Playmakers

Hello Gang,

Just want to give you an update of some really neat things that are happening with Playmakers. It is such an exciting summer with all the good things going on and so many people lending their help in so many ways.

GENERAL

We are really moving forward with Playmakers being my full time vocation. People have been so generous in support and in these financial times, I am so grateful. Rick Carr, Chip Schumacher and David Humm (Raiders) have been up to their ears in assisting all our efforts. We have a lady in Nebraska journaling the Playmaker journey. Look for her on the website in the ‘player’s bio” section. Her name is Donna Miesbach. We have an auction/dinner team making it happen and we are having fun doing so. We are in the beginning stage of forming our board and would love to talk to anyone interested in growing this goony bird. The core group is a fun and wild bunch.

I have been invited to speak at the NFL alumni group and they are beginning to assist us as more NFLer’s are coming on board as well.

WEBSITE

A wonderful man (Alex VonAllman) has created a new website for us and it is beautiful with pictures of the kids throughout. You can see the Playmaker video from the front page and so many doors have opened when people see our video. Send it to someone and watch their response.

AUCTION/DINNER

We are having an auction/dinner July 12th at Rudy’s Hideaway (See website upcoming events) with live entertainment and an inspirational speaker for the night. Our auctioneer is great and we have two live artists with some great items. (Mexico vacation, kitchen countertops, Charger and Raider game packages and much more.) Our goal is to be sold out by June 15 and if you would like a table of 10 we have some recognition and items for those who have committed. We have sold 8 tables already. If you have items or services that would be usable, I hope you will contact us.

CAMPS

We will serve over 1000 kids in camps statewide this summer. We have been in the local news both on TV and newspapers several times. See our new web site at www.theplaymakers.org

We did a camp in So. Cal with a receiving home for 0ver 70 kids and they loved it. We had local law enforcement talk to the kids and the fire department providing “liquid cooling” that was greatly appreciated.

We have camps coming up in May. June and July and could use much volunteer help. We also are talking to corporations to be title sponsors for our camps locally and statewide. If you know of someone we should talk to, please let us know. It is great community corporate publicity for over 1000 kids and families.

As we enter into our 5th year, it just keeps surprising me what is happening with these kids. All of you have been so encouraging and we are grateful. I will keep you all in the loop what we are up to and thank you all again,

Roz (coachroz@theplaymakers.org )
5/19/08

Greg "Coach Roz" Roeszler 74:
" Greg Roeszler here and not sure if you have heard but me and my staff (10 assistant coaches) are the new football coaches at Encina. What a challenge/opportunity. I am so looking forward to it. It is going to be a blast putting this together. I am sending you a video that explains my Playmakers organization which I am the Director. "

The Playmakers promo

13 min 5 sec - Nov 7, 2007
Description: WHAT IS PLAYMAKERS? Playmakers is a unique organization that serves the community through the ongoing teaching and mentoring of young student athletes. Playmakers is training the next generation of leaders by teaching young student athletes about themselves, their potential and how to serve others.

PLAYMAKERS: SAVING GENERATIONS, ONE INNER CITY KID AT A TIME

More and more, inner city dysfunction is forcing many of today’s children to live in concentrated poverty in neighborhoods characterized by abandoned and deteriorated properties, high crime, poorly performing schools, drug markets and family breakdown. Federal and public programs designed to correct this imbalance have met with little success. So what can we do to bring hope to these young lives?

Playmakers Mentoring Foundation is leading the way through their innovative program in the Sacramento area. Developed and led by Coach Greg Roeszler (AKA Coach Roz) and his dedicated staff of assistant coaches, Playmakers is drawing kids off the streets and out of gangs to be part of this amazing outreach where children are loved and respected and taught to be the best they can be. Through their inspiring leadership, Roz and his coaches use the game of football to teach boys how to play by the rules, to respect others, how to be a good citizen and a leader in their communities.

Grades and attendance at the high school where Coach Roz began this program were so bad that even with a 2.0 requirement for sports, the school had to shut down the JV program. The kids just couldn’t qualify. Then along came Coach Roz. Within the first year, he raised the grade requirement to 2.5 and opened the Bulldog program (Saturday morning tutoring sessions) so the kids could succeed. To everyone’s amazement and delight, the kids came and are coming still.

Periodically, Playmakers holds three-day football camps for kids who otherwise would never have the opportunity to participate in special sports events. The program has made such a name for itself that surrounding schools are joining in, forming a network that is spreading across the valley.

Because the program is growing so rapidly, a fund-raising dinner was held recently where a young man named Stephan told how he had dislocated his hip, but while he was waiting for help from his mother, and suffering from the pain of his injury, she was arrested and taken to jail. Yet, because of Playmakers’ helping hands, Stephan has graduated, is now mentoring other young men, and is planning to continue his education.

Obviously, it is going to take generations to break the cycle that poverty and broken families have created, but there is hope. Coach Roz and his team of coaches are showing the boys not only what it means to be a real man, they are teaching them what a husband and father should be like so they can adopt those roles with integrity when their time comes.

Here are just a few of the keys that are making this program work:

Coach Roz and his staff hold sessions for coaches from surrounding high schools for the sole purpose of teaching them how to teach character.
Boys from surrounding schools are welcomed into Playmakers, thus creating a valley-wide network for at-risk kids.
To be a Playmaker, students must agree to participate in community service. Already, the results are dramatic. As these at-risk kids learn to work with others and contribute to their community, their growing self-esteem and positive attitudes touch every area of their lives.
Because the program has made such a positive impact on the kids, the high school where Coach Roz teaches now requires anyone who “gets in trouble” to become part of the “football family” in order to be reinstated in the school.
Each Spring, kids who maintain the necessary grade level will get honest-to-goodness football shoes, complete with cleats, through the generosity of Roz’ good friend, former Oakland Raider David Humm, who now does the Raiders’ pre- and post-game broadcasts.
Coach Roz tells us that kids never came into the school’s weight room before, but they are coming now, and not just once in a while, but regularly.
Students who participate in the Bulldog program receive backpacks emblazoned with the logo “Student Athlete.” The backpacks have quickly become a source of pride among the participants, and a magnet for those not yet in the program.
Coach Roz and his staff love all these kids as if they were their own, and the kids know it. These are kids who have either one or no parents, who live in the streets, sleep in garages and worse, but the kids will do anything for their coaches because the coaches honestly believe in them.
Everyone who is part of this program gets to play in every game. Even though many coaches only play their “best” players to give their team the best chance of winning, Coach Roz is more interested in affecting lives than affecting the score of a game. While he also wants his team to win, he is teaching them and showing them that to be a real winner, all you have to do is give your best.

By changing the lives of these young men, Playmakers is changing future generations as well. Through Playmakers and their football camps, the coaches are able to connect with the boys and then follow them back into their lives, where they act as role models both on and off the field. Truly, this is a noble work that not only is creating a better day today for today’s young men, it is bringing promise for the future as well.

To learn more about Playmakers, you can reach Coach Roz at:

916-220-1284

coachroz@theplaymakers.org

If you’d like to see Playmakers in action, the link to their video is:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5394932413083700593&pr=goog-sl