December 2014


www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


Youth Football Coaches Tackle Violence Issue Head On


The Hampton Roads Messenger 3


that the right people are in coaching positions starting at the earliest ages, to avoid what we see happening today in the NFL.


“Part of the hiring process (for coaches) is not just their knowledge of football; it’s about what impact they would like to make in their community,” said Matelita Asuega, president of the NLB pop warner league. “We are always looking for someone who wants to be a life coach,” she added.


The pop warner league has been a part of North Long Beach’s community fabric for years, said Asuega, and with that connection comes a sense of responsibility to teach kids the importance of being good people, and not just good football players.


Antonio Pierce, high school football coach and former NFL player, talks to his players at Long Beach Polytechnic High. / photo: Victor Martin, Jr.


BY VICTOR MARTIN, JR. The latest accusation


of domestic


abuse perpetrated by a professional athlete surfaced last month, when a doctor reported that NBA player Dwight Howard used “excessive force” while physically his 6-year-old son.


someone Football


close to them. League players


“Discipline goes a long way in life and I just try to break bad habits at this young age because if you don’t break them now, it’s going to be [hard] to break them as they get older,” said Villalobos.


disciplining


It was the fifth major story to come out this year about a pro athlete allegedly abusing National


Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice and Greg Hardy, and MMA fighter Jonathan Koppenhaver, have all been in the spotlight, igniting conversations across the nation about whether high-contact sports cultivate a culture of violence.


In Long Beach, a town with a long history of sending prep athletes on to pro stardom, some local football coaches are choosing to address the violence issue directly; chipping away at what they describe as a culture of aggression in the sport.


And they are starting young.


“I’m a big fan of the NFL, but overall I don’t


believe that the guys are


role models anymore,” said Gabriel Villaobos, head coach of the “tiny mite” team – they are the youngest age group (5-7 year olds) in the North Long


Beach league.


The task of teaching such small children and instilling them with a moral code of conduct, said the coach, is not easy. But it beats the alternative.


Pop Warner football


Being disciplined on the football field at an early age, he added, can pay dividends down the road for players, in other areas of their life.


Whether or not the recent behaviors exhibited by NFL players off the field are viewed as isolated incidents or part of a deeper problem, Villalobos said pro league officials could do better by taking a page from his pop-warner book.


“They need to be more involved in their player’s lives,” Villalobos said. “They need to be more on to their Instagram, and just monitor their lives.”


Despite the bad rap football has garnered from the recent domestic violence cases, not all parents who let their kids play football blame the sport itself for giving rise to the violence.


“I believe that (behavior) is already in you and if that type of aggression is already in you, it’s going to come out in some way,” said one parent of a North Long Beach “mighty mite,” the 7-9 year-old team.


The responsibility of teaching right from wrong shouldn’t


coaches, added the parent, but should start at home.


Others argue that precisely because kids are so impressionable, it is critical


You are cordially invited to attend...


City Council meetings... Norfolk - regular meetings are held on the first and fourth Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and the second and third Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.


Chesapeake - regular meetings are held on the second, third and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.


Newport News - regular business meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 p.m.


Suffolk - regular meetings are held on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.


Hampton - typically take place on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m.


Virginia Beach - meets on the first four Tuesdays of each month. In July the meetings are scheduled on the first two Tuesdays only. Formal session begins at 6 p.m.


Portsmouth - meeting dates are the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.


fall on the


“Our coaches always talk to kids about domestic violence and street violence,” Asuega said. “That built up frustration from class or school -- save that for six o’clock. You come on the field and that’s where you let the frustration out.”


If recent events in the NFL prove anything, said


Antonio Pierce,


head football coach at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, it is that the violence being encouraged between the lines can sometimes seep into


the private sphere. Pierce, a former linebacker who played nine seasons in the NFL, should know.


“A lot of factors go into it, but


obviously, when you’re dealing with a violent sport those characteristics are hard to turn on and off,” Pierce said.


While he suggested that on-the-field violence and off-the-field incidents are linked to a certain degree, Pierce said he believes such incidents also have much to do with a player’s personal background and upbringing. A majority of players in the league, he noted, come from economically poor households, and may not have had a positive male role model growing up.


Partly for that reason, said Pierce, some NFL players lose sight of the fact that they are role models. Which is why Pierce makes it a point to remind his high school athletes that, even at their level, they are much more than just football players.


“We always talk about what’s going on in life -- not just high school, but in the NFL and in the world. The good part about it and the sad part about it is, you can look at someone like Ray Rice and say, ‘Is that the path you want to go down?’”


Governor McAuliffe Announces New Work Readiness Modules Offered Through SkillsOnline


Modules to help workers get training to succeed in 21st century Virginia economy


Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today the public launch of the new work readiness modules


offered


through SkillsOnline at a meeting hosted by the Peninsula Council for Workforce Development. Working with subject matter experts, WHRO is using instructional and online course development


expertise to create


the first five of 21 work readiness courses identified by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service as those needed by employees for career entry and advancement.


They include: (1)


Applied Mathematics, (2) Reading for Information, (3) Locating Information, (4)


be available


Citizenship, and (5) Understanding Health, Wellness and Safety. courses will


through


SkillsOnline and other venues free of charge by spring of 2015. These modules are partially funded by grants from the Hampton Roads’ Community Foundation and the Corporation for the


Public American


Broadcasting Graduate


through program.


Additional funding is being sought from foundations and other private sources to produce the remaining courses and collateral materials.


Speaking about today’s announcement, Governor McAuliffe said, “Workforce development is a key component for creating a new Virginia economy. The work readiness modules are an


example help of the employers public-private


partnership that is increasing access for Virginians to workforce training, will


put more


Virginians to work, and will provide no-cost resources for educators and local government training providers.”


WHRO intends to make these career readiness modules freely available to every Workforce Investment Board, social services agency, K-12 school, community


college, and


Internet Use and Safety-Digital These


in the Commonwealth to use in an instructor-led environment. content


blended will be distributed eMediaVa(SM), which learning


Additionally, course through WHRO


operates through a contract with the Virginia Department of Education and serves more than 145,000 Virginia teachers in public, private and home schools across the state.


“Talent development is critical for


catalyzing economic growth in the Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones. “WHRO’s career readiness modules are an important tool for students of all ages to get access to the skills they need to succeed in careers of the 21st century.”


In partnership with four southeastern Virginia


community colleges,


including Thomas Nelson Community College, Paul D. Camp Community College,


Eastern Shore Community College and Rappahannock Community


College, the work


readiness modules will be offered primarily through the new SkillsOnline portal created by WHRO. SkillsOnline is


WHRO’s new professional


development and workforce training portal that offers nearly 3,500 courses that


are affordably priced different industry categories.


“WHRO Public Media is experienced in creating engaging online learning courses currently used by pre-K to grade 12 teachers and students across Virginia


for free, funded by the


Virginia Department of Education,” said Bert Schmidt,


employer


CEO of WHRO. “We are a non-profit organization owned by the 19 school divisions of southeastern Virginia and use our broadcast and production facilities to create engaging modules which capture and hold the attention of today’s online media savvy students.”


President and in 19


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