Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote "nothing great is ever achieved without enthusiasm."
Emerson wasn't a football coach, he was a poet and transcendental philosopher. He may never have heard of football, which was only in an infant stage during his lifetime (1803-1882).
Emerson was speaking of man's ability to realize almost anything, and the relationship between the soul and the surrounding environment.
Emerson translates well on the campus of Normandy High. The school was founded in 1923 on a unique vision, an academic curriculum based on life skills. The mission was to nurture achievement through enthusiasm. Eighty-seven years later, the environment has changed dramatically.
The school serves areas that are economically depressed, a student body with diverse and sometimes demoralizing needs. This year, the Normandy district has absorbed 550 students from the Wellston district, as ordered by the state board of education. Around 200 of those students are high school age.
Wellston becomes the 24th municipality under Normandy's umbrella. Only Baskin-Robbins represents more flavors, i.e. more neighborhoods, more cliques, more needs. In the big picture, which can include daunting social and academic challenges, athletics seems irrelevant.
The Normandy football program — and perhaps Emerson — beg to differ.
"We talk to our guys a lot about how they have to help move the school, in the classroom and in the hallways as well as on the field," Normandy football coach Antoine Torrey said.
"We're sticklers about the discipline in the classroom, and the kids believe it and buy into it. We get compliments from referees and restaurant owners. It's a huge turnaround from three or four years ago. We're getting a lot of support and we give back by showing we're quality citizens in the classroom. And it's working."
On Tuesday, Torrey and Normandy principal Curt Green accepted a $5,000 check to the school from Oshiomogho Atogwe. Last season, the Rams player challenged area high school players to achieve in the classroom through his I Am Foundation, offering financial grants to the top two teams based on improved grade-point averages. With a GPA of 2.3, Normandy finished second, behind Cleveland NJROTC.
Last year, Normandy realized a donation of $100,000 from Emerson Electric for the improvement of is student athletic facilities. The school also has received donations from Laurence Maroney, a former Normandy football standout who now plays for the New England Patriots.
When Torrey graduated from assistant to head coach in 2005, 37 kids were in the entire program. Many who might have been playing football were academically ineligible. Many were engaged in less-productive, self-destructive activities.
"That first year was a process of filtering out all the problems," Torrey said.
Normandy counts Bel-Nor among its tributaries, a township that butts up to Normandie Golf Club with trim lawns and $200,000 homes. But the school's population more closely corresponds to hard-boiled areas like Pine Lawn and Hillsdale.
According to city-data.com, 2008 statistics showed the Normandy district has a crime rate nearly double the national average. The statistics show the estimated per capita income to be $17,824 and the median household income to be $29,424. The national median household income is $46,867. More than 24 percent of the population has income below the poverty line and the unemployment rate is well above the state average.
'We're all Normandy'
Some of Normandy's students are from perfectly stable homes. Some are in circumstances teenagers shouldn't be in, homes crippled by drugs or violence, hopes shattered by devastating influences. The Battle for Normandy goes much deeper than Friday Night Lights.
"All these kids have issues at home," Torrey said. "I don't think there's another school in the nation that has as many municipalities. That's a huge challenge for not only a football coach but a principal — to blend all of these kids into one community.
"So we talk about that a lot with the kids — we're all Normandy, we're not Wellston, or Pagedale ... we're Normandy. That was a challenge coming in my first year, I must admit. There was lot of hostility among the kids on the team, different gangs and stuff. It was a challenge to get all the guys to buy into one plan."
What Torrey, Green and superintendent Dr. Stanton Lawrence are selling is enthusiasm, bolstered by achievement. The Vikings were 10-3 last season, the best in the 87-year history of the school. They went three games deep into the Missouri playoffs before losing 21-13 to Jefferson City Helias.
The Helias game drew more than 3,000 fans to Normandy's football field. During Torrey's first season, the Vikings finished 0-9. They were lucky to draw 300 fans, depending on how many members of the immediate families attended.
Achievement builds enthusiasm
The transcendental thinking flows both ways — achievement builds enthusiasm. The school is banking on both, to melt Wellston into the pot, to get everyone pulling in the same prideful direction, to build Normandy Nation.
A simple study conducted by the school showed a dramatic and direct correlation between the number of co-curriculum activities in which high school and middle school students were involved and the height of their grade-point average.
"Our objective is simple," Lawrence explained, "to meet our students at their respective interests with constructive co-curricular activities that build character, self-awareness, and confidence. Our football program is just one example of our efforts to improve in this area. We have also improved our capacity in our robotics, and fine arts programs."
For Wellston kids, perhaps a bit wary at first, it's a whole new ballgame. "It's been great," said Benjamin Davis, a senior linebacker. Davis is among 14 Vikings transitioning from Eskridge High Wellston. Eskridge abruptly canceled its football program altogether last year for financial reasons.
But this week, Davis was among the varsity players working out in Normandy's impressive new, state of the art weight room. He was competing for a spot, looking forward to a full season.
"It feels natural coming here," added Davis, between bench presses. "At Wellston, we didn't have a room like this. We didn't have a lot of weights, and if we did, most of the equipment was broken. It's just exciting to be part of this. Playing football after school keeps me off the streets, keeps me focused on doing the things I need to do."
Bridging the gap
Normandy has done several things to bridge the gap for the newbies. Last January, Torrey brought Maroney along for a visit to Eskridge. Maroney told the kids about his own experience and about the "opportunities" they would have at Normandy. He encouraged them to get engaged in co-curricular programs, to glean the most from the experience.
In the meantime, Torrey added former Eskridge football coach William Carter to his staff, assigning Carter to work with the middle-school kids, the largest segment of the Wellston crossovers. As classes began on the campus this week, there still was some uneasiness. A feeling out process is inevitable. The fortunes of football might go a long way in establishing some chemistry and accelerating the pace.
"There's still seems to be a little bit of, I don't want to say 'resentment,' but some stalemate there," said Torrey, who also teaches physical education at the school. "It's going to be a process that won't happen overnight. It's going to take a little while to get things rolling."
'I want to give back'
Torrey was born in St. Louis and was among the first "desegregation kids" to be bussed to suburbia. He attended Lindbergh High for one year before his family relocated to Denver, where he finished his schooling. He was a standout at Western State College of Colorado, an all-conference defensive lineman in 1994 as the 8-2 Mountaineers captured the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship.
He comes from a large family of educators. More than a dozen people in his immediate and extended family are in academia. He came back to St. Louis, where a large portion of his family remains, and has been teaching and coaching at Normandy for 14 years. "I want to give back," he explains. "I was born to serve."
What he serves are healthy portions of commitment, character and camaraderie. He builds enthusiasm in hopes it will erase racial, cultural and communal barriers that might otherwise fragment the campus. He hopes school activities like his football program tap into an individual's desire to be part of something bigger, to form an allegiance and support a common goal, to achieve.
"We felt we had a great accomplishment last year; we made school history," said Devante Thomas, a senior fullback and Normandy High holdover. "It's actually a great honor to know the school district is investing in the football team and wants us to be leaders in the school, not just on the field but in the classroom and the community, as well. I know personally, I want to be a part of it."
Taking the next step
Torrey's teams have improved significantly each season, from 0-9 in 2005, 5-5 in 2006, 7-4 in 2007, 9-2 in 2008 to last year's unprecedented season. The next step is to go further into the playoffs, a berth at the Edward Jones Dome, a state title.
But the Vikings graduated 20 players from last year's juggernaut. They open the 2010 season at 1 p.m. Saturday, playing host to Triad, a highly-regarded Mississippi Valley Conference (Illinois) opponent. Normandy has not been prominently mentioned in preseason advances, it is natural to expect a drop-off.
But energy and enthusiasm are palpable around the campus at Lucas and Hunt Rd. and St. Charles Rock Road. Torrey is optimistic the vitality in the program is entrenched. Junior quarterback Terrell Whitfield is back, as is junior defensive back Jason Lewis. Defensive end George Fuller and running back Jovan Harris should provide senior impact.
As noted, Torrey had 37 kids during that challenging first August in 2005. Last summer, 85 hopefuls showed up. As the Vikings begin their pursuit of another Suburban East conference title in 2010, they have 120 players signed up. Can Normandy clone what it did last year, can it be even better?
Vince Lombardi said, "Winning isn't everything but the will to win is everything." For Torrey and his Vikings, winning is everything on a metaphorical level.
"What we're doing here is we're saving kids lives," Torrey said. "That's bigger than winning a state championship. We're keeping kids busy, off the streets and engaged in something productive. ... Just building better people, better citizens for society, we think, is much bigger than building a program to win games.
"When we have 115-120 kids instead of 85 kids, then we're winning the battle, particularly in this community."
High school football is just beginning in the area, no scores have been posted. But you can't help but feel it's already a winning season at Normandy High.
