Jesse Bethel High junior Daimon Ferguson, 16, scrapes old paint Thursday from an Alabama Street house dearly in need of a new coat of paint. He and his teammates are preparing the house for painting as part of a community project. (Mike Jory/Times-Herald)
There's more to being a football player in Vallejo than throwing the old pigskin around.Few know that better than the Jesse Bethel High School varsity team, whose members spent hours Thursday sanding the exterior of a home to prepare it for painting.
"We felt this was one way we could make a difference. We could actually take some of the kids' skills and put them to work here," Coach Jeff Turner said as more than 30 players scraped and poked at the house on Alabama Street.
The home belongs to the family of Riza Garabato, a staff member at the high school who said she appreciates the work the young men were doing.
"I think it's great. ... This is where we grew up. This is our home," Garabato said as the football players made quick work of her walls.
Tell Rentals supplied the scaffolding and the paint sprayer to the team for free.
Turner has the team regularly do community service, which in the past has included serving Thanksgiving and Christmas meals and maintaining City Park.
The project at the Garabato house, which will conclude on Monday, is the largest service the team has undertaken, Turner said.
"It's work ... but it's nothing we're not used to," said senior Chad Miller, the team's 17-year-old quarterback and defensive back, who recently gave a verbal commitment to San Jose State.
Miller said he'd rather be at practice, but he appreciates the opportunity to be able to help his community.
Similarly, senior and linebacker Rashad Brown, 16, said community service is a way to show that good things come out of Vallejo.
"It's getting the team closer and it's showing the team that there's more to playing football at Bethel than actually playing football. ... There's just more to being a young man than just playing sports," Brown said.
Bethel High begins fall practices on Aug. 12 and their first game this season is Aug. 30 at
Oakland Tech.
Contact Lanz Christian Ba?es at (707) 553-6833 or lbanes@timesheraldonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @LanzCBanes.
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