WELCOME TO : THE COACH JOHN JENKINS FOUNDATION

"For the benefit and enjoyment of all young kids and all of the elder ones who remain as young kids"

As my extremely blessed life began on the sandlot playgrounds of an oil patch - cowboy town in the high plains of Texas many of my remaining - surviving close friends and associates have professed over the years that they all expected for me to take on this exact lifestyle of mine. For all of those friends and associates have said that I was always the one"controlling the narrative"in Pampa, Texas as far back when I was in grade school in organizing the competitive games, making the phone calls, coordinating the offensive and defensive sandlot schemes and even keeping the stats of the games in my head ( due to my obsession and love of collecting and studying the informative material on the backs of my football and baseball cards ), as the games unfolded while we were still playing.

I have been playing ball and personally managing - coaching the games even before I could walk out of that spring - loaded crib of mine. I should have known that as early as the late 1950's that my life in coaching others would one day be my true calling. My now six ( 6 ) decades ( and counting ) of coaching football throughout the professional ranks, collegiately and briefly in high schools, while servicing the needs of young players, is just as alive, exciting and vibrant today as it was when I began. I am living proof of the results of having strong faith in God, myself, my fellow companion coaches, my teammates and of the loyal dedicated coaches & workers around me in all of the organizations that I have served throughout these many years.

The valuable unlimited number of life's lessons while weaving through the"dangerous mine fields"of ambushes continues to be learned and taught throughout my numerous years in highly competitive athletics. I have certainly had my share of heartbreaks on my way to many power - packed victories and record - breaking moments with on the field great, rare performances.

However, just as I have learned in all of these great highly contested athletic battles when you experience defeat then you quickly prepare to bounce back ! As dedicated coaches, we continually teach this! As in life, when disappointment or temporary setbacks occur then you quickly bounce back with a positive determined attitude.

My father was an extremely tough and hardened Marine Corps survivor from World War II. I always felt extremely scared and intimidated by him in being around him. It wasn't until later in life, when my older brother had passed away that a close friend of my brother had confided in me, telling me of my dad's surviving every major single land invasion vs. Japan in World War II, only to get severely wounded in the very last battle at Okinawa, Japan, prior to the surrender of Japan. He was awarded a Purple Heart due to his being wounded in battle, yet my dad never ever mentioned the war to me, not once. As a matter of fact he did not mention much of anything to me at any point, due to possibly being riddled by the ghosts and horrors of what war can do to a person, as I now speculate. As a young child and into my early teen years my father's demeanor and overall behavior always seemed troubled and preoccupied as he worked away on the numerous oil field sites, but not really showing a true, lively passion for anything. As for me, I had witnessed enough of the ghastly accidents coming out of those oil drilling incidents that I knew that I wanted nothing to do with that type of life's work.

When my father left home when I was young, in junior high, this was a turning point in my life. In being scared and unsure of myself I thrust all of my belief in my own coaches, as role models and mentors of mine, as well as accepting Jesus Christ, as my savior, in relying on God to look over and guide me. From that point I have always known that God is always with me in everything that I would enter in to. For His giving me a few adequate"gifts in athletic ability" had me throwing myself into a fierce dedication at this early age. I would never cut any corners, nor take any short cuts to accomplish my team or personal goals in athletics. My willpower and relentless pursuit to become a pro football and / or Major League Baseball player drove me repeatedly to all lengths of dedication with rare willpower. I can truthfully say that about the only thing that has ever distracted me from my goals or slowed my progress down has been the beautiful girls who have temporarily headed me off at the pass.

To this day I have never had a taste of an alcoholic beverage of any sort, never a puff of a cigarette, no drugs of any sort, etc. However, I can also say and admit that I have loved and enjoyed this rough lifestyle, as I have always been the designated driver for my rowdy, outrageous, partying teammates, fellow coaches, friends at parties, social functions and in large crowded events. I am a "large crowd" and "people person" through and through. Due to my early Pampa, Texas involvement in athletic events and contests I never knew any type of prejudice existed, as my heroes were the predominant top performing black athletes during the late 1950's and early 1960's. I greatly admired players such as Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, Bob Hayes, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Cassius Clay ( later Muhammad Ali ), Joe Frazier, George Foreman and others. In Pampa I had many African - American friends who I was always playing ball with and due to the closeness and chemistry of being a good teammate I never knew, until later in life, that unusual peculiar racial prejudice even existed. Again, the wholesome chemistry acquired among teammates of all races in sports is a fascinating thing ; the lessons learned that it is amazing what a team can accomplish when the concerned players do not care who gets the credit as it certainly doesn't matter about the color of a person's skin, etc.



This Foundation of mine, to make a difference in helping others, officially, was put into an organized filing in 2018, but the moldings, shaping and construction of it, taking on my many roles and assignments, has been in place for many, many decades of service.

The Coach John Jenkins Foundation is an extension of many, many yearly projects of good will and giving back to others; most of which are much less fortunate than myself. As for the refinement of what this Foundation is today, it is specifically a 501 - C - 3 which serves as a valuable vehicle for me to reach out to others who are in need, young and old.

The special accentuation of this Foundation is naturally and especially for little, innocent kids to have a happy childhood. For growing up on the dust and graveled sandlots of the high - plains town of Pampa, Texas gave me and my buddies a great and happy childhood, despite our very limited financial resources at the time. We were all just thrilled to be outside, having fun. So making the wishes and dreams of disadvantaged, disabled, troubled and all little kids become a reality by reaching them and teaching them to eventually become responsible, respectful and accountable in life means so much in this current society of ours.

This operation of THE COACH JOHN JENKINS FOUNDATION does not ever direct any type of salary to myself, nor any associate staff members and workers of mine. 100% of our donations and contributions are directed to the event ( s ) that we engage with.

I have always been extremely appreciative in praising God for all of the success that has come my way over the years. God has blessed me greatly in being able to reach out to many others and teach them that the lessons that He has enabled me to learn through athletics that can be positively transferred into a great fulfilling life, for myself and for others. I have learned over the years ( and now ) that I have been able to teach that whenever"something bad happens", disappointment occurs, defeat occurs, etc. then many times, with a great positive attitude, this simply opens the doors for a great string of victories and a great successive number of wonderful things to occur in your life afterward.

Thank you so much for supporting my efforts to reach out and help young kids, as well as the other kids of all ages, as I strive with great effort to allow them to also have a strong belief and reliance in God, themselves and their fellow friends and associates ; to also willingly work toward the result of what exceptional teamwork will do for them as they turn goals into reality.

God Bless You Always,
Coach John Jenkins"Coach Jenks"