SHOWBOATS, UFL LOOK TO LIFT UP TWO LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS

It started with a simple desire to help and a phone call. That phone call led to another and another. Before long, two Memphis high schools were the recipients of a donation of equipment and gear that have already had a profound effect on the young people they serve.

Earlier this year, the Memphis Showboats and the United Football League found themselves with a surplus of strength and conditioning equipment and athletic gear. And they saw an opportunity to make a difference. 

Memphis Showboats Vice President of Business and Event Operations Steve Macy reached out to good friend Justin Lawhead, Dean of Students at the University of Memphis, to see if he was aware of anyone who could use the equipment. Lawhead connected him with Michael Deutsch, a co-founder of Uplift Westwood CDC, an organization deeply embedded in the Westwood neighborhood. Deutsch recognized the immediate potential of the donation and in turn reached out to Westwood High School Head Coach Jarvis Jones and Oakhaven High School Head Coach Mike Mosby.

Macy’s initial outreach set off a chain of events that led to a donation to the two schools of equipment and gear estimated to be worth roughly $50,000.

“This is one of the great things about being part of a team here in Memphis, there are people who you can positively impact,” Macy said. “This was an opportunity for us to positively impact a couple high schools that really needed the things that we had available. For us to be able to contribute this to a portion of the city that needed it. This is going to make a difference, that's what we're about. We're Memphis' professional football team and we want to see the sport of football continue to grow in our community.” 

Deutsch, familiar with the conditions at many public schools in the area, was quick to act. 

“If I walked you through the locker rooms and weight rooms in some of these schools, you’d be stunned. Some are just empty or completely antiquated,” he said. “There are so many people in Memphis that want to help, but they just don't know where. So when people share stories, that's the thing that came out of this, just the organic willingness to want to help people. The Showboats could have just packed this stuff up or sold it online or whatever, but (they) pivoted and said, ‘Well, how can we help the community we're part of?’ It's just another little moment in Memphis where a lot of people came together and immediately knew that this was the right thing to do.’”

Jones and Mosby visited the storage facility to see the equipment firsthand— weight racks, free weights, benches, and even new Under Armour gear. They were overwhelmed by the scope of what was being offered.

"It almost brought me to tears,” Jones said, “because when you're a coach, you want your kids to have the best of everything. It's just like being a parent, you want your kids to have the best of everything. When you look at the things you have and they're not the top of the line, but you're gonna make do with what you have because that's what you have. And then people come in, they don't know you, they just hear about what you're trying to do at a program and change it. It brings joy to your heart that people care."

Mosby shared a similar sentiment, calling the gift “mind-blowing.” He added, "For us, this is amazing. It's something next-level. It means that somebody out there actually cares. We've been going through some challenges with lack of resources in our community for our school. This opportunity, this incredible gift the Showboats and others have given, it gives hope to what seemed to be sometimes a hopeless situation. It's incredible."

The donation has already begun to transform the schools’ football programs, inspiring young people and instilling a sense of pride.

"It gives (the kids) that push, like ‘Oh man, this is mine,’” said Jones. “It gives them a sense of pride. When we walked in, there was no pride. It was just more like, 'Hey, I'm just trying to be here.' Now looking at what we have and the finishing touches on our training facility in our weight room area, it's gonna be a sense of pride there. Right now it is, 'I can call this my own. I can protect this. It's ours and we're gonna call it our own and it's gonna help us get better, so we're gonna use it and we're gonna make sure we take care of it.'”

For the UFL, this initiative was more than a donation. It was a chance to invest in the next generation of athletes and help football grow at the grassroots level.

“The UFL is always looking for ways to grow the game of football and invest in our local communities,” said Russ Brandon, UFL President and CEO. “This was a great opportunity to do both, and we’re happy to help Westwood and Oakhaven High Schools with this equipment, which we hope makes a positive impact on their programs.”

For Deutsch, the impact of this moment extends far beyond the weight rooms and playing fields. 

“Over the next five years, (the items) from that storage room are probably going to touch 1,500 kids,” he said. “I mean, it’s a big deal.”

As the equipment finds new life in the hands of these young athletes, the coaches are reminded of the power of a community coming together.

“I just want to thank everybody who had a part in this,” said Jones. “Even if they just made a phone call, that phone call was monumental.”