SKILLFUL, INTENTIONAL, ON PURPOSE – COYOTES PUSH DESERT RIDGE ‘ABOVE THE LINE’

(INDIO) – People don’t experience your intentions. They experience your actions. And choices, choices, choices – regardless of your race, color, creed, upbringing or environment – will make all the difference in the life you lead.

That was the message hammered home this week during the SoCal Coyotes ‘Above the Line’ leadership expo at Desert Ridge Academy. Players of all socio-economic, racial, cultural backgrounds and upbringings explained to middle school students how a life that is skillful, intentional and on-purpose will always defeat the ‘below-the-line’ options of blaming, complaining and excuses.

The testimonies of each Coyote captured the attention of students – and hit sensitive topics head-on. Linebacker Jerimiah Spicer, abandoned by his mother, raised fatherless in orphanages, spoke candidly of his personal fight for survival, and how faith and football intervened.

Team captain and all-time sack leader Jake Sheffield, a two-tour Marine veteran, explained how the military offered him a flight path for success. Linebacker and team captain Gary Young shared how he refused to let issues of abandonment and the lure of Chicago’s mean streets derail his dream to graduate with a four-year degree.

At the heart of the Coyotes presentation is their ‘Above the Line’ leadership curriculum, which includes a 50-question quiz that provides students a path for personal growth and self-improvement.

Other participating Coyote players included receiver Matt Arias, offensive lineman Raphael Smiley, linebacker Jordan Warford, and defensive end Michael Ambrose, who signed autographs, attended special classes and shared one-on-one.

KMIR sports journalist Amy Zimmer updated Coachella Valley viewers on the program’s impact. Also in attendance were Indio City Councilman Glenn Miller, former NFL Player’s Association program director Joel Williams, Coyote board member Marvin Azzopardi, Coyote Athletic Director Robert L. Cummings, and Coyote board member and assistant head coach Lynn Cain.

-SVP Ron DiGrandi ([email protected])

ABOUT THE SOCAL COYOTES

The SoCal Coyotes are the national standard of American developmental football. The Coyotes non-profit organization provides elite athletes a professional environment that refines and showcases their skills through trademarked processes similar to the NBA’s D-league and MLB’s minor-league systems.

NFL executives have named the SoCal Coyotes organization America’s #1 Developmental Football Program™ for its national, scalable brands, community outreach programs, five-year operating track record, verifiable data, youth curriculum, sales, public-private sector alliances, and measured results.