Leslie Kelly, Academic Coach Ben Davis HS, Indianapolis, IN

Leslie Kelly,
Academic Coach,
Ben Davis High School
Indianapolis, IN
leslie.kelly@wayne.k12.in.us

Successfully managing study table for 198 football players each week takes some planning and experimenting. After trying it several ways, the decision was made to separate the different classes, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, for several reasons. We [the two academic coaches and the football coaching staff] found that the sophomores and juniors were spending a lot of time trying to impress the seniors. The next iteration had the juniors and seniors together and the sophomores in a separate room; the sophomores are somewhat inattentive and chatty as well as much less mature than the juniors and seniors. That seemed only okay, but the juniors then spent too much time trying to impress the seniors.

We made the strategic decision this year [The program began in Spring of 2006, but this is our first year as a Play It Smart school.] to separate the players into their own classes in separate rooms; our sophomores, juniors and seniors have Thursday study table and our freshmen are in the Ninth Grade Center and have study table on Wednesdays. Many additional study table hours are logged by those who are failing or doing poorly overall. Those who are ineligible attend study table daily Monday through Thursdays. To date our 10th – 12th graders have over a 90% attendance rate at assigned study tables!

Having a senior study table has been an excellent decision. Leslie Kelly, the high school academic coach [Mari Atherton is the Ninth Grade Center academic coach.], has been in charge each week. The seniors have been able to sign up for the NCAA Clearinghouse, ACT tests, SAT tests, as well as meet with teachers one-on-one in many instances to improve C-, D, and F grades. [These are the grades regularly tracked since F is 64% and under and a C- is 72% and under; there is not much margin for error, and final exams are worth 15%!] The Counseling Department, including the College Counselor, has been able to come and talk with the players about college choices as well as a recent college fair that was well attended by the players.

Several of the players have been to signed up for free and reduced lunch after it was determined they were eligible. This allowed them to have a voucher so they could take the ACT and/or SAT for free.

The Athletic Department bought 10 SAT/ACT Prep sets [CD with old questions as well as a guidebook explaining the test] and several graphic calculators to use on the tests.
The cohesiveness and bonding that has taken place with this group has been wonderful to watch; even the parents have noticed the difference. We have reaped benefits on and off the field. Several of those who had originally not planned on college are now on the track to go; 100% are now planning to go to college at this point in time. The players have motivated one another; the conversations within the group have assured that all the players will have taken the ACT and/or SAT tests by November. They have shown genuine concern about one another’s grades, and a few have worked together almost study group style on a math class that has proven to be particularly hard for some of them.

Two outstanding outcomes have occurred within days of one another recently. On the field, our senior quarterback, MarQueis Gray, who suffered a break on his non-throwing arm, returned for the Carmel-Ben Davis game and had the game of his career. The day of the game, we had a fall sports pep rally in the afternoon that fired up the players, especially the seniors; it was Senior Night. The game was electric; many of the seniors played the best game of their careers. MarQueis played quarterback and receiver, scoring three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving. He lived up to his pre-season Parade All American billing. #9 Ben Davis defeated #3 Carmel 28-27. The film from the game will provide a visual history of what a highly motivated senior class can do on Senior Night. But, the best was still to come.

Midterm grades were due the day before the game. Again the seniors provided an example of what a highly motivated group of students can do. At First Progress, there were 19 F’s amongst the seniors; at midterm, there were only two F’s; they have vowed to fix those. The overall grades for this group have really jumped. They heard our message that, even if the other years weren’t the best, if you can have a great senior year with a 2.5 or above, we can make a case with recruiters that you are a reformed scholar- athlete. This has been a great group of young men to work with and their progress is exciting. Rather than having to track them down now, many stop by to report what they have done as far as college applications and preparations are concerned. Most of them will probably play college athletics, a few in another sport. Even those who are marginal academically feel they will get a college education.

The fact that four of our players are committed verbally to Division I schools [3 in football and 1 in soccer] has really motivated the other 19. The parents are getting more involved and calling to make sure their sons are signed up the ACT and/or SAT tests, as well as doing what is expected with their studies.

Next stop: the breakfast at 7:00 a.m. for the 15 players taking the ACT October 27th. What a difference a year makes!

With major financial support from a broad-coalition of corporations, communities, individuals and organizations, including the NFL and the NFL Players Association, the Play It Smart program has quickly become one of the most comprehensive and effective youth development programs in the country, achieving dramatic results that include:

• 95% of seniors graduating high school, compared to 85% of their peers;



• 80% of seniors enrolling in college compared to 62% of their peers;



• Participants taking the SAT or ACT at twice the rate of their peers;



• Participants completing more than 67,000 hours of community service annually;



• Rosters increasing by 35% for teams with fewer than 40 players;



• Participants earning more than $6 million a year in scholarships; and



• 200-plus graduates earning places among the elite collegiate ranks during the 2007 season on Football Bowl Subdivision rosters.

Play It Smart builds on the positive peer influences of team sports and a participant's interest in football. The program's academic coaches are trained in a set of guiding principles and a variety of tactics, which are designed to make academic achievement the norm. Working closely with the direct support of a team's head coach and others in the community, academic coaches hold one-on-one goal setting meetings, career and life skills sessions, mandatory study halls, SAT/ACT prep classes, community service projects and other team building events.

ABOUT PLAY IT SMART
Play It Smart is an educational program established in 1998 by The National Football Foundation. The program's mission is to help student-athletes take responsibility for their futures through lessons learned on the playing field, in the classroom, and in service to others. At the heart of the program is a year-round academic coach, an official member of a team's staff, who serves as a direct link to the classroom by helping players and the team set and achieve their academic and personal development goals during the entire school year. Learn more at www.PlayItSmart.org.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME:
With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.

NFF