I have been a football coach since 1987, and in that time I thought I had seen it all. I had coached several age groups, ranging from 5th grade to 12th grade. Each age level has a different set of rules, or norms. Most of the teams I have coached prior to 1999 had been predominantly Caucasian. However, in 1999 I was hired to coach at Cleveland High School, a diverse group, which is predominantly African-American. It is in a low-income neighborhood in south Seattle.
             This was a complete culture shock to me. It was very different to what I was accustomed to. The school was run down, it was like no one had any respect for this learning institution. There was garbage in the hallways, graffiti on the walls, and students getting in the faces of anyone with authority. I myself was threatened at a football camp we had taken the team, by one of my own players. I had been used too Mountlake Terrace, where the school was clean and the staff never felt threatened by a student.
             These kids had different beliefs than any other I had experienced till then. They looked out for only themselves because the believed no one else would. At the football camp we all got together to tell the team, the group, a little about ourselves. Who we are, what we like and dislike about ourselves and why we are here. One of our guys had a hard time telling us what he liked about himself. He had no problem telling us that he disliked the fact that he would beat someone up just for money. Another told us the reason he was here was so that he wouldn't have to go to prison on assault charges.
             What happened here? Can this all be blamed on their environment? This is a long ways away from what I was used to and where I coach now, Seattle Prep. Seattle Preparatory School is located on Capitol Hill overlooking the University of Washington. A very upper-class neighborhood, predominantly Caucasian students come here from all over the Seat
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