DurhamCares

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2009 Goals

DurhamCares Commentary

Dollar for dollar we are unaware of a program that impacts inner-city children in a meaningful way for such a low cost. Many of the players live under the poverty line and many come from single parent homes, and yet the time spent playing football with the Durham Eagles is making a demonstrable impact on their lives - including much higher graduation rates compared to their peers. In other words, for our money this seems to be the biggest bang for our buck in Durham.

It is incredible to think that $150 can provide 4 ½ months of mentoring, coaching, structure, competition, purpose and belonging to a child. Frankly, we would recommend this program if the cost were triple that of the current. And, we do plan to work with the Eagles to figure out the scalability of their current model.

With that, we think a big part of the Eagles ability to develop a scalable infrastructure and some of the start-up funding it would require would be dependent upon a more systematic and complete understanding of the impact they are making on kids’ lives. While we’ve weighted the player participation and financial efficiency greater than the tracking system and training goals we do believe that working with the Durham Eagles to understand their desire and capability to scale the program will be important for it’s future long-term success and will allow us to weight these activities higher in the future.

Durham Eagles Commentary

Being taken under the DurhamCares umbrella has been such a blessing to our organization. The financial support that is provided through the success grants gives us an opportunity to demonstrate the very things that we try to make our kids understand. Specifically work hard, set goals and good things will happen for you. Being recognized by DurhamCares also adds a new level of legitimacy to our program that takes us beyond that of a sports program. We want to have a positive impact on the kids that extends to all aspects of their lives not just the athletic arena.

What

“Excellence Through Commitment”

The Durham Eagles Athletic Association is dedicated to creating an environment of discipline, self-respect and success to aid in the academic, athletic and social success of the student-athletes

Why

When DurhamCares was back in the planning stages, the organization that we thought of first as a possible beneficiary was the Durham Eagles; and, in a manner of speaking, they were the inspiration for the whole concept of DurhamCares.

Quite simply, we don’t think that there is another organization that does so much with so little. Last year they coached, mentored and fathered more than 200 at risk boys for more than 4 months of intensive interaction on a budget of less than $25,000. This is absolutely incredible. They use 40 volunteer coaches, many of whom are police officers and exactly the male role models that you’d like to see making a difference in the lives of hundreds of “at-risk” kids. When you add in the fact that they sport a better than 90% high school graduation rate AND a national championship, you know that you are looking at a special organization.

Much, if not all, of the credit goes to the inspirational leadership of Don Jones and his wife Bobetta, without whom the Durham Eagles wouldn’t exist. Durham will realize it’s potential when and if more folks like the Jones’ act on their dream to make a difference in kids’ lives and in this city we all live in.

Academics

Success in the classroom is the DEAA’s #1 priority. Different from most sports programs that make this claim, however, the Eagles have initiated efforts that demonstrate their dedication.

• One Message to Students: the Eagles make sure that coaches, teachers, and parents are all sending students the same message about the importance of school. Coaches and teachers collaborate to celebrate and encourage excellence in the classroom and on the field.
• Teach Priorities rather than Punishment: if students are taken off of their sports team because of grades, they generally fill this void with video games and friends rather than working their way back onto the team. Instead of cutting players, the Eagles teach priorities and the coaches enable students to continue practicing (but not playing) as long as they work with their teachers, parents and coaches to improve their grades. When priorities and grades are back in check, the player can participate in games again.
• Sunday Calls: to deepen relationships with players and their guardians, coaches call them on Sundays. They discuss homework, chores at home, scheduling conflicts, etc. to engage students and avoid potential problems.
• Academic Honors: the largest of the Eagles’ trophies is presented in classrooms to students who study their way into the Eagles’ Academic Hall of Fame. Coaches also celebrate weekly classroom accomplishments by showing tests, quizzes, and homework to the whole team after practice during “Good News” time.
• Scholarship Incentive: Students who play for the Eagles more than 3 years will receive a $1000 scholarship when they enroll in a post-secondary institution.
• Affordable Tutoring: Because of their excellent football program, the Eagles are able to monitor and encourage students in their school-work throughout the summer and first quarter of the year. To help students when this support structure is removed after the football season, the Durham Eagles have joined with a local tutoring firm called “Supplemental Partners.” All Durham Eagles receive a 50% discount on the registration fee when they sign up for tutoring with “Supplemental Partners.”

Since 2001, Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. has recognized the Durham Eagles Athletic Association 50 times for their Pop Warner Regional Scholars and Academic All-Americans. Players must maintain an academic grade point average of 96 or above for the entire school year to be considered for these awards-34 Eagles have earned this honor. Eagles have over a 90% graduation rate in a population where the average is 52%.

Athletics

When it comes to football, the Eagles are known for the kind of dominance that comes from excellent coaching, commitment, and lots of hard work. There are 3 main components to the Eagles’ athletic program.

• Conditioning: June - July there is open conditioning practice Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm. There is no commitment required.  The players are free to come when they can to work on football fundamentals.
• Practice: the week of August 1, the Eagles spend 5 days working on conditioning and going over the requirements of positions. Once school starts, players get their equipment and practice 3 nights a week.
• Games: on Saturday, all of the Eagles’ teams compete at their various levels.

Social Skills

Discipline and Commitment: playing Eagles football is a huge commitment for 5-15 year olds. They must keep up with their school work, practice regimen, and the games they play across the state. The Eagles program consciously develops discipline to help players juggle all of their responsibilities and excel.

• “Meet & Greet”: this Eagles drill has been spreading around the nation.  Coaches introduce themselves to each player and the players practice their responses. It is an exercise in communicating with adults, overcoming shyness, looking people in the eye when speaking to them, and enunciating a brief introduction.
• Celebrating Success: in addition to the academic awards presented in front of a player’s entire classroom, the Eagles also celebrate character and athletic awards at each team’s final banquet. Players are given a highlight DVD of their best meet and greet drills, their academic awards, and their best plays throughout the year.
• Giving Back: this year the Eagles will be collecting items for the Back-Home-Box Foundation which will send the goods to soldiers serving abroad.

Dave Potter

Lead Coach

Dave was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Raleigh, NC. He has lived in Durham since 1985. He has spent the past twelve years coaching football with the Durham Eagles Athletic Association. A head coach since 1999, his teams have won eight championships since 2000, have gone undefeated seven times and won 75 of their last 77 conference games dating back to 1999. Four times in the past six years, his teams have finished in the “Top 16” Pop Warner football teams in the nation. A firm believer in the importance of academics, his teams have had twenty-three Pop Warner Academic All-Americans in the past three seasons. His passion and commitment to academic success lead to his development of the Durham Eagles “Academic Hall of Fame” program in 2002. This program has been further developed and expanded to include character building and leadership development and is presently in use by approximately fifty youth sports organizations around the country. He was instrumental in bringing in the educational tutoring firm, “Supplemental Learners” to partner with the DEAA so that Eagles players had access to tutoring throughout the season.

Don Jones

Commissioner

 Don has served as the commissioner of the Durham Eagles since its inception in 1994.  He first began coaching when he was 13 years old.  Although the kids in the Eagles program refer to him as “Coach Don”, he is proudest to be called Daddy by his two sons, Micheal and Brandon.  He has a six year old grandson, Jaylen, who affectionately calls him DeDe which is short for Daddy’s Daddy.  Don is a Durham native and graduate of Jordan High School.  After graduation, he joined the army and spent several years in Texas and Georgia.  In 1985, he returned to Durham and attended Durham Technical Community College.  There he earned his A.A.S in Electronic Engineering and has worked in the communications field since.  Although there are no paid positions within the Eagles organization, the work is no less demanding.  For Don, this is a labor of love that he has embraced since day one.  Don has led the organization through years of change and growth.  In 2006, he received the Hugo Germino Award which is given in recognition of community contributions.  The Durham Eagles have not only achieved a local reputation that is unparalleled, but continue to be recognized on a national level.  Don is the director of NFL’s Junior Player Development Program in Durham.  He often speaks and teaches classes at football coaching clinics throughout the region.

Bobetta Clark-Jones

Co-Commissioner

Board of Directors

Don Jones - Director
Commissioner - Duham Eagles Athletic Association

Dr. Claude T. Moorman, III - Director
Director of Sports Medicine at Duke University

Johnny Ratcliffe - Director
Loan Officer, Carolina Home Mortgage

John Simonds - Director
Principal Technologist at Fannie Mae

Scott Stankavage - Director
Co-Founder and CEO, Turning Point Adolescent Center