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My Mom, The Football Coach
Moms Tackle the Opportunity of a Lifetime
By Gwen Morrison
It is Lancaster's feeling that so much emphasis is being put on winning the game that there is a loss of the basic fundamentals of football.
Janet Walker, another resident of Somers, took on the role of site manager. "Scott felt that women needed to get involved in football for several reasons," she says. "Mothers are often the ones who tell their sons that they can't play due to the fear factor, so they need more education – and to get women more involved in the whole football culture."
The town of Somers was chosen as an experimental site for the program, a spin off of the JPD program. "Jerry Horowitz, our coach, lived in the next town and couldn't have been a better guy for the job," says Walker. "Jerry was an ever-patient, compassionate and understanding coach to put up with us."
A total of 35 children signed up for the three-week camp. In that short time period, Walker says she reveled in the transformation of both the moms and the kids. "You could just feel the confidence level rise in the camp," she says. "As for the kids, I do think we made a difference. Some of them even decided to play football this fall because of the camp."
Walker says that some of the children seemed to be less intimidated by the mothers coaching them and that the moms were certainly more attuned to the underdog.
"A few of my children have played sports, and I know how good coaching makes a difference, especially when coaches make the kids feel good about themselves," says Sharon Weiner, a football mom from Somers, N.Y. "When I heard that the NFL was looking for moms to coach, I thought it would be great for the town of Somers, and I volunteered."
