COYOTES TACKLE ‘MIDDLE SCHOOL EXCUSES’ AT NELLIE N. COFFMAN – ‘LOSE THAT BIG OL’ BUT’

Posted on September 19, 2015

(CATHEDRAL CITY) – ‘But I can’t …’ – ‘but I forgot’ – ‘but I didn’t know it was due’ – ‘but I wasn’t listening’ – ‘but I lost it’ – ‘but I was sick’ – ‘but it’s not my fault’- ‘but …’

With the same fervor as they attack opposing teams, the three-time champion SoCal Coyotes non-profit sports leadership organization attacked the biggest and most common excuses in the lives of middle schoolers Friday at Nellie N. Coffman, and administered their esteemed ‘Coyote Leadership Quiz’ for the third straight year to the school’s nearly 2,000 students.

Kids roared when asked about the ‘biggest but’ in their lives – but then the Coyotes got down to business.

Coyotes players and coaches implored that “to take that next step in your life, you’ve got to lose that big ol’ but – those excuses or those choices or those friends or the drama standing between you and a really exciting life.”

The Coyotes’ all-day presentations included audio-visuals, question-and-answer sessions, and of couse, they backed it up with telling stories from the players themselves, which included defensive back John Paiz, former Defensive Player of the Year Cedric Cox and defensive back Ridge Turner.

As hundreds of kids at a time sat on the edge of their seats, defensive back John Paiz transparently shared of how poor choices nearly derailed his dreams. The only thing that kept him going ‘was a mom who kept praying, kept working, kept believing in me, until I quit being a knucklehead.’

The gripping story of Coyotes cornerback Ridge Turner brought tears to the eyes of one educator. Turner, one of the nation’s most recruited athletes in the history of Louisiana football, had his life turned upside down after Hurricane Katrina, when his school was wiped out and he found himself living in a FEMA trailer.

“I had every excuse in the world to give up, to quit,” Turner said. Instead, after three high schools merged to form one, Turner took his team to the state championship in the Louisiana Superdome, and was the game’s MVP. The story of Turner and his teammates became the subject of a best-selling book and award-winning New York Times series.

Turner didn’t stop there. He earned a college scholarship and graduated from West Alabama, and today is among the Coyotes’ most coveted prospects.

With hundreds of their peers watching, Coyotes Head coach J David Miller recognized some of the school’s straight-A students at the front of the room. “I want to see the real workers, the ones who are really committed to pulling the wagon around here,” Coach Miller encouraged.

“Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future,” the AAA Hall of Fame coach said.

-Brandon O’Neill, VP Program Development