An Army of Normal FolksChavis Daniels played football for Coach Bill Courtney and was one of the accidental stars of the Oscar-winning film Undefeated. But that’s not why he’s a member of the Army. Chavis went on to found The North Memphis Steelers, a mentoring and athletics nonprofit that helps at-risk kids in the same challenging neighborhood where he grew up.
The kid that I put the most blood sweating too is all the wanted. This still go go to juvenile like I do. And most of those kids not even bad kids.
It's just the environment.
And there's no excuse because we still make our own decisions. But and one thing I've learned is just like I've ran into so many kids like I was, And the hardest thing I think I've had to do was try to coach the me out of a kid.
The hardest thing you've had to do is try to coach the you out of the kids your son because you recognized it from your.
Past, right.
And I've had kids to walk off the field and throw the hell called me bes and hs, and like literally I've had to experience the same thing that I was taking people through.
Welcome to an army of normal folks. So I'm Bill Courtney. I'm a normal guy. I'm a husband, a father, or an entrepreneur, and I'm a football coach and City Memphis. And the last part unintentionally led to an oscar for the film about our team, it's called Undefeated. I believe our country's problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people and nice suits, using big words that nobody understands on seeing it in Fox, but rather by an army of normal folks, us just you and me seeing and ed and saying hey, I can help. That's what Cheaevis Daniels, the voice we just heard is done. And I know this guest all too well because Chavis played on my football team of a Nassas and like me, was one of the accidental stars in Undefeated. But that's not why he's on the podcast. Chavs has gone on to mentor over a thousand kids in his organization that he founded, the North Memphis Steelers, and is even back to coaching football at his alma mater, Nassas High School. I could not be prouder of Chevas and I can't wait for you to hear from them right after these brief messages from our general sponsors. Shaves Daniels, what's up, brother, what's so?
Coach?
How you doing?
I'm good? How are you?
I'm good? I'm good. I can't complying coach good.
That's a that's a big difference from when you're junior in high school, where you did was complain.
Yeah, I do, I agree, you'd I agree for our listeners.
This uh, this will this particular guest will be one that I'm intimately familiar with and extraordinarily proud of. And Shavs Daniels was a former football player of mine who was one of the individuals highlighted in the movie Undefeated, which kind of chronicled the time that we spent together. But really that's not what we're here to talk about. Chaevs started an organization called the North Memphis Steelers, and we're going to get into that and hopefully inspire some of you with things that you can do to be a part of the army of normal folks. But first, Chaevs, which come from man, tell me about growing up. Tell me about little ugly Chavus.
I can't. I was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Came from Lavanda cha Cobb. That is my mom. My dad is Michael Daniels. Grew up mostly in Nord Memphis area, but we moved out to Fraser and Raleigh over a period of time. But my whole family grew up in Nord Memphis, so I was very familiar with most of the people that it was just in Nor Memphis.
So Chaevis is a native Memphion and and for those who don't know the area, North Memphis is actually inside the city limits as well as Fraser and Raleigh. But they are areas of Memphis. And if you think of Memphis as city center, downtown, the farther north you go, you go North Memphis, then you go Fraser, then to Raleigh, and so North Memphis is a community really that encompasses Raleigh and Fraser. It's all North Memphis, and then you have South Memphis, East Memphis, and then West Memphis is actually in Arkansas. So you're a North Memphis guy, right? And was your dad ever in the home? Oh?
No, My dad was never in the home.
No, not really until like my twelfth grade year when he found that I was maybe in a movie.
So he came around. Not exactly the father experience that some of us so far agains.
Right, I agree, but is no bad blood at all in on Hall Grill. Just so as I grew older, I just learned to except the situation for what it was, and forgiveness as well, because I know there's two sides the every corn Javis.
I met you in ninth grade, right when you showed up, and here was this contemptuous back then. Skinny yeah, fast but very athletic kid playing linebacker for me. And it took me a while to figure out, but you were you weren't disrespectful, but you were always edgy and a little angry. Yeah.
And then one thing I can say is growing up then, I kind of grew with my grandmother and my mom as well. And one thing they did teach me was all good etiquette and respect and it's and maybe sometimes I didn't apply what I was taught, but.
I think sometimes maybe you didn't.
Yeah, I know I didn't.
But yeah, one thing my mom I can't say, my mom and my grandmother did was teach me good edikut Like I'm twenty nine years old, man, I still yes, sir, Yes, ma'am. And I feel like there's just something that I carred on you. Seed was planted, right, yes, sir. And I always tell people that I was raised right. I just did wrong on my own. Whatever I did on my own, whatever I did wrong, I did it because I wanted to do it.
So I know you're not often comfortable talking about what I'm about to ask you about, and I understand why. It's not your proudest achievement in life. But this is an army of normal folks, and normal folks struggle. Normal folks have challenges and have to overcome obstacles, and life is tough, and we make mistakes. And it's the response to the most mistakes, more than the mistakes themselves, that typically define the man. And I think one of the most defining moments in your life is when you're arrested. Yes, And I know it's not easy to talk about, and I know sometimes when I've heard you asked about it, you say, yeah, that happened, and glance over it. But I think it's a defining moment. And you so tell me about that night. Who are you with, why, what you were doing, and what happened?
It was my ninth grade year. I think I was starting for the first Now I don't think I started. I don't really remember.
No, you started. I think I think I started this week five and then against bt W and had nine tackles. And it was then I decided this cat is not only an interesting kid, he's a hell of a football player. It's pretty excited about you. And then I didn't see you no more.
Right, So what happened?
So when this Friday night, I got my first thought and I feel like I did it good, and it was it was a great feeling. But after that night, just being honest, I was I've been in the guy since I was fourteen years old. So rolling twenties Criple like the same thing like Snoop Dogg is. But yeah, I would join crip when I was fourteen years old.
Let me ask something before we get to the story. You got a mom. I know your mama, she loves you, yes, I'm talking about would die for you when you Levonda Shade loved Shade us, Yes, And so you had that at home, and you had a grandmama that loved you and they taught you right from wrong. Why did you feel the need to join a gag? I mean a lot of people listeners think that only bad kids join gangs, or they think that gangs are a surrogate for not having people that loved them at home. I mean, that's a popular narrative in our country that gangs feel a void for children who have nobody loves him. But that ain't you man?
Right? And I was.
And then one thing about me, I've always been like the leader. I didn't join a game because I didn't I want to love the home. I a en joy a game because I wanted to feel a void. I joined the game because that's what I wanted to do. And I'm just still responsibility for the fact that I wanted to join the game.
But why was it.
Most of your neighborhood.
It was cool and most of the people that was in my neighborhood were a part of it. I joined the game when I was in eight grade.
Eight grade, all right.
And so one thing to set this up. Fourteen years old, eighth grade, but there's members of that same gang that you're running with that.
Or how old, eighteen nineteen.
You realize a nineteen year old and a fourteen year old that got no business hanging out, right, I agree, But that's what the that's what that culture is.
Right, And this is what was going on. So I started this Friday, Saturday. I think I stayed at home all day this Sunday. Well, we went out to play football for a minute, and after we got through playing football, we all got in a sign car. Who we are like four it was like four of us and we was driving and the tags was up and my friends that I was in the car with. Well, I don't even call a friend of mine social that I was in the car with. They had that was imposition of drugs.
What were the what were the ages of the people in the car? You fourteen?
I was fourteen.
I think it was fourteen, sixteen, seventeen and nineteen.
So you were the youngest I was in. I was young.
But because you are you and try to be cool and everything else, you're gonna ride.
Yes, sir, this is exactly what I was doing, and I was feeling cool. My my friend had his own car. Like I said, the top the tags was inspired. Who was riding around and they had they was in positions of a handgun. I think, like I answer marijuana. It was three handguns. Three hand guns. I'm the only one that didn't have a gun.
But and our culture is called schnitching.
If you say this is my minds, and you know, don't and don't and then and then honestly, nobody admitted to who's guns and stuff? It was so we all So it's got guilty of our association.
Okay, so these gangs are supposed to be your brother. Know when you're a fourteen year old kid and knowing you ain't got nothing to do with the guns. But none of them stood up for you.
No, not at all, not one time.
And I'm gonna be honest like since that, since that period of time, none of those guys I've really talked to again.
Yeah, these people that you swear no to and your brothers, and I always got your back. So I would let you go down as a fourteen year old and you don't even hang out with him no more?
Right, And so I went to Wilder Is Young. You went work Wilder Is Young. This the youth penitential in Whiteville.
And this where's Whiteville?
White Ville, Tennessee.
Yeah, where's that way out there in Nashville?
So right, like a little bit before Nasville.
So at fourteen years old, you shipped all the way from the only place you know.
Right to Wilder Is. It's one of the toughest you facilities in the country.
What happened to the other guys?
We all got the same thing I got.
I think I was initially supposed to do like nine months, but I was I had to put on this persona when I was in Wilder that I was tough. So I ended up going into focus and I got critical and critica is like going to the hall or focus is just going into the hall and you just focuses on what we're doing, fighting, fighting, still running with the gangs. So I initially supposed to did nine, but I think I went in critical for like three months, and then when I got out, I think I got in trouble again, and so they added another three months. So it was like six months plus nine. So I missed two birthdays, two Christmas, two Christmases, and my birthday in January. So I had just like, yeah, I missed the Christmas.
So what about these other guys, though, I'm curious that they well one of them was nineteen.
Right, so he so he and he was a feeling. So I know we're filling with a gun. I think there's an automated teen years. Like I said, coach, I really haven't kept up with those guys like that, you know, so like and then because I know that this is not the direction I'm trying to go again, so I just surround myself with a different So this is in.
The fall because it's football season, right, and you got fifteen months. He lost the rest of your freshman year for all your and a little piece of your junior year.
Oh no, I think I was.
That's right.
So I came back the end of I came to Manasa's the end of tenth grade.
All right, tell me about the atmosphere and a youth detention facility. Are they rehabbing there, are you learning anything? Are they teaching anything? Are your studies getting handled? Do you really go to school or you're just becoming angrier?
I think it's kind of everything. Because we did go to school, we had like a regular school hours. It's kind of like it's kind of like what people say it is. But to me, I kind of at the end of my time, I kind of minded my business, so I really wasn't getting involved with all the stuff that was going on enough three months, right, yeah, so yeah, And then with me, it was still like me surrounding myself with those type of people that had me in those type of situations. And like they say that the food was what they said was, the gang culture is what they say it is.
You gotta be a part of something.
If you're not, you just like you like pray and even in the youth facility, and like I said, it not one day of fun. One thing I did learn was it's cool to be to yourself. You you avoid so much other stuff when you when you just staying in yourself. And when we was there, it was just like.
You either.
Come in here to rehab or you gonna be here for a long time. You either come in here and do the right thing and to rehabilitate from whatever you did, or you're gonna get time at it, or you're gonna get involved in something.
Just guaranteed.
One thing I wish I would have done different was come in focused on the reason I'm here and not getting involved with everything that was going on around. Still trying to be a part of the game.
But the gang is still in there.
Oh yeah, that's where they is. That's what most of them.
And then when you got to think about it, if you're not in the game, when you go more than likely youn got like you gotta be a part of.
Something because if you left out, is it dangerous for you?
Right, Yes, you gotta be a part of something. Especially like to be honest, like black people were more against each other. When Mexicans come in, You're welcome. We're gonna make sure you protect it. We're gonna make sure you got food, We're gonna make sure.
You do it.
But when black people come in, it's just like we against each other. And this would make it like more dangerous because everybody want to be tough, everybody want to be hard, or everybody want to be everybody looking for I don't know, love or clout. I don't know.
I can't.
I can't explain it with It's just different. It's way different. We'll be right back. So you do your time.
You get your time at it on for fighting and mess around you finally you finally got enough of that, right, you straighten up, your sir, and you come out and I know your mama's Yeah, my.
Mom, I was.
I was down there, like two and a half hours away. My mom never missed the weekend every weekend. My mom was there crying every every weekend.
Tell me the truth. When you were in there and it was just you and you in a pillow somewhere, and after you saw your mom, did you get emotional?
Man?
I was emotionally in front of her, just rying.
Yeah.
And he had got to the point where I was just telling her like, don't come, don't come see me why because the outside, the outside things make the time harder. Thinking about the outside things. They this is what they say. You can't do time with be this on your mind. Really, they say, yeah, this does it hurts you? Yes, especially after the phone call. The phone calls were the worst. Were disappointing yourself, yes, sir, absolutely. And I was disappointed because I feel like I let on my mom down, and because my mom always been like high expectations, she always held me accountable, and I feel like I really just disappointed her and my grandmother, especially knowing like how like my mom came to one football game and I think I scored like four touchdowns and I was out there getting big hits and she didn't even know that I knew how to play football because I stayed with my grandmother when I started, so my mom really didn't know. So I mean she really didn't know. So it started like with it and it was just like, man, he actually good, good at these So just being on the phone with her and seeing all of them visit was just heartbreaking because she was crying and she was just like changing, I warned you about this, so.
All right, so you get through it, you get out and you come play football from a nashis.
Right, and we meet I'll never forget.
I got out and I had checked my Maspace page and a big robber Robert Williams he inboxed me on MySpace and was like, man, whenever wherever you're at, coach Beer looking for you.
Well, I mean the last time I saw you was on the football field a booker t Washington, right, and then you vanished for a year and a half.
Right, So when I got out, I checked my page and be Robert in box man was like coach Beer looking for you. And with me, my whole family went to announcers, like my dad went the manasas my mom my ground.
I'll played ball out of that back basketball.
She was, Yeah, my mom.
My mom actually went to college from annaunsas it was called Shelby State back then.
Yeah, it's a community college college. But I had a good girls basketball pro.
Right, And I think my mom used like ever's like twenty two rebounds.
Again, she was good. I think she could still rebound. If you ever see put those elbows on your boxy butt out.
But I tried to get in announcers, but for some reason that was like I couldn't because it was so late in the school year. I think it was like the end of tenth grade year, so they wouldn't allow me to register in Annaunsa, So I had to go to Kingsbery. Kingsbery was the only school that except me. But I reached out the you coach and whatever you said to doctor Williams. She leved me at the school the next day. So that's how I got back to Manasa. So on the first day I got back to Manasa's like it was already like the camera crew was there and it was just like from there. But it was just crazy. Well, I had to get back to Manasa's. I had to graduate from NASA's High school.
I got to tell you something, though, the guy that left was a curious, pretty respectful, but edgy kid. The guy that came back, the chavsh that came back that I first met, was angry. Yes, I did admit that, Yes, sir, what were you angry about?
I was just I've always been kind of like a self centered person sometimes and then most of the stuff I was used to get angry about it because I probably wouldn't get what I wanted, something one going my way. So I kind of feel like I was kind of that made me angry, and I did want to have a relationship with my dad as well, and I kind of feel like not being able to conquer that made me kind of angry a little bit. Besides did I kind of think it was just like I don't know, I just had how most have I always been a key or a person that wore my heart on my sleeve.
I think that's fair enough. So this angry Chavis shows up and you just alluded to the camera's already there. And for those of you don't know what we're talking about, some guys showed up that were twenty eight, twenty nine, and twenty nine years old with two borrowed cameras and said they were going to make a documentary about our football season. And these guys collectively had one credit to their name, which was a documentary on the World Series of Beer Pong, Right, and so these guys are gonna make a movie. One of us think it means nothing, but we thought, hey, it's cool. Maybe we'll get a CD of our season together. And these folks followed us around and made a movie that was then titled Undefeated and ended up winning the Academy Award, which is crazy.
It's crazy it was crazy.
But what that movie chronicles is the season that ensued after you came back from prison, and the season that was OC and money and t O S and that whole group of kids from Hume's Junior High their senior year, which is your junior year, and the work we did to try to be good at football but be better people and make the playoffs. And I'm not going to spoiler alert here. You'll have to watch the movie to find out how it ended, but there's a lot of time we spent together that year, Chavis and you messing up and you getting right and messing up and getting right, and through it all, I think, I think, uh, I think I fell in love with you, and I want to know what changed for you in your mind. People can see it on screen, but I want to know in your mind, not what the screen says, but the angry Chavist I first encountered that summer practice to the Chavist that I ended the season with what changed inside you?
Like I said, I kind of feel like I was always like a self centered key and I always had things my way, but just to be a part of something that was truly like bigger than myself was my top motivation. Also, like I said, I had a current mother, and I had teammates that I really cared about, and I really I really wanted to beat her for my teammates. Also, I just I had to set goals for myself, like like you said, I ain't gonna spoiler alert, but if you watch the documentary, like you'll see me coming across the screen with my past sag and all type of just crazy stuff. And I said small like and I always knew that kind of even the small steps still move forward. So I said small goals for myself, Like one was just present myself better, which made by myself a belt, make sure my pants pulled up at all times, and those type of goals created the bigger picture for me. I also, I really cared about you too as well, coach, Like I knew you really cared about us, and they weren't even just about football for you.
So and then like.
Really like we never we really never had coaches that really showed us that we carried They just want to use us for our talent, But you really came around and showed us that like the football, we want to win games, but in reality, we just want to we really want to win in life, and that alone is a was worth more than anything to me, just because people in reality, like I didn't really even care about if coach being a really knew football, but I really knew Coach Beer really cared about us despite what anybody ever said. I'm knew for the fact that you were in it because like you wanted to make a difference. It wasn't about money, it wasn't about anything yes or not.
And I knew that.
And I feel like the only person in those years that I was in announcers that could really like get through me by just like you always with yourself. So that alone made me want to stay in announcers and like get better and get back apart of the team of the collective. And also it was so crazy that I really wanted to be like it was something special. I knew it was special, like I never I never thought it would have went to to those heights, but it was just an unbelievable opportunity to put some other things before my own personal wants and needs.
And I want to be a part of it because I knew it was bigger than just me.
So if I hear all that which by the way, is humbling to listen to and chokes me out because you know how much I love you and care about you. But to hear you say those things, it's pretty special to me. But if I hear, if I could put a word on what I just heard you say, it sounds like you got humility.
Yes, well I gained it, And I feel like this. There was one of my favorite words in the dctionary when I was in Wilder. I heard two words my whole time I was in Wilder, and it was narcissistic and humility. But you can't be both. You're right, you can't be both. You gotta you gotta choose one. And I kind of rolled the fence for a long time and had to realize that most of the situations did I created?
Like I created those situations so.
So you didn't catch your charge. You earned it, Yes, sir, Yes I earned it.
Matter of fact, I wouldn't say that, but yeah, I earned it. Because you can't be a street person and you can't be a football player at the same time. You got to distinguish between which one you want to be. And at the moment, I didn't choose being a football player. I wanted to be in the street, and I got what I earned.
Like you said, but.
Your time, your time finding humility, and your time being part of something bigger than yourself. That wasn't a gang, right.
We would kind of were a gang, but it was different.
It was a different positive gang. Yeah, but it did it did change you, right. And I watched this impetuous kid with a lot of anger and a lot of edge go off to Lane College and come back to Memphis. And when he came back to Memphis, you did some things that I want to talk to you about because that's what our listeners need to understand. The reason you're an army of normal folks is not because of a movie. It is not because of the Oscars, and it is not because you were a great football player, which you were. It's about what you did when you get back. But to set the stage for this, I want to read some demographics. This comes from a website, the Oasis of Hope. What you know is from Hope Presbyterian Church out in Cordova, which is an east East Memphis. But they do a lot of outreach work in North Memphis.
And I have with partner with them some in the.
Time many times they fed us. If you remember they fed our football.
Team, they fed the Nord Memphis is.
They got okay? Well, so this is off their website and for the listeners to fully understand you, you know, the inner cities of Baltimore and Detroit and East Saint Louis and Memphis and other places get sensationalized a lot. And so between TV shows and movies and stuff you read on TV and stuff you see on the news and all of that. People, you know what's real what's not. Well, here are some data facts about North Memphis, which is where you grew up. Of the families with children under five years old, eighty three point four percent live below the poverty level eighty three percent. Eighty seven percent of the homes are valued at less than fifty thousand dollars, and only twenty three percent of the people actually own their home. More than seventy five percent of the residence rent, and half of those renters pay less than three hundred dollars a month. More than fifty percent of adults do not have a vehicle. Only forty three percent of adults have a high school diploma or a ged. Only one point three percent have a bachelor's degree. Unemployment rate is roughly thirty six percent. Roughly fifty percent of the community is under the age of twenty five years old. Only twelve and a half percent of the households consist of a married couple. Twenty one percent of the homes list the grandparent is being head of the household, and the most stark demographic is a twenty one year old male is three times more likely to be dead or incarcerated than he is to have a job. That's North Memphis. So an eighteen year old young man graduating from Manassas High School is three times more likely to be in jail or dead by the time he turns twenty one than is to have a job. That's North Memphis. That's where Chevis came from. That's where your teammates came from, and that's where I coached, learning the hearts and minds of these young men for seven years. Chevas. At last count seven kids I coached at Manasas are now dead. Bookie Chris Madison. I mean, we can name them all, and I can think of six that are in jail right now. These are your friends, there's your teammates, there's the boys, you grew up with. These are some of the boys that were also joining gangs when they were fourteen. There are also the kids that got right on a football field and changed a culture and attitude.
Like everybody's just noting with superstars.
Superstars in their community.
Like on the football field and in the community, like very important individuals like Joshua Somers and rashed your r or Peter Virginia.
That's what we used the column.
Because it's from Virginia, right, And we had really we had, really, we had really really.
If you're from Virginia, you're Virginia. If you're from Florida, Florida, we had a Virginia and.
Like literally everybody you name phenomenal talents like it's supposed to like we we we we know how many people. It's it's so common for us to say what we could have did and should have or sack in the day, right, all that back in the day, and all those guys literally changed like daya. Like I always tell people I was just blissed even be profiled in the movie, Like it's so many guys kind before me and I don't even like I always hear people I don't even know how they chose me, but they chose me, and I was.
Just thankful they needed someone really ugly.
Well I think I was the most handsome wan though.
Okay, but man, and it was just crazy that all those guys play a huge part in my in my life too, Like if you see me, I got a body full of tattoos, and the first two people I when it got my tattoos, we were Wooty and Josh and Josh Virginia.
Yeah, who's now passed away? Right? And and passed away.
At twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty eight, twenty nine. I think he's twenty nine before he was thirty, okay, yeah before I think he was just about the turn thirty. He was about the turn thirty.
So many, chang, let's let's count the guys you played with. We don't have to name the names, yes, but how many of them are in jail? Mhmm.
I don't think people know who Pedro is, so I can say Pedro, Oh.
Petro, I forgot, he's got Patro for sure? Five? And how many are debt.
Full for sure that I know? Like nine, it's a lot before they're thirty, before they were thirty, I locked up or dead right. I know one who got shot over here off Chelsea three four months ago and dot yeah after being in jail. Right, And these are kids that were part of a football team where we talked about character and commitment integrity and they bought into that. But when they left that football team, the streets got him back, right, Because it's like it seems like it all after we graduated, just like would now, especially if you didn't take schools serious or you weren't good enough to get an offer from a college on there on signing day, it was just probably in April, right, Signing day is all in April. So when April come around and you got a twelve on the ACT and your great point average of one point eight or one point something, you ain't do what you're supposed to do.
So now it's now it's the real world.
Now you go from being a bright eyed young boy.
Concern prospect, right, and you're concerned about and like right now I see it every day, like just being working in manauncis lately like knowing and seeing kids that just graduated last year. They come to every game they have now got nothing else to do. So it's just like and a great football players, great athletes, and at the end of their senior year is like what now and in our boys down. So we can point out and we can blind whoever we want to blind about why we do certain thing. We're gonna say our dad want in the harm is the reason why.
We did this.
We can make any type of excuses, but at the end of the day, we make our own decisions, and whether we accept responsibility for those decisions or not, it's on us. And like I said, a lot of people and then, don't get me wrong, a lot of our teammates got opportunities to go play college football, but they didn't take advantage of you know what I'm saying. And I'm one of them. So this is why I kind of feel like I came back to North Memphis to stop the psycle of just making it so far when we all got so much potential. They say that there's nothing more common than unsuccessful men with talent, and like, this is true, that's true. It's always what we could have did, or what we should have did, or what we would have did. But when it gets to the twelfth grade year and you ain't got you, you didn't take take it. Our series and you ain't really live by having character and humility and putting other things before yourself. It always bore down to what you didn't do and not about who did do it.
So so you ain't blaming none of us on society.
No, no, because at the end of the day, I don't care what kind of excuses you make. We make our own decision at the end of the day.
If you guys listen to us, don't understand why I love Chavin Staniels. You just need to hear what you just hearn. This is a kid that grew up. I gave you the demographics. That's where it grew up. Joined the gag at fourteen because he was cool, wanted to be part of something special, paid the price, went to jail, came back, figured out he was either going to be a narcissist or have some humility, found humility in his life and.
Has a perspective that matters.
We'll be right back when he came back to North Memphis with understanding. May not have been able to recite those demographics, but you've lived them your whole life. You know them, you see them, you feel them. Abject poverty and loss and people talk about when I could have, should have, would have. And at ages the twenty nine years old, there's thirty, forty and fifty people all over the neighborhood right talking about what I was back in the day while they hold a forty in a brown back. I agree.
So you saw all that demographics.
This this is fake, that's it. Fac But you said, I want to make a difference, sir, So tell me what you did.
One thing I think I didn't do that I wanted to do was I wanted to finish. I wish I would have finished college and got a degree. You know, when I first went to Line college, it was just about I want to be a football player. But I feel like my whole time playing football, everything was always given to me because I was good. And when I got to college, it was like, man, you ain't the only one that's good here.
Everybody good.
When people battling the full low of scholarships and stuff like that is the competition is top tier, you get top tier competition. So when I went to school, it was like, I wanted to be a football player, but I went for the wrong reasons. I think I want to I had a girlfriend in high school and I kind of we all went to the same college, and it was like I went to college to follow my girlfriend count when when I went, I just football. I just threw football kind of out the window. I was a true freshmen. I started I think like week four because I start and wheel linebacker had got shot in the club.
So there was like the ender he got shot in there?
You're starting, will linebacker in college got shot in the club?
Yeah, twenty one people got shot in the club in club Carmell and Jackson, Tennessee. Twenty one people shot. I think two people got killed that night. So I start in wheel linebacker got shot and didn't The next day, I was on Star. My first game was against Clark Atlanta. That's the first day I started. And one day I missed Waits. I never forget. I missed Waits like two three times, and it was about me just not being held accountable. I thought that was just gonna get me buying college. But no, sir, the person that was behind me, he was on scholarship. And I think I got dawn patrol for like two weeks straight every day before and after practice. And dumb patrollers when you wake up at dawn at four o'clock in the morning and you gotta do cutaways to the whistle stop.
You got a burk crowd for two hundred yards.
And punishment punishment what being held accountable for being missing waste. And my attitude was so bad that it was just like, man, stop it, I'm not doing this. So I went to my dorm room and never can't back the practice again. So now I was just in school, and I'm gonna be honest, coach. I really never went to class like it. I was smoking weed. I was just doing everything the wrong way. And then I think I got kicked out one year. I had a bullet in my room and I had like residue from weed in my drawer. So I went home one weekend and they had search my room. They found it in my room. So I got had a hearing with the school and I got kicked out, but I had appealed it and they let me back in because they really didn't have no evidence that it was mine. I tried to finish and then my mom got sick, so I came home one weekend. I think I wasn't coming home for like two three weeks, and I finally came home one weekend and I came home and it was a Friday night. So Saturday morning I woke up and I just heard my mom likesh chavshv but in a lower tone. So I walked down the steps and say, my mom just laying on the steps like pale. Palms of her hand was cold, and she was like, I don't know what's wrong with me, and like my mom. If you know my mom, my mom is probably the funnest person, like she always she's the life of the party, and it was just different this Saturday morning. She was like, I need to go to the hospital right now. She had to get eight blood transfer. And I told myself, like she going through this and she been through everything with me. I'm dedicated to making sure that my mom gonna be okay. So I left school again and I started working at Kroger. And I always told myself, I know him bigger than this, Like people used to come in Kroger and see me and be like, ooh, you was in that movie or whatever, and I was like, myn know, I'm bigger than this. I know I don't supposed to be doing working in a dairy department at Kroger. So one day, like down the line, I think my mom. And by the way, guys, my mom is ten years and eleven years in remission of Guestro and testing and cancer.
Yeah, sure must die.
Yeah, she was in her fourth stage of Guestro in testing and cancer. And right now my mom is eleven years in remission. So like, I know there's a god seeing it. Just strength in my face so much and just knowing that, like you can overcome autists and still go back to school and get a master's degree and what she Yeah, my mom did all this and now she has a catering company, t shirt company and just bliss and she So one day I went to her job and I seen a need in nor Mephis. I wish I had a person like me growing up, somebody that can actually like relate to what we grew up going through like we and I know Dick from being a football player from when I was like six years old to college, did people go through stuff outside of football field and sometimes the football field is like a sanctuary to people. So I went to my mom's job one day and was just telling her, I want to do something nor mephis that nobody's doing, but I want to do.
It through sports.
So I brought the idea to her and she was like, the only way that I'll be a part of this is if school firstus the motto school first, School first is the motto. So before I start researching on what to do next that she was like, the only way I'll help you is if you show me a plan. So I went found some templates to make flyers and start making flies and start figuring out ways to get kids, start going to every neighborhood dropping flies off. And I told myself, did I always started stuff and don't finish it. And I told myself, like, I want to do something that commit myself to and serve other people. And I'm be honest, I ain't gonna I ain't gonna lie like I was just a perfect coach, especially when it came to existing ows. But I just wanted to teach kids what I.
Learned on my journey.
And a lot of the stuff that I went by with stuff that you taught us. Character, integrity, being able to put the group before yourself, like those the same thing that I teach these kids.
I teach them.
About holding yourself accountable, holding your teammates accountable, because at the end of the day, you either do or you don't, and you gotta have hard You got like it's cool, you ain't got to be tough all the time, but you got you gotta have some hard though. Like most of the stuff that you taught, I use the same recipe. And out of these seven years I've been working with kids.
So here's the deal. You start the North Mefter Steelers, right, and I know it's been seven years, but it went from one team to how many teams?
So now we started. We started off with four age groups, so it was like the five and six year olds, which is sicks you.
Then you had the AU which is seven to eight year olds.
You had the TENU which is nine to ten year olds, and you had the twelve of you, which was eleven and twelve year olds.
So FO. Then you also decided, well there's more than just boys in this community.
Right, so we did cheerleaders and dance team, which my sister and my auntie were the coaches of it.
So there's this void of youth engagement, right, you see it? You start four football team.
Right, and it was like twenty five kids on each age group, and four cheerleading teams and like twenty cheerleaders.
And twenty cheerleaders. So you go from nothing to one hundred and twenty five kids, right, and you call this organization the.
North Memphistillas, North medfid Steels right, and youth and Mentoringship program right, not football team, no, but the youth and Mentoringship program.
Right. We'll be right back. Well, so the first game you kept saying, coach, you gotta come watch, got watch.
I'll never forget out. When our first scrimmages, you.
And Max came, right, yeah, my younger son, y'all came and I feel like there was and I think I told somebody this before. I think it was one of my greatest coaching moments to see you on the sideline with your son just to support with because you know, a lot of people say that Coach B was a Turget person, and obviously it's like twelve thirteen years later and you've always just been one phone call away.
So uh yeah, Javins, I've always been a phone call away and I will always be a phone call away. But that's something I asked you about.
That really, yeah, you asked me about you said one of my greatest coaching moments was about seeing you on the sideline with Max.
Well, yeah, but one of my fondest things was when I looked out on that field and you were coaching your sons and y'all had your things going to everything else, but the assistant coaches all over the place and.
Who they were teammates, old teammates, all old NNASAS teammates.
Right. So not only did the North off the Steelers start mentoring kids six through twelve years old, both male and female, but you went out to your former teammates from a NASAs and gave them a sense of purpose to coach other ages and assistant coaches.
Right, And like I said, I got I want to get my friends who needed an avenue to something better or positive and pretty good football players. Also dads. We don't talk about the good dads enough. And we was giving dads who just got out of jail for twelve years and stuff like opportunities to come and.
Make up for the time that you lost with your child with your child.
And it was just like we had guys that just literally got out the penitentiary that came and was one hundred percent supportive, and no organization in the city that had more dads on the sideline than.
My son went to get his driver's license renewed, and the lady sitting at the computer at the DMV was talking to him and she had on it a pause when she was watching. She paused while she helped Max get his driver's license, and Max looked over and it was a kid with a North Memphis Steelers jersey on. And Max looked over and said, oh, the North Memphis Steelers. And she looked at him, said boy, what you know about that? And he said, because I basically grew up with Javis. And she said, you grew up with Javis?
Right.
She was lily white, little blood haired Max and Javis and she couldn't even put it together. But the point was, everywhere you go, somebody knows something about the North but of Steelers now, which came from scratch scratch. And the point is there wasn't.
An organization that you could call and become a part of. Nobody handed you a pamphlet on how to create a five oh one c three. Nobody gave you a business plan on how you create four youth teams that get ranked nationally and cheer teams and dance squads. Nobody told you how to go get all the equipment, which most of these kids' families cannot pay for. Nobody told you how to get the jerseys. What you did was you saw a need and you figured it out. And I'm sure you made mistakes along the way, but you did it. And the entire time your motto was school first.
School first. Every uniform we had there was on.
And you made kids get a certain GPA to be able to Now they had to come to practice standing and street clothes, but as long as they had a GPA that could If they didn't, they're still part of the team, but they couldn't have played. Got the gpa.
Exactly, Yeah, school first, School first, Yeah, And you did this because you saw a need and filter an ordinary guy who's been through his own struggles and all his own problems.
Who found his humility and that decided he wanted to give back. And there's no temperate for it. No, So let me ask something. Couldn't anybody in any city of this country if they just decided they wanted to have the heart and passion for disadvantaged community. You've done it. Can other people do it right? Most definitely? And to me those whole seven years, it feel like.
We were just pouring from an empty cook meaning like we really didn't have money like that, but for those kids, we literally like I've always been a person where I'm kind of like I never wanted to stand on the corner and ask for donations, but I humble myself to whatever was gonna help these kids. Look not with the uniforms. We had like five different uniforms. We had like no team travel more than us, and we did it all off the love we want. It wont about money because most of the time, i'mna be honest, like a lot of the for like five years straight, the first two years were the only two years that kids actually paid the play and most of the times they couldn't even pay. That was just paying something. And you know, it's a lot of organizations. I heard that if you don't play, your kid really can't play, your kid don't receive a uniform. But we had really niceforms and we had one hundred and forty five kids.
That's a lot of kids to deal with every day.
Especially fit six seven.
It's five six seven eight, So kindergarten is like, yeah, kindergarten. Yeah, So my son started at five and my son is like he a lovable kid. Everybody loves him, so he always wanted to play with his friends. But his friends what the people did, really were just under privilege and really couldn't afford the stuff. So his friends not playing with her him. So it definitely wouldn't be about the money, because like you would out race, we get out and raise it. People send donations. Like Valerie Calhoun helped us a lot by putting us, putting us out local news, right, Yeah, she helped us out by putting us on a great platform to show people like that everybody in the city. I ain't doing bad, so actually people out here trying.
So let me ask something. As you're thinking about the work you're doing with these kids, did you ever flash back to your former teammates who are in jail or dead and think the real reason I'm doing this is try to keep this script of North Memphis kids out of the demographics that we.
Read early right and honestly coached.
All the best players are the sons of former Manasa's talkings, which is crazy, Which is crazy.
Kids I coached their kids now play for you with the dord Pepi Steels, and some of their daddies are dead and in.
Jail, right, And these kids are the nationally ranked kids. So imagine my son on the team with Kendall's son and John Tavis Rogers and Dre Fife and all those guys. These kids are unbelievable.
Dre Fife has a son, yes, I can't believe he found a woman to even be around. But do Dre Fife?
Yes, Like in these guys sons are big time players, nationally ranked, been around the nation to play the top teams, the top supposed to.
My former players up and Nassis kids who you now coach right now right, and and.
John Tavis Rogers who John Tavis Rogers all their sons are crazy good, crazy good.
And as you're coaching these kids at the same time, so many of the people that you played ball with or locked up or dead. And it seems to me you're trying to be the barrier between sons and fathers from repeating a life of.
Sorrow, right, And I'm being just honestly, coach, I just want to be on what you were of us. This is what I want. This is what my main thing is trying to be. Like, I know I'll never be who you were, but you did a lot for a lot of people, and that's what I seek you ot to do, just serve other people.
This is it. I'm not laf man, I ain't looking for you'rea make an old man cry when you say stuff.
Like for real, though, I'm just being honest, and like I said, it's not about money because I've learned over these seven years that when you're doing good, people gonna notice and they're gonna people help you, especially if you're doing it the right way.
Well, that concludes Part one of our conversation with Chevis Daniels, and I hope you'll listen to Part two that's now available. Chevis will tell us about as new endeavor to help our hometown, Memphis, Tennessee. I look forward to seeing the end Part two.
