Three MXS reservists help launch C-5’s – and young men

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Sandi Michon
  • 439th AW/PA
CHICOPEE, Mass. - --  On a beautiful, autumn Sunday afternoon, three coaches pace the sidelines with clipboards--strategizing, encouraging, yelling out play codes, moving players like a chess game - with an intensity easily matching the pros.
The intense trio includes Tech. Sgt. Zaki-Jabbar Robinson, Senior Airman Alan Fairey, and Master Sgt. Pedro "Pete" Hilario. The game ends with a shutout score and a fourth straight victory, and the Chicopee Charger football players line up to talk about their coaches after the post-game briefing.
"Oh my gosh... they get upset with us, they yell... but they're the greatest people I know," said Daniel Mundo, 13-year-old linebacker in his first season with the Chargers.
The greatest people Daniel Mundo knows are three single guys from New York and Connecticut, with no kids, who devote four nights a week and every weekend throughout the football season to pour into the lives of more than 40 kids.
During the week, they launch aircraft - on weeknights and weekends, they launch young men.
Coach Robinson was the first of the three 439th MXS reservists to be drawn into coaching the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club football team of 12 to 14-year-old boys. When he returned from technical school in 2005, he assisted another Westover reservist (retired Master Sgt. Tony Grant) who was coaching the Chargers.
"I didn't really know much about coaching football, but with almost six years in the Marine Corps, I knew how to get people in shape," he recalls, laughing. At six-foot-four, 245 pounds, the towering 28-year-old communications navigation technician took on the "bad cop" role.
During the first season, Coach Robinson gave them muscle, but they captured his heart.
His coaching role expanded beyond football and the season. It morphed into weekly phone calls to his "twins" (pairing kids of similar aptitude to push each other to improve), to checking on their grades and activities, taking them to events, or just playing video games.
It's not uncommon for parents to call the coaches if their sons start to stray. When one boy's grades began to fall, Coach Robinson met with him regularly, combining physical workouts with academic coaching.
"I expect excellence on and off the field," he said. "But, the kids know they can call me any time."
When Coach Robinson moved from assistant to head coach in 2007, Coach Alan took over as offensive coordinator. The six-foot-two avionics journeyman loves football and was All-State Free Safety in 1999 at his Wappinger Falls, N.Y. high school. He admits he was hooked after the first Chargers' practice, by the coach's enthusiasm, and the kids' responses. Coach Alan commands respect, but he's obviously the "good cop."
"I try to keep the tone positive. They're still kids," he said.
"We see some kids start out almost putting their helmets on backwards, but progress to play good ball," he said. "Kids start out crying from one pushup - to a few weeks later--ripping off 30 pushups."
The 27-year-old business administration major is no stranger to volunteering. He grew up helping in nursing homes, soup kitchens, Habitat for Humanity - and helped with Katrina-related rebuilding while at technical school at Keesler Air Force Base, La.
"Football is more than just a game. It can be life-changing, for some," he said.
The Westover coaching trio was rounded out this year with the addition of Coach Pete. The 38-year-old Isochronal Inspection Dock (ISO) chief attended a coaching clinic, at Gillette Stadium with the others, in May, and brings his own football experience as a quarterback in junior high, and running back in high school. At five-foot-six, he joked about his football position change in high school. "I was too short to see over the linemen!" he said.
There is an easy camaraderie between the three coaches, but also a deep respect. In the kid's absence, they are still Coach Robinson, Coach Alan and Coach Pete - and they are quick to recognize each other's strengths - and all three draw from their military experience.
Military discipline is translated to athletic discipline. Victory is the mission and teamwork is the method. All three coaches mentor players and teach them to mentor each other. They teach the Air Force core values: Integrity, Excellence, and Service Before Self.
The coaches demand respect and they give it to every kid - prefacing each of their names with "Mister." They instill respect for each other, for other teams, parents, teachers and referees.
Young teenagers can easily spot hypocrisy, but in a group of 40 football players of all sizes, shapes, colors, and backgrounds, they see their coaches as the real deal.
"They're excellent with us. They want us to be the best we can be in school and the best we can be on the field," said 13-year-old Aidan Santiago. "They respect us. They don't care who you are - they treat us all exactly the same way."
They also see the lighter side.
"To tell the truth, the coaches are like us. They play around with you, but when it's time to get serious, it's time to be a disciplined player," said 14-year-old Jovan Jackson.
In fact, 13-year-old Roman Correa found out about the team by playing Xbox™ with Coach Robinson online. "He can be tough, at times, but he's funny," Correa said.
Chargers team captain, 13-year-old Shane Andrew sees great value in the coaches' military background. "Coach Robinson went to Iraq. It makes us understand why they want to push us and make us the best."
Shane moved to Blandford, Mass. three years ago, but stays with the Charger team. "I love the team and I love the coaches. They push you hard, but it's worth playing for them."
His father, Chuck Andrew agrees. "These coaches are awesome guys. I drive 30 miles one way five times a week. But, it's worth it."