CAPS #6

Almost four years ago I wanted to try my hand at football coaching. I ended up at Lincoln High because they have amazing diversity. I ended up forming a very good friendship with Coach Goodwin. He's nearly 10 years older than me, African American, and from Chicago. We had very different lives, but had football in common, more specifically the defensive side. Over 3 seasons together we have formed a good friendship even though we've had such different lives to this point. It's funny now we are more alike than he was at my age, as he has now starting college.

The first dialect is the differences-similarities. We found out early on that our personalities balanced each other out on the football field. He is much quieter and more serious on game days while I am pretty relaxed and always confident, while during practice it's almost flipped, with the exception of us both not being quiet. We balance each other out and it carried over to a friendship.

The second dialect is history/past-present/future. Even though he was from Chicago and I'm never lived anywhere but Lincoln, our families had a lot in common through history. With me being Lakota and him being African American we've obviously struggled throughout history. But something he wasn't around that he didn't have much experience with was American Indians. He grew up calling people Chief the same way the term "Bro" is used. The first time I heard that I asked him if it was because I was Lakota, he said it was a habit that he never thought about. It wasn't a big deal but it was something he never had to think about.

Working at Lincoln High you get to be around so many different people. I know we both have gained from our friendship. Us both being from different families and areas to be able to come together so easy has made coaching so much fun. The students seeing us get together I think helps the team come together quicker. We have kids from all over the city and all different neighborhoods. Our teams need to come together early so I think many people have benefited from the friendship.