Former gridiron pro offers tips for life success

Joe Valerio speaks
with students during
visit to Jackson school
By Joyce Blay
Staff Writer

JACKSON — In the game of life, former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Joe Valerio has had many winning seasons. When he came to address students in the Jackson Memorial High School Senior Smart Start Program on March 14, he revealed the secret to his success.

"You just have to remember that there are consequences to your actions," Valerio said.

Standing in front of a podium from which hung his red football jersey with the number 73, and on top of which a football was perched to one side, Valerio, a handsome, still-robust man with dark hair, described how as a young boy he first dreamed of a career in football.

"I grew up in Philly," said Valerio. "We lived in row houses with long backyards, which were perfect for football."

As the father of three paced with a microphone in front the students seated in the front rows of the auditorium, he held them rapt with his story.

"I’d walk up to the [imaginary] line of scrimmage, spike the ball and do my dance," said Valerio. "If I had been asked, ‘Where are you going now, Joe?’ I’d have said, ‘I’m going to Disney World.’ [At age 6], I was a legend in my own mind."

By the time he was 7, the little boy with big dreams was beginning to live them out with the help of a supportive family that enrolled him in a junior football team. Although he said his father didn’t even like football, he helped his young son to achieve his dream.

To illustrate a point about being small and weak, but having the help of those who support you to achieve a goal, Valerio called for a volunteer from the audience. A young girl got up and walked to over to Valerio. Taking his football helmet from the podium, he placed it on her head and then strapped his shoulder pads on her small frame. Struggling to support the additional weight she was now carrying, the girl tried to shift her balance to one leg for better leverage. The maneuver did not help; her shoulders sagged beneath her burden and the large helmet obscured her face.

"That was me at 7, too," said Valerio. "The lesson for me that I learned at 7 is that the world is bigger than just you. It becomes a huge environment when you go outside your comfort zone and you want to achieve something."

Valerio’s career as a professional football player lasted six years. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Valerio was a sports anchor for the ABC affiliate KMBC in Kansas City, Mo., and he later hosted a weekly post-game talk show for radio station KCFX-FM. But as public interest in his athletic career waned, the former football star was no longer able to find work in sports.

"Football players usually have to get a job when they retire," said Valerio. "When I went into insurance, I was given a telephone and told to make sales calls. ‘Aren’t you going to tell me what to do?’ I asked. ‘No,’ I was told, ‘It’s up to you.’ So that’s what all of you are going to have to do."

Valerio then asked a boy in the audience to come up and identify photos of celebrities he projected from a laptop computer onto the stage screen.

After the boy correctly named all of the people shown, Valerio tossed him a miniature football as a reward for his efforts. Then he again addressed his audience.

"Have any of these people ever paid for your food bill?" asked Valerio. "Or told you they loved you? These people are not really a part of your life, even though you see them every day."

Then Valerio made his point.

"The people here really care about you and want you to succeed," he said, gesturing to the adults seated in the auditorium.

"Make them feel important about what they do and they’ll support you."

That was exactly the message that educators participating in the high school’s mentoring program wanted to communicate to their young audience, according to Joanne Coley, vice principal and a founder of the Senior Smart Start Program.

"We started the program last year with no funding at all for students at risk of dropping out," said Coley.

"The reason we were able to afford this speaker is due to the Jackson Municipal Alliance, which is a branch of the Governor’s Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse. The beauty of this is that it’s township-based, using state funds."

Coley also had the help of guidance counselor Ilene Schwaber in getting the program started.

"Other districts are coming to us for advice on how to start a similar program in their high schools, too," she said.

"Any high school can start this program without funding the way we did, but the extras do help."

When asked if there is a secret to keep­ing children interested in continuing their education by staying in school and not dropping out, Schwaber answered without hesitation.

"It’s dealing with the hearts of people," she said.