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Show A community newspaper serving residents and businesses on the west side of Salt Lake City Issue No. NOVEMBER 2004 onference Football Coach Contributes West Ute to Players’ Success On and Off the Field he didn’t home, the want to talk at coach suggested that might be “Communication the problem. is such a big know them as individuals to help them be successful off the field as well as on the field.” Graves devotes much of his time coaching youth baseball and thing,” he said, noting that players should take teamwork concepts from football and apply it to their home lives. For example, Graves encour- West Ute Conference Gremlins Red football team scrimmages under the watchful eye of coach Graves. Photos by Pam Savage By Dale J. Neilson ittle league football coach and West Side native Craig Graves believes winning on the field, or in life, is all about attitude. As someone who has been immersed in sports since the age of eight, Graves knows that winning is about strong, consistent 14 effort. Graves motivates his players by telling them “Football is like a job. You work hard all week long and the game is your payday. You get to have fun and pound on somebody else besides your teammates.” To Graves, sports are all about learning how to communicate, work with others, follow the rules, and about understand- ing yourself - skills that help kids out in their everyday lives. Graves knows first-hand about players’ struggles to cope with non-communication. The coach once asked a player who was troubled about his home life why he communicated so well with his fellow players, but not with his family. When the player told Graves “Tf you show kids you believe in them, they will begin to believe in themselves.” - Coach Graves. ages his players to consider the needs of their family first, just as a team player would put the needs of his team first. The West Side youth coach, who has about 16 years coaching experience, said that success in football or anywhere else depends on self-esteem. “Some of these kids don’t really have confidence in themselves and their abilities. If you show kids you believe in them, they football teams on the West Side. “Somebody was there for me when I was young and playing little league sports,” said Graves, and because of that, he feels an obligation to give back to his community by helping kids use their time in a positive way, playing sports. will begin to believe in themselves,” he said. Coach Graves has spent years building friendships and bonding with his players, in order to be there for them as apositive role model or mentor, when they need one. “It all comes down to the kids. You’ve got to know what the kids are all about; get to Coach Graves said the only two years that he spent away from sports were the darkest of his life. Chacon’s Golden Rule Mural Graces the Guadalupe Neighborhood PHOTO: On Nov. 6 many people gathered to celebrate the unveiling of a new mural painted on the side of Quetzal Imports on the corner of 500 North and 600 West in the Guadalupe neighborhood. Local artist Ruby Chacon’s work was commissioned by the Utah Legislature, the Utah Arts Council’s Arts Education Program, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The mural is part of a fine arts project based on the theme of The Golden Rule. Chacon’s interpretation of The Golden Rule is a vivdly colorful illustration of the interconnectedness of us all and the importance of treating one another with respect. Chacon said that children in the neighborhood would come up to her to talk to her as she was painting the mural. One boy told her that he used to see a lot of kids tagging the building before the first mural went up, but now he says they just come and look. They respect the artwork. Chacon hopes her mural will inspire those kids to become legitimate artists themselves, rather than just tagging illegally. She dedicates her mural to the teachers of Utah and to her late brother, Ernesto Chacon. Photo by Charlotte Fife Jepperson |