In 2003, the St. Louis Rams drafted former Roosevelt High School standout, Jimmy Kennedy, with the 13th overall pick. Coach Tony De Matteo coached Jimmy Kennedy at Roosevelt High. The Coach and player recalled working together to help the young prospect realize his dreams at the May 1, 2006 Frank McGuire Foundation coaches seminar at Madison Square Garden. Joining them on the podium was Cedric Jones, Director of the NFL's Youth Football programs, who also answered questions from the audience of High School coaches.

TONY DE MATTEO: To me, Jimmy is the American dream, not for becoming a pro player, but from going from special education to a college graduate. He is a role model for any challenge student in this country. Jimmy is very unique because he has the work ethic. He has the God-given talent and he has this drive to succeed.

JIMMY KENNEDY: Right now, I'm about to get paid to take care of my body. You know what? I'm not going to give 90% of my body. I'm going to give my body 110, if not more.

Penn State defensive tackle, Jimmy Kennedy, was considered a top prospect in the upcoming 2003 NFL draft. The Yonkers native had been working out in preparation of April 26th since early January. Instead of using the state-of-the-art facility that IMG Football, his management team provides, Kennedy elected to return home to Westchester County, New York and move in with his former high school football coach, Roosevelt's Tony De Matteo.

JIMMY KENNEDY: In high school, Coach De Matteo ran a program in weightlifting. We always did a lot of power lifting. I was used to that. When I left to go to Penn State, I said to the coach, "How about I come back up and we get back to hitting the weight room?" He just opened the door and the rest is history.

TONY DE MATTEO: I was just thinking, he missed the fun part of it, not the training part of it, not that I'm training him any better than they trained him. But, he just missed the fun part of the relationship we've developed.

JIMMY KENNEDY: I think it's more like a father/son type thing too. Since high school, I realized that Coach always had my best interest at heart. Before football, Jimmy Kennedy was just another kid trying to survive the tough streets of Yonkers but thanks to De Matteo's persistence, all that changed and a beautiful relationship was born.

TONY DE MATTEO: He really wasn't focused on football and in the ninth grade, he actually quit. But, I had him in my gym class, so I was always around him, badgering him to come out that, you know, he was a big guy and he really could do something in football.

JIMMY KENNEDY: My mother was a single parent raising three boys. I had to worry about my family before anything else. I was always the man of the house, so I only saw one path. And, Coach De Matteo helped me see another path and I thank God, he showed me that path, because look how successful I'm going to be and how successful I have been.

Kennedy's life was about to dramatically change, just the way it did eight years ago when he met his white knight. He would play for a new head coach in the coming months. But, to know Jimmy Kennedy is to know no matter how long he plays this game, there is just one coach, a man Kennedy would take a bullet for and give up his own life.

JIMMY KENNEDY: I always thought, one to the head too. It wouldn't have to be to the heart today. I'm going to think twice about it. I think I'm forever in his debt. That's the way I look at it. I mean, I'm the man I am today hugely because of him. I mean, like I could have quit, gave it up and never came back. But somehow, he motivated me to stick it out and help me set my goals up and before you know it, it turned out the way I...I went to Penn State on a full scholarship and I graduated, and he helped me set those goals. I don't know, if you guys realize the impact that you guys can have on a child's life.

Left to right,
Coach Tony De Matteo, Somers High
Jimmy Kennedy, Defensive Tackle,
St Louis Rams
Cedric Jones, Head of NFL Youth Programs

TONY DE MATTEO: We have to teach our athletes that knowledge is power. With knowledge, they can go anywhere and do anything they want and they have to understand that. I was taught that everyone was created equal. You're a stupid person because you choose to be stupid. You're smart because you study. You're a great athlete because you train to be great. And, you're a great coach because you work to be great.

CEDRIC JONES: I expect a high school coach to be engaging with his kids, to find out creative ways and make them enjoy practice. It's not always about X's and O's. It's about their life and what they're feeling. The other thing that I expect about coaches is to be able to interact, not only with the kids, but with the parents, establish parent groups. And, I know because Belichick would rather talk to agents more than parents, but that's your constituency. Talk to them. Tell them what you expect from your players and from them. Leave your door open so they can come and talk to you.

TONY DE MATTEO: Einstein, one of the greatest minds of all time, he flunked math in high school. So, let your athletes dream the impossible dream but you, you as a coach, you help them have another, more realistic dream to fall back on. And, I believe education is the answer for everyone.

Q: How do you address the possibility of athletes and certain supplements and even the possibility of drugs from the youth level into the high school level and not just football, but for any sports?

CEDRIC JONES: It's about doing the right thing. It's about doing the right thing. And, we have to keep stressing that for kids, "Do the right thing." I mean, I worked like Jimmy in the weight room. I went to college. I weighed 160 pounds, you know, soaking wet, and I weighed 188 when I left. The first time I picked up 145 on a bench press, you know, one weight threw off this way and pulled me over and threw me off the bench. I ended up benching 370, and it wasn't through supplements. It was through hard work, and we've got to impress upon our kids that hard work will get you there and not cheating.

Q: Can you address your mentoring program? Is that now part of the curriculum at your school?

TONY DE MATTEO: I know there's a lot of football here today, and I know there's not all football coaches out there. To me, mentoring is for any athlete, any program, any sport. And, when I had gone up to Somers, which is the last town in Westchester, there was a lot of hazing. And, I brought this mentoring program into Somers and it took six years. I've been there six years now but next year, the entire school is going to run a mentoring program where juniors and seniors will mentor the entire freshman class and get a credit. There's going to actually be a course. So, I'm pretty proud of that, because I really think it's that important.

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