While coaching varsity football at Sacramento’s Encina High School, college quarterback and punter Greg Roeszler, discovered a disturbing fact – that one of his student athletes was sleeping in his car to avoid returning to a troubled home.
Digging deeper with his team revealed that the majority of his players faced daily struggles to survive and were surrounded by crime, gangs, violence, drugs and alcohol. Believing that coaches hold a key to building skills beyond the field, Roeszler founded The Playmakers – a non-profit organization designed to build leadership and character through sports and academics.
Founded in 2009, The Playmakers began as a summer football camp integrating football skills and character lessons. Playmakers then evolved to provide after school and summer reading programs for at-risk youth, and an annual Summer Football Academy for regional high schools.
The Playmakers touched the lives of more than 2,000 students and athletes. Now, our vision for the future is to expand and affect even more kids on a national level. By partnering with community leaders and agencies, we can spread The Playmakers curriculum on a national scale. We can reduce bullying and give youth tools to overcome their challenges.
This book—and Playmaker Clinics—will open you to new possibilities that can change the trajectory of a young person, as well as your own. You will learn about the awesome power of a coach/mentor, and how he or she can impact their community. We hope you will join us in changing kids’ and families’ lives for the better.
This book is about raising kids with character. Character builds leadership. That’s the bigger win. In his own unique way, Coach Roz shares 22 Practical Quotes which he uses to teach today’s youth what it means to be a person of character.
With Coach Roz, success in life starts on the playing field where kids learn lessons that last a lifetime. The Playmakers summer sports camps change the lives of inner-city kids. Learn Coach Roz’s methods so you, too, can coach for that bigger win at home and in school, as well as on the field.
