Football players from Destrehan High School, and Albert Cammon and Harry Hurst middle schools had the chance to connect with community leaders and learn some important lessons about life as the second edition of DHS head football coach Marcus Scott’s “Man School” was in session last week.
The focus of the event is on teaching the players valuable life lessons to help them evolve into better men, students, teammates and community members. Scott had put aspects of the Man School program into practice in prior years both at Destrehan and at his prior coaching stops, but the first official event brought all of those elements together last year. The second session last week built on that.
“Especially when you’re talking about young men who are getting out into the real world, the workforce – people assume you know these things once get to that age,” Scott said. “We don’t want to assume they know or will pick it up all by themselves. We have to make sure we do our part (as mentors). This is all so they’ve been introduced to important information and to skills that they’re going to need in their lives.
“We realize if we don’t teach these skills between the 9th and 12th grade, very few people are going to take the time to do that when they’re older.”
While the initial session just included Destrehan players, those from Cammon and Hurst were new additions this time around.
“This time it was a little bit bigger,” Scott said. “I plan to go and discuss the same topics with the sixth and seventh graders (at Hurst and Cammon), just on a smaller scale.”
There was also a larger roster of guest speakers – five, each covering a different subject. Dr. Ken Oertling, superintendent of St. Charles Parish Public Schools, spoke about the importance of serving your community. Regina McMillan, SCPPS director of communications, spoke about public speaking and social media. Former SCPPS superintendent Felecia Gomez-Walker covered time management, and financial advisor Anitra Blue-Francis tackled financial literacy. St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne spoke about conflict resolution.
Each speaker presented for 10 to 15 minutes before taking questions.
Some topics rotate through sessions of Man School, while others have been touched on during both occasions. With the plan being to have sessions in spring and fall of each year, players should be well-versed in all of the subjects by the end of their respective tenures.
While students will no doubt make mistakes growing up, sometimes some simple preparation and consideration of certain scenarios can make all the difference.
“Sheriff Champagne spoke of knowing a young man who made a split-second decision, and it likely cost him the rest of his life in prison,” Scott said. “So, we talked about, No. 1, you have to stay cool and in control of your emotions and No. 2, you have to be able to deescalate a situation and maintain your dignity as a young man. You’ve got so much testosterone and ego when you’re dealing with men and you need to understand how to deescalate as much as possible. That all starts with self-control.”
Scott’s Wildcats have enjoyed tremendous success off the field, but the coach has always stressed the importance in his profession of mentoring student-athletes and setting them up for success in life, beyond anything that happens on Friday nights at Wildcat Stadium.
“The best thing for me about this was that a couple of teachers came up to me the next day to talk about how the kids were discussing things they’d learned from the program,” Scott said. “And that’s the primary goal, for them to take something they can use in their lives and become productive citizens.”
