The 2014 Culver City high school Alumni Football game proves that success starts with a strong foundation. When alumni players take off work to play in a 4 p.m. seven on seven passing contest against the current team last week they must have a lot of pride for their school, coaches and teammates.
“This game is very important because it promotes our motto, once Centaur, always a Centaur,” said head coach Jahmal Wright who is also an alumni football player. “The alumni game is like a family reunion. We are out here playing the game we love.”
What really excited coach Wright and assistant coach Greg Goodyear was the energy and enthusiasm that the alumni exhibited. “It’s great to see our young players going against alumni that are basically seasoned veterans,” said Wright. “Some of them are still trying to play professional football. These players come back and talk to our young players. The players get tired of hearing me talk so it is important to have other voices delivering the same message.”
The message that Wright and his staff have been conveying to his players for past six years is teaching kids how to be better people, better students and better football players. “Long time head coach and assistant coach Cornell Myles told me years ago that this is what it’s all about,” said Wright. “Teaching, mentoring and building strong young men that will be productive in society and not just athletics. That’s what coach Myles believed in.”
A good example of a player doing well after leaving Culver City is former quarterback Marquel Carter. Carter, who graduated from Columbia University in New York a few months ago was the Most Valuable Player in the Ocean league his senior year at Culver City in 2009. He threw and ran for over 50 touchdowns during his playing days as a Centaur. “It is good to see the fruits of our labor pay off,” said Wright. “When I see a player like Carter come back and talk to the current players, that shows me that the parents, the school and the football program is doing something right.”
Assistant Coach Goodyear, who played quarterback for Culver City in the 1970’s thinks that giving back to your school and community is very important. “We want our kids to learn from the alumni.” said Goodyear. “One of the most important things the alumni can do is tell the current players to do the right thing when they are in high school. Some of the alumni are close to their ages so the current players can really relate to what they are saying.”
Another alumni, Cayden Feifer likes what he sees in the current program. Feifer played wide receiver for the Centaurs in 2007-8 and works for Fox Sports. “To come back and see the new field and the energy that’s around the program makes me proud to be a Centaur,” said Feifer.