited 12 men to coach six different teams. The board chose the name Timoteo because the name […]
Juniata Park: MVP360 Offers More Than Just Sports
Lighthouse Field is home of the Philadelphia Eagles. No, not the Eagles you’re probably thinking of, but the Eagles flag football team. Find yourself at the field on a Saturday and you may have a chance to see them in action. The Eagles flag football team is part of MVP360, a nonprofit leadership development program […]
South Philadelphia: LGBT Community Comes Together Through Football
Mention football and South Philadelphia in the same sentence and most people will instinctively think of the Eagles. However, across the street from Lincoln Financial Field, at FDR Park, another kind of football is making a difference. The Greater Philadelphia Flag Football League provides not only a competitive athletic experience but a social atmosphere that […]
Strawberry Mansion: Neighborhood High School Holds First Annual Homecoming Football Game
It was a historic moment at 29th Street and Chalmers Field as Strawberry Mansion High School held its first annual homecoming football game Saturday, Oct. 17. The Strawberry Mansion Knights beat the Immaculate Conception Lions from Montclair, New Jersey 46-32. About 100 people were in attendance. “It was a good game. We played hard,” Joshua Hunter, […]
Concussion Series: The Tau of Brain Injuries
The brain is a complicated organ. Containing billions of neurons, it is responsible for controlling the body, from reflexes to memories to body organs. In a way, it acts as a central computer, storing a variety of data for a person to use later. For 15 years, Dr. Dianne Langford, a neurologist at Temple University’s […]
Concussion Series: ““You Almost Don’t Know What a Concussion is Like Until You Go Through One.”
From the turf field at 11th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue, one can hear the high-pitched frequency of whistles blowing mixed with the unmistakable sounds of coaches yelling as the St. Joseph’s Prep lacrosse team practices. The time is now 5:30. Practice is almost over with only 30 minutes remaining. Head coach Andy German is […]
Concussion Series: “All Athletes are Taught to be Tough.”
In sports, one play can change everything. For Tracy Yatsko, then a 17-year-old athlete for Tamaqua Area High School located in Schuylkill County, PA, that play occurred during a basketball game. Jumping for a loose ball, Yatkso hit her head against an opponent’s. The result – a concussion. According to Jefferson University Hospitals’ Comprehensive Concussion […]
Strawberry Mansion: Revamped High School Trying to Make a Comeback
In the 2011-2012 school year, 26 assaults and eight serious incidents involving weapons took place within the walls of Strawberry Mansion High School, according to school district data. The following year, those numbers dropped to nine assaults and three incidents with weapons. That was the year Linda Cliatt-Wayman became the school’s principal. By fall 2013, for the first […]