THE EXTRA YARD
Arizona high school football players help out those in need
They play for Friday nights.
But beyond the lights, in places where people are sometimes forgotten, Arizona high school football players find their greatest rewards.
Giving back. Feeding the hungry. Providing comfort for the homeless. Putting a smile on the faces of people who are hurting inside. Making dreams come true.
“It makes me feel better as a person, knowing I’ve bettered someone else’s life,” said Mesa Red Mountain senior cornerback Shaq Daniels. “It’s crazy to see how something we can take for granted is life-changing for another.”
This Sunday, Daniels will be heading to south Phoenix to help feed the homeless.
He also visits people in hospice, as part of DreamCatchers, a group of volunteers who help terminally ill patients. Patients’ wishes are wide-ranging: going sailing, visiting the ocean, taking a helicopter ride to see their home town, uniting with family, attending a professional sports game.
Daniels got involved with his teammate, senior free safety Zach Molina, whose mom was executive director of the organization and now serves on the board. Molina started a club at the school, where he is president and Daniels is vice president. Molina’s mom, Ashley Trussell, got them partnered with East Valley Hospice.
DreamCatchers was founded by a then-15-year-old in California, Caitlin Crommett, who got the idea for it after watching the movie, “Patch Adams,” in 2009.
Trussell said it has grown not only among the Red Mountain football players but in 11 states with 28 schools in the country. Red Mountain did a “family vacation of a lifetime,” raising money for four days for a woman with cancer and her husband, Trussell said.
“It’s an honor to see youth today go out and make a difference,” Trussell said. “It’s fun to see (Zach) walk in to see a patient he never met and give a hug and put a smile on their face. These kids care about them. The patients are not focused on the end of life but the dream coming true.”
“It really leaves you speechless sometimes,” Molina said.
As much joy as it gives James Daniels to see his son shut down a top receiver on Friday nights, these are the blessings that last forever.
“I grew up personally in poverty with a dad who was in and out of prison,” James Daniels said. “I saw a lot of hardships growing up. My grandparents and great-grandparents, who were sharecroppers, showed me about hard work.
“It left me with our family motto: ‘Love God, love each other, love other people.’ ”
Ripple effect
At Laveen Cesar Chavez High School, junior quarterback Lucas Arnds and his backup, junior Josh Garcia, started a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group. They lead Bible studies. They’ve gotten other athletes, boys and girls, from other sports, involved.
During the holiday season, they will assist families in the community who need an extra boost.
“We live in south Phoenix,” said Mark Garcia, a church pastor, who is Josh’s dad. “We want kids to do better. We want them to go higher in education. I’ve got nieces and nephews who are first generation college graduates from ASU and UA.
“Josh is about what makes your life better, makes your school better, makes your community better, makes your city better. It’s a ripple effect.”
With Arnds suffering a season-ending clavicle injury last week, Garcia, who also starts on defense, now leads the offense. Together, they help each other on and off the field to bring light to lives that have been shattered.
“The holidays are coming up, and we know this is a lot of good times for families, just as it is a lot of bad times for others,” Josh said. “We’re picking out two families in the school. The school is getting involved in it. We’re going to help them with Thanksgiving, getting them money to get them food. And even for Christmas, we’re picking out another two families to help them out. We take a lot of things for granted being with our families.”
Coach J.R. Alcantar said those character traits translate on the field, where the Champions are in position to clinch a 6A state playoff berth on Friday night with a win in the final regular-season game.
“It’s awesome to see them actually want to do it,” Alcantar said of Garcia and Arnds starting the school’s FCA program. “Thursday morning, they come in brighteyed, ready to go.”
Love notes
Avondale Westview football coach Nick Gehrts said his team partnered with Natalie Reilly, who started a mission called, “Nothing But Love Notes.”
On her website is an explanation of how it began:
“Mom was coming off of 19 rounds of chemotherapy. It was a tough go for us both! We were looking for something to take our minds off of our own misery, hers as a cancer patient and mine as her daughter/caregiver, and so one day we went out into the world with a simple idea. Together, we reignited the old tradition of handwriting Love Notes to our heroes--veterans, law enforcement officers, firefighters and the like. It didn’t take us long to realize we were onto something special!
“Mom’s been gone for almost a year now, but our collective dream of spreading love to our best and bravest, those who have shown courage, love and compassion to our country and community in the most selfless and essential of ways, is growing stronger every day!
“Somewhere along the way I lost my mother, my best friend and biggest cheerleader, but I gained something I never would have expected ... an entire community of amazing people who support me, our mission and our nation’s heroes, something much bigger and braver than mom and I put together! “13,000+ Love Notes later ... “Nothing but Love,
“Natalie
Gehrts got Reilly to meet with his players. She was amazed as how receptive a room full of 150 boys embraced the project.
“I’ve had grown men break down and cry on my shoulders,” said Reilly, who has a degree in communications at Arizona State. “From police officers to veterans from the Korean and Vietnam wars.
“The magic is in the handwriting, to take time to hand-write notes.”
Gehrts said that all 150 of the players in his program wrote love notes. Many were to First Responders and veterans. Some were to family members.
The Knights wanted to do more. On Sept, 28, for their game against Tolleson, the school held its inaugural First Responders Appreciation Night with Reilly’s help. Avondale Police and Fire, along with Goodyear Fire, Tolleson Fire and the Sheriff’s Department all were represented.
Reilly brought with her Debbie Edenhofer, the mother of 24-year-old Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper Tyler Edenhofer, who was killed in the line of duty on I-10 north of the school in July. That left an impact on the players. Westview senior defensive back/ wide receiver Kayden Staples said he was moved to send a love note to his mom.
“I wrote home to my mom and it brought her to tears,” he said. “I wrote what she meant to me, that she’s my hero, just like the Marines, the Army or the Air Force. She’s my hero for all she does for me and the football players and everyone.
“We had a good moment with that.”