Troubled teens get lessons from student athletes

At age 15, Corey was already selling pot on the streets of his home town of Cuba, Mo. Not long after, he was arrested for drug distribution and sentenced to probation.

But that didn't cause him to change. He still regularly skipped school and didn't meet several of the probation conditions set by the judge.

Corey, now 17, says he has changed more in the last four months than he ever had, thanks to his stay at the Girardeau Center, a group home for at-risk youngsters.

"I've learned a lot about expressing myself and impulse control," Corey said. "It's taught me a lot about working together and working for what I want instead of letting it slip through my fingers."

On Saturday, Corey and 120 other troubled youths got another life-affirming lesson -- this time from student athletes at Southeast Missouri State University.

The youngsters, from group homes in Cape Girardeau, New Madrid and Poplar Bluff, spent time with Redhawk football and baseball players. They started the afternoon with a rough-and-tumble game of touch football and followed it up with words of encouragement from Redhawk football players like Travion Brock, Charles McCoy, Elijah Willis and Jerod Odom.

Later, they ate hot dogs and drank sodas at a football tailgate party before watching the Redhawks game. During the game, it was announced that the group home teens were there.

Those who organize the event say it's a good opportunity for at-risk youths to have positive role models.

"It's good for them to see the opportunities in life besides what they've been brought up in," said Todd Long, a group leader at the Girardeau Center. "The players always tell them to be patient and work hard and that helps them realize they can change."

Children in group homes run by the Missouri Division of Youth Services are generally 13 to 17 years old and have committed some sort of criminal act, such as using alcohol or drugs, Long said. They are sent to group homes for an average stay of six to nine months. There are currently 24 staying at the Girardeau Center.

Perhaps the highlight -- aside from the fun of the football game -- was the talk the teens had later with football players. Sitting on the floor inside the university weight room, the youngsters listened attentively as the players spoke of second chances.

Travion Brock, the Redhawk linebacker, spoke of growing up on the rough streets of St. Louis, where he said he quickly learned who his real friends were.

"Most of my friends, or the people I thought were my friends, are dead or in jail," he said. "I got away from that. They were all about drugs, drinking and all that other mess. It's not worth it. Life's too short."

Fellow linebacker Elijah Wood said that they should start with getting a good education.

"I've got a future, brother," he said. "You can, too. You've had set-backs. But you're young. Life's not over. Ask yourself: 'Do I need to die? Do I want to get locked up?'"

Defensive lineman Jerod Odom told the teens that speaking to them was more important to him than playing that day's game.

"I went to school with a lot of guys in your situation," he said. "But whatever you did bad, it's in the past. I watched y'all play football today. Some of y'all have talent. If you're a good athlete, that could be your ticket out."

Linebacker Fred Williams said he'd been there.

"Everything you thought of doing, I did," he said. "But I chose a different path. I was given a second chance. Take that second chance."

The event is put on by the Southeast's Criminal Justice Department. Department chair Dr. John Wade said the event also helps the at-risk youths to feel accepted.

"We want them to feel like they're still part of society," he said. "It's all about second chances. We want them to know that they can be somebody."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137