How a Philly organization is using football to teach boys emotional regulation

Former Temple cornerback Chris Hutton stood at the end of Mastery Charter North’s football field and watched proudly as kids ran drills at Open Door Abuse Awareness and Prevention’s Juneteenth 10U Combine and Clinic on Saturday.

“ODAPP is really every kid’s saving grace,” Hutton said. “They’re able to learn about self-awareness, how to express their emotions appropriately, and communicate and talk that out.”

Despite the heat, more than 60 boys aged 11 and younger and three local high school football teams — Northeast, Martin Luther King, and Vaux Big Picture — participated in the free event. Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis also made a guest appearance. Participants participated in drills on the field and learned about violence prevention techniques off the field.

“I needed ODAAP,” Hutton said. “Coming out of college, I went through a tough time. I ran into a situation of violence, and Coach V took me in and taught me about trauma.

“Coach V’s been pouring into the community for years. I call her Mom.”

“Coach V” is Valencia Peterson. She founded ODAAP in 2014, to teach kids about violence prevention. Peterson shared in a Tedx Talk that during her childhood, her father killed her mother in an act of anger. Her mission is to teach boys about emotional regulation and conflict management skills through football.

“I don’t think people just decide to be violent,” Peterson said. “Things happen to cause them to think it’s OK to do acts of violence. If we can get to what may trigger that early, we could get ahead of it. That’s the epitome of prevention.”

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Although Peterson has been working with football teams for over a decade, she said Saturday’s event was the first time she’d brought young boys together to work with high school and adult coaches in an event focused on community growth.

Peterson and Hutton acknowledged the violent nature of football. Hutton said his coaches helped him channel his anger and emotions into hard work on the field, however.

“Youth football is a very violent sport, so whoever is responsible for teaching it needs accountability and training,” Peterson said. “There needs to be an active movement, an intentional movement on making sure that the coaches have training, and Philadelphia needs to invest in that.”

On Saturday, coaches gave supportive feedback. They encouraged players to tighten up, run quicker, and react calmly.

“I want them to understand how to express their emotions in a healthy way, and avoid taking matters into their own hands,” Hutton said. “You’re not going to be able to control everything you want, but you can control your attitude.”

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Another partner of the event was the Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative, which aims to make developmental programs, like ODAAP, accessible to children in Philadelphia. Dontae Privette, the director of community at PYSC, said the group mostly focuses on providing funding and training coaches with its grant from the Office of Public Safety.

“This is the first event that we’re really focusing on the kids,” Privette said. “We need to be more intentional about our approach, especially if our goal is violence prevention and getting to the heart of what makes our city great. We have so many fields and facilities and nature here in Philadelphia, and we really want to use that.”

Davis came out to support the organization and give back to the community. .

“Programs like this really helped me in a lot of places where I felt like giving up or I felt like making the wrong decision,” said Davis, who’s from Charlotte, N.C. “They kept me on track. That’s why I came back.”

Justin Brown, CEO of JB Sports Ventures, added: “It’s important for kids to see that their idols are real people and that they have the same vision and values that they do, and Jordan manifests everything. He’s got the heart, the spirit, he really cares about kids, and he’s a champion.”

As Saturday’s clinic concluded, everyone moved from the football field to the school’s gymnasium. The messaging clearly had started to sink in with the participants.

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“You have to make sure that you make good decisions on and off the field,” Davis told the kids. “You got to make good decisions off the field to even be on the field. That means do your work. That means be respectful.”

Peterson looked around a filled gym of students, parents, and volunteers, who listened to Davis speak. It fuels her to want to do more.

“I want ODAAP to be a staple in the city as a safe place for mothers to bring their sons, for coaches to get trained,” she said. “We want to be a safe place, with funding, to keep this message going.”