Camden, NJ – October 28, 2021 – Over the past 30 years or so, I’ve worked closely with hundreds of young people. Although I’ve worked with several young women and a few white kids as well, the vast majority of the youth were Black males aged 14-21. Here, the focus is young urban Black males. More specifically, young Black males in behavioral programs and/or special education programs. For these youth, school represents a place where they are highly frustrated and repeatedly failing. In far too many instances, it’s just not working. The youth do not know how to learn. Typically, they have poor organization and study skills. They repeatedly fail to complete school work and homework on time. On many occassions, there is a positive family history of members having academic problems, failures, or disinterest.

You can see the problems early. Throughout middle school, many of these young Black males display defiant behavior towards adults and act as if parents, teachers, and other authority figures are the enemy. It’s not uncommon to see 12-14 year olds consistently arguing with adults. Defying and refusing to comply with requests and rules even when they are reasonable, almost seems like the new norm. Many of these youth struggle with the transition to indepndent adulthood and competitive employment.

But there are exceptions… A good number of these struggling young Black students become student-athletes and seriously change their approach to school. There are countless positive outcomes each year.

Overall, it’s a mixed bag. Among the struggling middle and high school students I’ve worked with are the following: a Shop Rite employee that just did 7.5 years in a state penitentiary, a Kintock Halfway house resident trying to transition back into the community after a 6 year bid, a Pharmaceutical Sales Manager, an NBA Assistant Coach, a streets department manager, 5 current NBA players and a boatload of current college student-athletes.

Why such variation? Why have some engaged in criminal activities? Why have some become constructive members of society?

I don’t know… Those are really complex questions social scientists continue to grapple with.

I do know that positive and sustained engagement with schools and educational service providers is crucial factor. The ones that remain engaged with schools and continue to trade school or college fair much better than those that disengage from and ultimately drop out of school. How do you keep these boys engaged in school?

Sports can play an extremely important role in keeping Black males engaged in school. Indeed, great youth coaches understand the role they play in socializing youth through sport. Organized and appropriately managed youth sports play a crucial role in social development for participating youth. For many Black boys, sports is where they learn to actively interact with others, synthesize information, and make decisions for themselves.

Of course, athletic competition, applies stress, anxiety, and social pressure on young athletes. But, this is good stress and anxiety.

Through competitive sports, youth can build and develop character, confidence, and ultimately self-worth. Sports provide opportunities to explore and develop young athletes. Young athletes can identify themselves apart from playing sports through connecting with others and building new relationships. The challenge is to use sports to help youth become better students.

Exactly, how does a youth coach help young boys become better students? How does a youth coach help young boys attain and maintain a level of academic performance that is commensurate with their intellectual ability? How does a youth coach help young boys complete school and homework assignments on a regular basis? How does a youth coach help young boys eliminate patterns of acting out, disruptive, or negative attention seeking behaviors when confronted with frustration in learning?

University of Maryland basketball star, Donta Scott was what is commonly referred to as a “bad” kid in elementary and middle school. As a young boy, he exhibited persistent refusal to comply with school rules and expectations. Today he is the highly respected leader of a nationally ranked Terrapin basketball team. One of the toughest players in college basketball, Scott shares his thoughts on his own educational journey.

Students and student-athletes in behavioral and special education programs, often feel a stigma that interferes with arranging for psycho-educational testing to evaluate the possibility that these youth have learning disabilities and determine whether they are eligible to receive special education services.

Scott walks readers through his own educational career. He details how his youth coach connected his academic performance to opportunities to play basketball. He discusses his high school selection process. More importantly, Scott explains how he took control of his educational decision-making during his college recruitment.

Scott offers students, parents and youth coaches clear examples and practical advice. Anyone that is responsible for or working with young boys exhibiting behavioral issues in school should read this book. Special education students and their parents must familiarize themselves with Scott’s story.

by Eric Dixon

Philadelphia, PA – August 23, 2021 – “All of this happened very quickly.  It was at that point Chaney leaped to his feet and yelled “HE JUST WALKED”!!  So the ref blew the whistle a split second later and called a traveling violation.  I’m sitting there thinking my coach just complained about traveling ON HIS OWN TEAM!” recalled Mike Vreeswyk, the former Temple forward and 1995 Big 5 Hall of Fame inductee. 

This was just one of the many anecdotes Vreeswyk shared with me over email and lunch near his Bucks County home. He compiled a collection of these memories initially shared as social media posts. Some were funny, while others were cautionary, but all were interesting and packed with the lessons he’d learned under legendary head coach, John Chaney, and his experience playing nine plus seasons overseas in locales from Belgium to Japan. 

Through these stories Vreewyk paints an endearing portrait of Coach Chaney, the irascible, foul-mouthed, loving, caring, compassionate and dedicated “builder of men” who “saved lives by offering opportunities”. Chaney, as he did so many who played under him when he stalked the sidelines as head coach at Temple University (1982-2006), left an indelible impression on Vreeswyk, teaching him life lessons that he carried to places beyond his wildest dreams. In winning 741 games as a coach, Chaney did a great job preparing his players to win games. He probably did a better job preparing those young men to win at life.

Vreeswyk came from humble beginnings, enduring many familial hardships, including poverty that drove him to find solace and respite in the confines of the basketball court. It was his safe place after his parents divorced and his world began to crumble. This cauldron of instability and insecurity forged him into a hardworking, humble player with a healthy respect for the scarcity of opportunities and the need to capitalize on them. It would also lead him to an eventual appreciation for the man he came to love and respect. At first he avoided Chaney because he was put off and a bit fearful of his loud and often profane methods of verbal communication. However, as he said in a quote that was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer in connection with Chaney’s induction into the Basketball Hall of fame, he began to be drawn to his wisdom.

“As a freshman I stayed away as much as possible because he was always arguing, fussing, and yelling at me about turnovers and defense.  As a sophomore some of it started to sink in and I actually would drop by the basketball office in between some classes and occasionally in the summer.  As a junior it hit me for the first time that my time in the presence of such knowledge is waning.  The yelling didn’t matter anymore; I wanted to be around coach as much as possible.  As a senior, pure fear set in as I spent seemingly every waking hour with him to soak up as much as I could, knowing it would end soon. And it wasn’t all basketball. Congratulations, coach Chaney, and thanks.” – Philadelphia Inquirer, 2001.

After some uncertainty as to where he would attend HS, the two-time Pennsylvania All-State honoree that broke the scoring records at Morrisville High School chose Temple from amongst 100 or so schools that vied for his services. What came next was a “shocking. . . slap in the face”. The 2000 point scorer who averaged 34 ppg his senior year would find himself nailed to Chaney’s bench his freshman season, which he finished with a poultry 1.5 ppg. “I just had to get better,” said Vreeswyk, who credited his teammates, especially Nate Blackwell, for helping him get through the difficult year.

The following year he would learn the first of the most important lessons he learned under Chaney: “Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready”. Vreeswyk began his sophomore year in a familiar place, the bench. However, after a handful of games where the players in front of him were ineffective, Chaney gave him an opportunity to “earn his trust”. And “Threeswyk”, as he became known, seized it. “I worked hard and I knew I was ready”. 

Another important lesson Chaney imparted to him was the importance of “Understanding one’s self. Know your strengths and weaknesses”. Another facet of that is learning how to thrive in difficult, uncomfortable situations. This lesson helped Vreeswyk endure two separate injuries he suffered in Europe in 1997. A torn meniscus and broken nose threatened to end his campaign but a willingness to endure a surgery he watched and an excruciating procedure to straighten his nose allowed him to continue to play. 

A practical lesson he learned was the value of being punctual and prepared. However, Chaney was not satisfied with just making sure a player was responsible for his own punctuality and preparedness, he also insisted that he be responsible for his roommate as well. On one occasion Vreeswyk found himself darting through an airport concourse frantically in search of a tie because his roommate refused to take the dress code mandate seriously enough. Unfortunately his efforts were fruitless and his roommate travelled to an away contest in Charlotte, NC without the requisite tie and jacket Chaney insisted upon. The roommate was sent home the same day while Chaney chewed Vreeswyk out for not being able to properly assist his roommate.

“Be a good person,” he said, recounting one of the most important lessons he still carries today. Vreeswyk is active in his community and believes in giving back as often as possible. “I never turned anyone down when they ask me to speak at a camp or something” because Vreeswyk understands the impact he can have on people who have watched him over the years and he wants that impact to be a positive one.

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