Zachary East volunteers time mentoring teens
Published on March 19, 2010 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Utah Blaze News Release
SALT LAKE CITY - Utah Blaze linebacker Zachary East grew up without his father in the home, but that doesn't mean he didn't grow up with a male influence in his life.
Right now, East, a native of Houston, Texas, knows of a lot of young men that are in the same situation he was when he was young, and he's volunteering his time - like he saw others do - to be a good influence in their lives.
"I realized they (the men in his life he considers role models) weren't doing it as a job, they were volunteers. I feel like I need to do the same thing to give back," he said. "I didn't have anyone to tell me how to do things - like shave and talk to girls. I always had my mother, but I didn't have the male role model."
His mother introduced him to football at a young age and it helped him get to college at Prairie View A&M, and now he's getting the opportunity to play professionally.
"I had a bad attitude when I was younger," he said. "As I got older I realized if it wasn't for football I wouldn't have had any mentors."
East (6-foot-2, 230 pounds) volunteers at his church, and two times a month he mentors teenagers. He teaches them the things that are important like not being a statistic and that it is possible to get out of the rough neighborhoods and get a college education. He also coaches football.
He has spoken to several football leagues, and when he was in college some of the kids he was mentoring came to a game and watched from the sidelines, and he put on quite a show.
In three years at Prairie View A&M he racked up 256 career tackles, including 127 his junior year to lead the Southwest Athletic Conference in stops. He was an AFCA All-American and SWAC Defensive Player of the Year.
The following year he led the Panthers with 69 tackles and he was a First-Team All-SWAC selection and an AP FCS First-Team All-American. He was one of 14 players on the ballot for the Buck Buchanan Award, which honors the top defender in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Following his college career, East played two games for the Corpus Christi Sharks for the af2 before suffering a knee injury. It forced him to miss an opportunity with the Montreal Argonauts of the CFL, but now his is getting another chance with the Blaze.
Utah opens the regular season April 9 when it hosts of the Spokane Shock at the E Center. Season- and single-game tickets are now available by calling 888-99BLAZE or information can be found at www.utblaze.com.
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