I am sure there are thousands of great kids like me who benefited from the discipline,
guidance, and tough love given to them by their Coaches at Judge and other high schools.

  My three years of football at Judge under Whitey Sullivan and Billy Edger are the
only reason I achieved the success I enjoy today.  I have a wife and 7 year old and own
an insurance agency with over 500 customers.  We live in a great neighborhood for
schools, have a nice house, belong to a swim club, etc. I even wrote a book and
published it:  "Speaking Your Best. The Beginner's Guide to Public Speaking." I am
not wealthy, but very comfortable. 

  I graduated from University of California, Berkeley (watch our team this year!).  I
owe it all to Sullivan, Edger, Glatthorn, Koch, Kaupp, Kaiser, Lynch.  All these guys
were our coaches.  Edger was our linebacker and defensive end coach and because he
believed in me, I learned how to believe in myself.

  My Mom died of cancer when I was 17. When I became a starter in my junior year
at defensive end in the Fall of '74, it gave me some structure and something to work
toward -- the '75 season.  It also showed me I could be good at something and I learned
teamwork.  I never played Pop Warner. When I was elected Captain my senior year,
it was one of the happiest days of my life.  I took the job seriously and with one
exception, never let my teammates down.

  Anyway, after leaving high school, I became a street sweeper in Phila. for a year. Can
you imagine that?  A former championship team captain, sweeping the streets.  Somebody
offered me the job, and I lacked enough self-confidence to say no.  One day I was
assigned to sweep the 3300 block of Solly Avenue.  The day I showed up at my old
school and remembered who I had been on that championship team, I broke down and
cried.  It was the best day of my life. I made a decision that day to quit.

  I started to turn my life around. I made a decision to move to California and enter City
College of San Francisco.  I made it on the Dean's List with a 3.5 GPA and was accepted
into Berkeley. I was a D student at Judge and only scored 890 on the SAT!

  Although I worked two or sometimes three jobs to pay rent and earn my degree, I made
it.  I put myself through college, earned my degree in political studies with a 3.0 from
Berkeley, and although I struggled with different jobs right after college, my life was more
than I ever dreamed possible when I was pushing a broom after high school. I eventually
met a great woman at 30, got married, the rest is history.

  As I look back clearly now from the old age of 48, I see that the only adults who showed an
interest in me and believed in me when I was a teenager were my coaches. To this day,
their attention is the source of my drive and competitiveness, which has been the foundation
of my success. 

  Sullivan and Edger didn't know what was going on at my home. I was just another kid
they made time for.  Not a year goes by that I don't thank God for their love and support.
I knew their respect for me was not just because I was a starter, too. They treated everyone
on that team with respect.  Some of my fondest memories are watching a guy named
Christopher Natoli learn the game and see his confidence soar. He had a tough time because
of his weight, but he stayed with it and the rest of us starters encouraged him.   

  I have always wanted to personally thank my coaches. Coaches make a great difference
in young people's lives. I am living proof of it!

  Kevin Boland, Father Judge class of 1976