From left to right: Peter, Jojo, David, Arturo, A. Friend, Darren the Warrior, Dominic, Annother Frend, Nick, Dillon, Anthony and Tysheen
Friday, March 12, 2010
Darren and Friends
Guess who made a celebrity appearance at Patrick Henry HS today? Darren the Warrior is home from Children's Hospital and is feeling good enough to see family and friends at the school today. He goes back to the hospital next Wednesday for more Chemotherapy. Until then, enjoy your bed, family, friends and have a Double Double on me Darren!
From left to right: Peter, Jojo, David, Arturo, A. Friend, Darren the Warrior, Dominic, Annother Frend, Nick, Dillon, Anthony and Tysheen
From left to right: Peter, Jojo, David, Arturo, A. Friend, Darren the Warrior, Dominic, Annother Frend, Nick, Dillon, Anthony and Tysheen
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Important Dates for Incoming Freshmen
This is a message for the parents of the incoming freshmen...
First, welcome to Patrick Henry High School and to the Patriot Football Program. My name is LeRoy Dailey and I am the Head Coach of the Freshman Football team. To get a good idea of the kind of program we run here at PHHS, take a look at the earlier entries on this Blog or ask any of the parents that had a son that played on last year's freshmen team. I am confident they would be willing to share their experiences of the Freshman team with you.
We will be visiting Lewis and Pershing Middle Schools along with Momentum and St. Therese on Wednesday April the 7th. We will try to be on those campuses during lunch period. We will be handing out fliers to keep you parents informed on upcoming events.
There will be a mandatory parent and player meeting at the Amphitheater on the campus of PHHS on Wednesday 6/23/10 at 6:00 pm. At that meeting we will introduce the coaching staff, coaching philosophy, go over the summer camp and how to sign up for it on the A.A.U. website, fund raising, spirit pack/equipment information and sign-up's for the Patriot Booster Club.
Summer Camp runs Monday through Friday starting on July 5th and ending on July 22nd . Camp starts at 6:00 pm sharp and will end at 8:00 pm.
If you are planning a family vacation, there is a two week window called "Dead Week". Dead Week is a no contact time that means the coaches cannot have any contact or training sessions with the players during that time frame. Dead Week runs from 7/24/10 through 8/9/10.
As a note, if your son does not have a minimum of a 2.0 GPA in academics or in citizenship, please don't waste your time. He will not be eligible to participate in the summer camp and in the football program. Those are the rules set forth by the CIF and they are not flexible.
I look forward to meeting you and your sons in the upcoming months.
LeRoy K. Dailey
PHHS Freshman Head Coach
First, welcome to Patrick Henry High School and to the Patriot Football Program. My name is LeRoy Dailey and I am the Head Coach of the Freshman Football team. To get a good idea of the kind of program we run here at PHHS, take a look at the earlier entries on this Blog or ask any of the parents that had a son that played on last year's freshmen team. I am confident they would be willing to share their experiences of the Freshman team with you.
We will be visiting Lewis and Pershing Middle Schools along with Momentum and St. Therese on Wednesday April the 7th. We will try to be on those campuses during lunch period. We will be handing out fliers to keep you parents informed on upcoming events.
There will be a mandatory parent and player meeting at the Amphitheater on the campus of PHHS on Wednesday 6/23/10 at 6:00 pm. At that meeting we will introduce the coaching staff, coaching philosophy, go over the summer camp and how to sign up for it on the A.A.U. website, fund raising, spirit pack/equipment information and sign-up's for the Patriot Booster Club.
Summer Camp runs Monday through Friday starting on July 5th and ending on July 22nd . Camp starts at 6:00 pm sharp and will end at 8:00 pm.
If you are planning a family vacation, there is a two week window called "Dead Week". Dead Week is a no contact time that means the coaches cannot have any contact or training sessions with the players during that time frame. Dead Week runs from 7/24/10 through 8/9/10.
As a note, if your son does not have a minimum of a 2.0 GPA in academics or in citizenship, please don't waste your time. He will not be eligible to participate in the summer camp and in the football program. Those are the rules set forth by the CIF and they are not flexible.
I look forward to meeting you and your sons in the upcoming months.
LeRoy K. Dailey
PHHS Freshman Head Coach
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Union Tribune Article on Darren
Patrick Henry players to shave heads in supportFriday, March 5, 2010 at 7:44 p.m.
SAN DIEGO — By Lyndsay Leonelli
Contributing writer
For a group of Patrick Henry High School freshmen football players, sending a get-well card to their sick teammate just wouldn’t do. Instead, some team members and their coach will shave their heads to support Darren Shanks, recently diagnosed with cancer.
The “Haircut for Darren” will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the school’s football field in Del Cerro. Coach Leroy Dailey, organizer of the event, said the team wants to let Darren know he isn’t alone.
“It is a show of solidarity and unity for a cause. That cause is Darren’s fight against cancer. He is our brother and we want to support him in every way we possibly can,” Dailey said on a blog he created for the freshmen team.
In January, Darren began to have chest pains. What his family thought was going to be a simple case of the flu turned out to be a life-threatening tumor in his chest.
“I think as a parent, in that initial moment, you think the worst. ‘It’s not pneumonia, it’s something nefarious,’” said Vivian Colmenero, Darren’s mom. “You’re just holding your breath until they say, ‘your child has cancer.’ It’s devastating.” “
The 14-year-old freshman was admitted to Rady Children’s Hospital in January. He has been diagnosed with Mature B cell Lymphoma, more commonly referred to as “Burkitt’s lymphoma.” The tumor, which is encroaching upon his heart and constricting airways, is too large to operate on. Doctors are hopeful that after chemotherapy, it will be small enough to surgically remove, Colmenero said.
Darren has been involved in sports from soccer to swimming, but his primary goal is to play JV football.
SAN DIEGO — By Lyndsay Leonelli
Contributing writer
For a group of Patrick Henry High School freshmen football players, sending a get-well card to their sick teammate just wouldn’t do. Instead, some team members and their coach will shave their heads to support Darren Shanks, recently diagnosed with cancer.
The “Haircut for Darren” will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the school’s football field in Del Cerro. Coach Leroy Dailey, organizer of the event, said the team wants to let Darren know he isn’t alone.
“It is a show of solidarity and unity for a cause. That cause is Darren’s fight against cancer. He is our brother and we want to support him in every way we possibly can,” Dailey said on a blog he created for the freshmen team.
In January, Darren began to have chest pains. What his family thought was going to be a simple case of the flu turned out to be a life-threatening tumor in his chest.
“I think as a parent, in that initial moment, you think the worst. ‘It’s not pneumonia, it’s something nefarious,’” said Vivian Colmenero, Darren’s mom. “You’re just holding your breath until they say, ‘your child has cancer.’ It’s devastating.” “
The 14-year-old freshman was admitted to Rady Children’s Hospital in January. He has been diagnosed with Mature B cell Lymphoma, more commonly referred to as “Burkitt’s lymphoma.” The tumor, which is encroaching upon his heart and constricting airways, is too large to operate on. Doctors are hopeful that after chemotherapy, it will be small enough to surgically remove, Colmenero said.
Darren has been involved in sports from soccer to swimming, but his primary goal is to play JV football.
Photos from 'A Haircut for Darren'
Phil Aman, a friend of the Shanks family, took photos of the 'Haircut for Darren' I want to thank him and his wife Pattie for the photos and for taking time out of their weekend to be with us and record the event.
I have attached the link below for your veiwing enjoyment.
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=4xi1ah75.8uay66f1&x=0&y=-gtnsx3&localeid=en_US
I have attached the link below for your veiwing enjoyment.
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=4xi1ah75.8uay66f1&x=0&y=-gtnsx3&localeid=en_US
A Haircut for Darren
Darren was supposed to be home and there was an outside chance he was going to attend the haircut with the team for a little bit... But unfortunately, Darren had to be re-admitted back to Children's Hospital because his body is having a hard time with the chemotherapy.
As they say on game day, the show goes on, rain or shine, we are playing. So, we continued with our plan on Saturday morning in the Amphitheater. About 30-35 players, friends and family showed up for the haircut. It was nice to see the support from family and friends.
I met with Darren's mom Vivian before we got started and she was exhausted. The long hours at the Hospital, not sleeping at home and taking turns with her husband Tom staying at the Hospital has taken a toll on her. But she was happy to be with us and see the love and support the team and family had for her and her son. In talking to Vivian, I could only think of the pain and weakness that Darren has to endure during his chemotherapy...
As we got started and I addressed the crowd of what was going to happen. But my thoughts were of our young brother lying in his hospital bed as he battles this monster in his chest... I became emotional. I remember apologizing for fighting back the tears and I heard a voice from the crowd, "You're doing fine!"
I tell you, those words came at the right time. It lifted my spirits and I got me on track to get the ball rolling. So to you Darren, my friend and my brother, I want you to know to hang in there and fight the fight. "You're doing fine!"
Coach Pankow made a presentation on behalf Admiral Earl Gay of the U.S. Navy. Adm. Gay (who is currently off the coast of Chile) presented Darren with an Admiral's baseball cap from the USS Green Bay. GO BIG GREEN! Coach Pankow also was able to have Sunbelt Rentals sponsor beanie caps for all the participants. On the front of the beanie caps was stitched, "WARRIOR #66" in honor of Darren.
Mark and Pat, the owners of McCarter's Bar and Grille donated a 15% coupon for each participant and also gave a $50 certificate at McCarter's for the player who had the longest hair! Arturo Najera had the longest hair and won the $50 certificate.
Thank you Admiral Gay for your support for the team and for the hat. Thank you to the folks at Sunbelt Rentals for the donations of the beanies and thank you to Mark and Pat at McCarter's Bar and Grille (the official eatery of the PHHS Freshman football staff). A Big thank you to Coach Rick Pankow for putting this all together.
We finally got to cutting hair. Mine was the first to go and wouldn't you know, it began to rain. We moved everything into Coach Martinez' room and finished off my hair. I let the players cut my hair. Aaron Rocha, Ryan Taylor-Arias, Jojo Pompa and Kevin McKinney had the soft, professional touch of a barber. Peter Mineo and Arturo Najera treated my head like a pinata. As it turns out, Kevin McKinney is quite the master barber and he was our "Quality Control" person for the entire day. (That means he fixed any boo-boos)
Coach Pankow went next. And then the players. Before and after photos were taken. Everybody had a good time and it was all to support Darren. To let him know he was not alone and that we were with him, always. We took before and after photos and I will be posting them on the Blog as soon as I get them.
There was a Union Tribune article in Saturday's newspaper in the Our Region section in case you want to read about Darren. It was a nice article. (I attched it on the next Blog entry)
Finally, as we all posed with our shaved heads at the end of the day, I gave Vivian Darren's home game jersey to give to Darren. That was the least we could do to help lift his spirits and keep him fighting on. We will be praying for your speedy recovery. I love you Darren and you keep fighting the fight.
As they say on game day, the show goes on, rain or shine, we are playing. So, we continued with our plan on Saturday morning in the Amphitheater. About 30-35 players, friends and family showed up for the haircut. It was nice to see the support from family and friends.
I met with Darren's mom Vivian before we got started and she was exhausted. The long hours at the Hospital, not sleeping at home and taking turns with her husband Tom staying at the Hospital has taken a toll on her. But she was happy to be with us and see the love and support the team and family had for her and her son. In talking to Vivian, I could only think of the pain and weakness that Darren has to endure during his chemotherapy...
As we got started and I addressed the crowd of what was going to happen. But my thoughts were of our young brother lying in his hospital bed as he battles this monster in his chest... I became emotional. I remember apologizing for fighting back the tears and I heard a voice from the crowd, "You're doing fine!"
I tell you, those words came at the right time. It lifted my spirits and I got me on track to get the ball rolling. So to you Darren, my friend and my brother, I want you to know to hang in there and fight the fight. "You're doing fine!"
Coach Pankow made a presentation on behalf Admiral Earl Gay of the U.S. Navy. Adm. Gay (who is currently off the coast of Chile) presented Darren with an Admiral's baseball cap from the USS Green Bay. GO BIG GREEN! Coach Pankow also was able to have Sunbelt Rentals sponsor beanie caps for all the participants. On the front of the beanie caps was stitched, "WARRIOR #66" in honor of Darren.
Mark and Pat, the owners of McCarter's Bar and Grille donated a 15% coupon for each participant and also gave a $50 certificate at McCarter's for the player who had the longest hair! Arturo Najera had the longest hair and won the $50 certificate.
Thank you Admiral Gay for your support for the team and for the hat. Thank you to the folks at Sunbelt Rentals for the donations of the beanies and thank you to Mark and Pat at McCarter's Bar and Grille (the official eatery of the PHHS Freshman football staff). A Big thank you to Coach Rick Pankow for putting this all together.
We finally got to cutting hair. Mine was the first to go and wouldn't you know, it began to rain. We moved everything into Coach Martinez' room and finished off my hair. I let the players cut my hair. Aaron Rocha, Ryan Taylor-Arias, Jojo Pompa and Kevin McKinney had the soft, professional touch of a barber. Peter Mineo and Arturo Najera treated my head like a pinata. As it turns out, Kevin McKinney is quite the master barber and he was our "Quality Control" person for the entire day. (That means he fixed any boo-boos)
Coach Pankow went next. And then the players. Before and after photos were taken. Everybody had a good time and it was all to support Darren. To let him know he was not alone and that we were with him, always. We took before and after photos and I will be posting them on the Blog as soon as I get them.
There was a Union Tribune article in Saturday's newspaper in the Our Region section in case you want to read about Darren. It was a nice article. (I attched it on the next Blog entry)
Finally, as we all posed with our shaved heads at the end of the day, I gave Vivian Darren's home game jersey to give to Darren. That was the least we could do to help lift his spirits and keep him fighting on. We will be praying for your speedy recovery. I love you Darren and you keep fighting the fight.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Darren Shanks (Part 8)
Darren finally made it home on Wednesday 3/3/10 after a week and a half of Chemotherapy. Our Warrior is tired and weak. But he hasn't given up the will to continue and fight this cancer and the treatment he has to endure.
As most of you know, our 'Haircut form Darren' has been moved to Saturday 3/6/10 in the football at 11:00 am. I will be on campus setting everything up at 10:30. (I will bring donuts too) In the event there is rain on Saturday, we will move the haircut into the coaches office.
So far I have collected 5 permission slips from players. If a players wishes to participate, I need a permission slip from parents to allow me to cut the player's hair. Also, I need participants to be at the team room at 1030 so I can hand out their game jerseys for them to wear for the haircut.
I made a deal with the players. I promised them I would allow them to cut my hair in exchange for me cutting their hair. I am a man of my word and I will allow those who are participating to cut my hair!
The last time I cut my hair that short, I was 4 years old. I am interested in seeing what kind of cracks and dents I have accumulated on my head since that time.
The bottom line is doing this it to let Darren know he is not alone. It is a show of solidarity and unity for a cause. That cause is Darren's fight against cancer. He is our brother and we want to support him in every way we possibly can.
Also, we want to bring attention to Rady Children's Hospital and their Cancer Treatment Center. There are many more children in the same unit as Darren and they are all younger than him. All of them are fighting the same battle against cancer and against the Chemotherapy that Darren is currently fighting.
Possible good news is that if Darren is feeling up to it, he might be able to join us at PHHS and witness his friends and loved ones cut their hair in honor of him and his battle against cancer.
If you need a permission slip, email me at ldailey@pd.sandiego.gov and I will email one to you.
Please continue to keep Darren, his mother Vivian, his father Tom, his brother Bryan and the rest of his family in your thoughts and prayers.
As most of you know, our 'Haircut form Darren' has been moved to Saturday 3/6/10 in the football at 11:00 am. I will be on campus setting everything up at 10:30. (I will bring donuts too) In the event there is rain on Saturday, we will move the haircut into the coaches office.
So far I have collected 5 permission slips from players. If a players wishes to participate, I need a permission slip from parents to allow me to cut the player's hair. Also, I need participants to be at the team room at 1030 so I can hand out their game jerseys for them to wear for the haircut.
I made a deal with the players. I promised them I would allow them to cut my hair in exchange for me cutting their hair. I am a man of my word and I will allow those who are participating to cut my hair!
The last time I cut my hair that short, I was 4 years old. I am interested in seeing what kind of cracks and dents I have accumulated on my head since that time.
The bottom line is doing this it to let Darren know he is not alone. It is a show of solidarity and unity for a cause. That cause is Darren's fight against cancer. He is our brother and we want to support him in every way we possibly can.
Also, we want to bring attention to Rady Children's Hospital and their Cancer Treatment Center. There are many more children in the same unit as Darren and they are all younger than him. All of them are fighting the same battle against cancer and against the Chemotherapy that Darren is currently fighting.
Possible good news is that if Darren is feeling up to it, he might be able to join us at PHHS and witness his friends and loved ones cut their hair in honor of him and his battle against cancer.
If you need a permission slip, email me at ldailey@pd.sandiego.gov and I will email one to you.
Please continue to keep Darren, his mother Vivian, his father Tom, his brother Bryan and the rest of his family in your thoughts and prayers.
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