Soldier’s Wish shines on Vietnam vet’s youth football team
Vietnam War veteran Ed Johnson has coached his Little Rock, Ark., football team for 48 years, mentoring more than 4,300 inner-city youth and sending dozens of them to the National Football League.
But the Sunset Tigers never had all new uniforms. That is, until now — thanks to Soldier’s Wish and The American Legion.
Mark Ochsenbein, executive director of Soldiers Wish, presided over a surprise ceremony honoring the coach July 28. “We’re doing a wish not only for Coach Ed, but for the team,” he said. “It’s one of the four pillars of The American Legion — Children & Youth. This football program supports the inner-city kids here in Little Rock. Otherwise they wouldn’t have anything to do.”
The Sunset Tigers are actually three teams: pee wees (age 8 and under), junior varsity (age 9 to 11) and varsity (ages 12 and 13). One side of each of the 104 new jerseys has the Soldier’s Wish logo and the other side features The American Legion emblem. The cost of the grant was more than $4,114.
“They’ve never had brand-new jerseys like this before,” Ochsenbein told the crowd of 100 current and former players, parents and other supporters. “They’ve lived off a shoestring budget for years.”
After several former players and supporters spoke of their admiration of Johnson, a dozen current players paraded into the room, wearing the new bright orange jerseys.
Johnson was stunned. “Really? All right! Really? Really? Wow! Are you serious? A complete set? Nobody has ever done this for us. Wow!”
Mary Gaines, the Sunset Tigers Booster Club president, worked with Ochsenbein and others to keep the gift a secret for three months. They created a ruse, telling Johnson they would take him to Memphis for a day of visiting attractions.
“I feel like I just won Publisher’s Clearinghouse when they give out $1 million,” Johnson said. “Those jerseys are like a million dollars to me.”
Previously the Tigers would get around 10 new jerseys a year, sometimes funded by Johnson himself. The new jerseys will debut when the new season begins Aug. 11 in a game against the No. 2-ranked Jonesboro Razorbacks.
Gaines’ family has a longtime relationship with the man fondly referred to as Coach Ed throughout the community. Her son, 10-year-old grandson and nephews have all played for Johnson.
“We have a long history,” Gaines said. “For a lot of the players, there is no male figure in the house. And they depend on Coach Ed. He not only coaches these boys, he’s like a father — a mentor.”
A few months ago, another board member heard about a different Soldier’s Wish grant and alerted Gaines, who contacted Ochsenbein. “He responded two days later; is this real?” she wondered. “Coach Ed deserves this. Not only is Coach Ed a pillar in this community, but I am finding out a lot of things about him that really touched me.”
Gaines said Johnson instructs some of his players to show up to church an hour early on Sunday mornings. He takes that time to provide extra mentoring for the boys.
She recalled one time when her son broke his wrist during a football practice. He persuaded his dad to let him watch the next day’s practice, then ended up on the field, doing drills with the team. “These boys love Coach Ed so much,” Gaines said. “They never give up. That’s what Ed instills in these young men.”
Serving his community after Vietnam
Johnson, a member of The American Legion, is a former U.S. Army Ranger with two Purple Hearts. “He came out of the service and he had a calling — a calling to coach youth football,” Ochsenbein said.
Johnson received one of his Purple Hearts when both his heels were injured in a blast. “When most men get blown up like that, they end up losing something down there,” he said.
On another patrol, Johnson was wounded and his best friend was among those killed. “For 50 years, I’ve been asking God, ‘Why not me?’” he recalled. “I never knew the answer to that until three months ago. My pastor was preaching that God has a purpose for everybody. God showed you that purpose and you just didn’t realize it.”
Johnson credited his brother, McKinley Johnson Jr., who encouraged Ed to create and coach the football team as a way to overcome his post-traumatic stress disorder. “My brother got me into this,” he said. “He was worried that I was sitting around, worried about Vietnam. He told me he would help me if I would do it. He’s been with me every step of the way.”
Johnson followed his brother’s advice and planned on running the football program for a year, maybe two.
“God came to me and said, ‘This is what I am doing for you. This will keep your mind off your nightmares, keep your dreams off of Vietnam,’” Johnson recalled. “I have PTSD and all that. But when I am around the kids, it’s gone. God built this for me. I just can’t walk away from it. I look forward to every day when I am out there with those kids.”
Johnson teaches his players about four keys — church, school, home, life. “It’s important — the way you dress, the way you speak, the way you act,” he said. “I want to be that man out front not because I’m the coach of the Sunset Tigers. I want to be a role model because that’s the way I want you to live.”
Mentor and coach
Thirty-five of Coach Ed’s former players started their football careers on the Little Rock field — which is actually in a flood plain, tucked away in a small, nondescript park without lights — and finished in illuminated NFL stadiums broadcast to millions of fans. Those players include Super Bowl champion and six-time Pro Bowl participant Keith Jackson and NFL Defensive Player of the Year and six-time Pro Bowler Leslie O’Neal.
Erin Smith, son of former Sunset Tiger and NFL player Eric Smith, is a 6-foot-5, 275-pound sophomore with a 3.5 GPA who just received his first scholarship offer to play Division I football. “Being a good father is a direct result of being coached by Ed Johnson,” Gaines quoted the elder Smith as saying.
Erin, 16, represented his father at the ceremony, sharing a story about how Johnson tutored his father about the 13 Colonies in sixth grade.
“Ed, there is not enough time to share all that you mean to me, my family and the thousands of men who make up the Sunset Tigers,” Erin said, reading a letter from his father to Johnson. “You promised my mom and daddy that you would be there for me and you were, on and off the field. Your commitment to all of us Sunset Tigers is evident in the successes we all share as men and fathers.”
Keith Jackson Jr., who like his father played for Coach Ed and in the NFL, thanked Johnson during the presentation. “Today, I am trying to give back things that were instilled in me from Coach Ed,” he said. “I just want to do things like my dad did, like his afterschool program; teaching kids structure and how to be positive; how to stay out of trouble and get an education. And make sure they know that football is not everything.
“I just want to do the same that Coach Ed does — give back, and be there for the kids.”
Roger Madris started as a player with the Tigers in the early 1990s and has been an assistant coach since 2000. Madris was one of the players who Johnson took under his wing, mentoring him before church and at his home.
“He made a difference in my life, both on and off the field,” Madris said of Johnson. “He teaches these young men about life about doing the right thing. As a coach, he has taken me under his wing. He’s been a role model and a friend. He’s a guy who you want around your kids.”
Johnson has coached four of Madris’ sons, including three currently on the Tigers.
“He coached my oldest son, which means a lot to me. He was killed in 2012.” said Madris, who wore a T-shirt honoring his late son, Tajuan. “Coach was one of his inspirations. He took my son under his wing and called him his adopted son, just like he did with me.
“He always taught us about being a young man, never being a boy. It makes a difference in life, looking out for your brother instead of yourself.”
Wesley Johnson is starting his sixth year playing for Coach Ed. “I play wherever coach wants me to and I’ll be happy about it,” Wesley said. “I look out for my teammates. I want my teammates to have fun, just like I do.”
Welsey learns more than just Xs and Os from Johnson. “I’ve learned how to be respectful. I’ve learned how to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ He’s taught me how to be nice to other people.
“He’s like my dad to me. He looks out for me. He helps me with what I need.”
Johnson counts his successes on the men who he’s helped shape, not the trophies in the case.
“I look at it like a challenge every day to get with the kids,” said Johnson, who counts his grandson among his current players. “Not to play football. I could care less about football. I like coaching football. But I like talking and working with the kids more. I like guiding them, showing them the rules of life.”
Giving back and giving thanks
Members of the Department of Arkansas and American Legion Post 74 in Little Rock attended the ceremony and helped secure the donation.
“It’s something you don’t see very often, when someone is so surprised like that,” said Kirk Williams, a member of Post 74. “It also shows how the community helps and how we give back. We’re all veterans.”
The efforts were not lost on Gaines. “I thank God, Soldier’s Wish and The American Legion from the bottom of my heart for everything you did. Nothing but love for you guys. You guys are awesome.”
Johnson, too, thanked The American Legion for the gift and for handling his VA claim.
“I don’t know if I deserve this. The kids here deserve this,” he said. “If God gave me the chance to do it all again, I would do it all again.”