To change football culture, Philly’s high school coaches tackle emotions

Jordan Alexander, head football coach at Martin Luther King High School in Philadelphia, faces two main challenges as the team begins its fall season: helping his players improve their game and addressing the emotional struggles they face. Many of Alexander's 60-man team have experienced personal losses, such as losing a parent or witnessing a friend's shooting.

To tackle these issues, Alexander has undergone training in trauma-informed coaching methods, which teach players to manage their emotions before they lead to disorder or violence. This training is part of a program led by Valencia Peterson, known as Coach V, who has trained 30 coaches so far and has 15 more signed up for the upcoming season.

Peterson, a longtime Philadelphian and football enthusiast, formed Open Door Abuse Awareness Prevention after her father killed her mother as a child. The program aims to change football culture by acknowledging emotions and teaching players how to control their reactions. Similar programs, such as the Becoming a Man program in Chicago, have shown positive results, reducing violent crime arrests among participants by about 50% and increasing graduation rates by nearly 20%.

The goal is to use sports as a setting to teach young people how to navigate difficult situations and make better decisions, both on and off the field.