Hearing the question, “Can you help out?”, are the impactful words that would forever change a life. After 10 years of playing in the NFL, Coach Damion McIntosh decided to retire and, unlike many could say, he chose to coach teenagers. From learning to play football as a freshman in high school, to now helping teach the younger generation. Coach McIntosh inspires many and is a real-life example of the possibilities are endless.
As a young child, Coach had the qualities of becoming an astounding football player, which he did, but not until later in life. “I [Coach] used to play a lot of baseball when I was younger. [However] when I entered high school as a freshman, I had the weight and height to play football. [The school] had to beg me to play,” he says reminiscently. Starting from the bottom and working his way up, Coach mentions what it was like starting from scratch, “I never played football before, so I had to learn it. But one thing they [coaches] didn’t teach me was how to compete.”
Having to learn by himself, he turned into a competitive player shaping himself to be the best in his high school sports career, and the thought of being able to achieve anything filled his mind. “ [Football] gave me a chance and I took it. I took a chance and it got me to Kansas State University.” The opportunity for him to one day become an NFL player eventually came. After getting his degree, Coach McIntosh was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. He later went on to play for the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs.
As his time in the NFL came to an end, an old friend reached out to him. “The athletic director, whom I used to be teammates and friends with, at [Pines Charter] asked if I could help.” It was only the beginning. He was offered the position of Assistant Coach and now continues into his third year of coaching. Though being asked if he could work at PPCHS was a huge factor in working there, Coach has family members such as his daughter and cousin that go to some of the other Charter sub-schools.
In the many years of coaching, Coach has one dream for his teams: “Try to share knowledge and give these kids some kind of background and foundation of just how to play the game properly.” A message to the kids whom he teaches football to, just once like he was taught, is to hopefully help “players give their all in their education and one day if they want, pursue football.” While Coach has gone through a once-in-a-lifetime experience, he still has one goal: “Do whatever I can to help these kids. Everything I’ve done in the past is to always give back.”
Even as Coach reflects, he reminisces on the different players he gets each year, stating, “Every year has a different impact on the different groups. Even the ones returning, they’ve learned and grown a little more so we just add on top of that and expand their knowledge of the game.”
By just a simple “Can you help out?” a lasting effect from Coach McIntosh has been made. So it leaves a wandering thought: what is a question that can make you leave an impact?
