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Former Steeler to speak at community center fund-raiser dinner, auction |
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Local Content -
Local News
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Written by Mike Ishman
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Tuesday, 03 November 2009 |
Presenting a check for $5,000 to the Punxsutawney Community Center is Tracy Mizerock (right), Secretary and Manager of the Italian Sons and Daughters of America Club of Punxsutawney. The Community Center will be holding a fund-raiser dinner/auction at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Rooftop at the Pantall Hotel. Accepting the check is Community Center Board President Mick Mumau. (Photo by Mike Ishman/The Punxsutawney Spirit)
PUNXSUTAWNEY — In an age well before cell phones, home computers and video games, young Americans were a lot more active when athletes — whether they played pick-up sports or won Super Bowls, such as Jon Kolb — took the field of play.
"Kids are playing on their computer. It's not social," said Kolb, who earned four Super Bowl rings as the left tackle of the famed 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers. "If kids aren't playing football or running cross country in the fall, or playing basketball or wrestling in the winter, what do they do?"
That's why places such as the Punxsutawney Area Community Center are important for America's youth, according to Kolb. And one doesn't have to be a Super Bowl-winning football player — or an athlete at all — to benefit.
"I don't play sports, but I feel like being active," he said. "The programs help kids discover things to do if you aren't an athlete. It can be easy to mix activity with values of life. It's an extra benefit."
Mick Mumau, president of the center's board of directors, agrees, saying that a place for the community to meet and participate in programs is important.
"Eventually, at some point in time, everyone is going to be there for something or another. It doesn't matter if they are little kids or adults," he said. "As children grow from preschool age to high school, there are programs that they can always participate in.
"When they are adults, we have programs for them there, too," Mumau said. "Whether it's fitness or educational-type things, we plan on having more of that now that we have a chance to do that."
A fund-raiser to help the Punxsutawney Area Community Center offer activities for area residents will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Pantall's Rooftop. Highlights include dinner, an auction and Kolb as a special guest.
Now a medical professional, Kolb said that after he left football, he didn't plan on speaking to groups striving for a cause or an event.
"It just kind of happened," he said. "For some reason, people think if you run into things, you are smart enough to talk."
Kolb was inspired to speak at events after coaching a football clinic.
"I was driving home, and I got to thinking: You go to these clinics, and the coaches are always talking about their philosophies of coaching. That day, I started thinking about my philosophy of living."
When Kolb retired from professional football in 1981, the change took a great deal of adjustment.
"Many players in the NFL have the basics for football, but not many have the basics for life," Kolb said. "I thought I did, but I didn't."
Kolb recalled a situation in which he and his former quarterback had to look at themselves differently.
"I was walking down the road with Terry Bradshaw, and someone stopped us and asked, ‘Didn't you used to be Terry Bradshaw?'" he said. "All these players, they think they are Terry Bradshaw when they are playing. It becomes their total identity.
"One thing that Coach (Chuck) Noll always used to say after a loss was, ‘We are going back to basics,'" Kolb said. "When I talk, I talk about the basics of life. Those don't change, simple as that." He is speaking as a member of Christian Sports International (CSI), which teaches children and at-risk children sports skills and healthy life skills through an innovative approach, such that they have a chance to become the best of the best.
Kolb first connected with CSI at a football clinic in Tennessee.
"We did a football clinic for kids," he recalled. "When you have clinics, you have to make it interesting. You have to make it fun, teach about the sport, and leave the kids with something about life.
"When we were down there together, I found that our whole idea of ministry and sports meshed together," Kolb said. "It's about providing a solid basic foundation. So much has been taken out of the school; CSI fills some of those blanks."
Reflecting on his greatest sports moment, Kolb recalled, "The biggest moments that come to my mind are watching my kids play sports. It overshadows everything I did. I wouldn't trade those moments for anything, including a Super Bowl."
The Community Center is still encouraging members of the community to step forward and offer their skills as instructors. Mumau said he hopes that instructors may be able to help the center begin new programs, including technology literacy and cooking classes.
The Community Center recently received a $5,000 donation from the Italian Sons and Daughters Of America Club of Punxsutawney as a jumping off point for the event.
Tracy Mizerock, Secretary and Manager of the ISDA, said donating to a local cause is important. "We donate to a lot of different things. Any time we have a few extra dollars, we like to give back to the community."
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 03 November 2009 )
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