[StBernard] Ex-NFL Player Jeff Sanchez is program director for St. Bernard Parish Recreation Department

[Westley Annis]

Ex-NFL Player Jeff Sanchez is program director for St. Bernard Parish
Recreation Department


Former Dallas Cowboy Cornerback kicks off a cleat donation drive to help
players 


 


St. Bernard native and former professional football player Jeff Sanchez said
he wants to stress fundamentals to young athletes as the program director of
the St. Bernard Parish Recreation Department. 


 


Sanchez, 29, was a standout at Hannan High School who went on to play at
Tulane University, in the National Football League, the NFL’s European
league, arena football and the Canadian Football League before returning to
his family in St. Bernard Parish.


 


Now his focus is to give guidance to the young athletes in the St. Bernard
recreation programs that helped mold him as a young athlete.


 


“I am happy and glad that I am in this position,” Sanchez said. “Every kid
that plays in our recreation system may not play high school or college
ball, but the things that we are going to teach them on the field – the work
ethic and the discipline – can help them in other avenues of life. You want
to create better people, which in turn creates a better community. If we
take the several hundreds of kids in our programs, and we produce one
doctor, one attorney and one professional sports player and they come back
to St. Bernard that makes our community better. That’s my idea in the
broader scope of things.”

 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. coached Sanchez during
his early football tenure at Hannan High School where he was a four-year
starter and All-State and ranked as the sixth best prep player of all time.
Taffaro said he is glad that Sanchez agreed to join the Recreation
Department.

 

“Jeff will bring a balance to the department in establishing the right focus
between competition, sportsmanship and skill development," explained
Taffaro.  

 

St. Bernard Parish Recreation Department Director Melissia O'Neil agreed.

 

"Jeff is a great addition to our department," O'Neil said. "He brings a vast
knowledge of many sports and will be a tremendous help with teaching and
setting up our clinics for our youth. He loves the kids."

 

As program manager, Sanchez will guide the development of training programs
for the players and coaches. He has started holding pre-season football
clinics on Saturday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. at Hannan High School, where
players who have already registered for this fall season are welcome to come
learn the fundamentals of football.

 

“The clinics are being held just to teach fundamentals of the game,” Sanchez
said. “Football is a little different from other sports. You won’t be
successful in football if you don’t understand the fundamentals. We are
going to stress that with the kids and with the coaches. We want to drill
fundamentals over and over. It makes the game easier and more fun.”

 

Football and cheerleader registration is ongoing at the Recreation
Department on the second floor of the Government Complex Building at 8201 W.
Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette. Parents are encouraged to register ONLINE 24
hours a day at www.sbpg.net.  The age group is determined by the child's age
on August 1, 2011. The football registration fee is $70 per participant. The
cheerleading registration fee is $50 per participant. An additional $15 late
fee will be charged to any registration taken after Friday, August 5. No
registration will be taken after Friday, August 12 after 4 p.m. Families in
financial hardship may apply for reduced fees. 

 

In addition to the Saturday morning clinics, Sanchez is pushing for parents
to donate their children’s old cleats so they can be reused by younger
players. They may be dropped off at the Recreation Office during business
hours or at the Saturday morning clinics. He is asking for all cleats to be
donated by the second week of practice, which begins Aug. 29. Teams will be
drafted in mid-August.

 

“I’ve always known kids who couldn’t afford sports shoes,” Sanchez said. “My
momma couldn't afford to get me new cleats growing up. But there was one
coach, Randy Nunez, who helped get me shoes for basketball. That meant
everything to me. There are a lot of kids that won’t come tell you, ‘My mom
can’t afford to get me new shoes.’ I think this would be providing a good
service to the community. I see a lot of kids that come to football practice
with tennis shoes. I think there are a lot of parents out here who may even
go out and purchase a new pair of cleats to donate. It’s about creating
equal opportunity for everybody.” 


 


He wants to use his past football experience to help children.


 


 “As a kid, you know have dreams. Some kids dream to be a lawyer; some kids
dream to be a doctor. I dreamed of being a football player, and when the
Dallas Cowboys signed me to be a football player that was my dream come
true. When the Dallas cowboys signed me that was the proudest moment of my
life.”

 

Sanchez was inducted in the St. Bernard Sports Hall of Fame this year for
his outstanding achievement in football at the local and professional
levels, both nationally and internationally.

 

Born in New Orleans, Sanchez was raised in Violet. In his teen years, he
attended Archbishop Hannan High School. Sanchez had gone to the school for
its basketball program and was not even considering football, but he
discovered he had a skill for running the ball.

 

Sanchez’s football career continued after high school at Tulane University.
Though he had been committed to Clemson University in South Carolina, two
days before he was to leave, Sanchez decided to stay home and play local.

 

At Tulane, Sanchez played two years as running back and was mainly on the
offensive side of the line. Later on, coaches threw him into the fray of
defense, where he played some cornerback for the Green Wave. And the coaches
really brought something out of Sanchez, because in 2002, Tulane had the
best pass coverage in the country.

 

After his senior year at Tulane, Sanchez was listed as one of Tulane’s key
losses for its 2003 season. His defensive prowess earned him a position on
the Dallas Cowboys. He played as a defensive back for six games, remaining
with the team through their 2003-2004 seasons. Later, Sanchez was traded to
the Detroit Lions, before he went on to Europe, playing as part of the
Amsterdam Admirals in the NFL’s European league, and making the NFL All
Europe Team twice. The popularity of the NFL players in the European
division was welcome to Sanchez, who appreciated the opportunity to travel
the world and to play the game he loves. While playing with the Amsterdam
Admirals, he was part of the World Bowl Champion team in the summer of 2005.

 

“I still have the ring,” Sanchez said. 

 

After his two seasons in Amsterdam, Sanchez joined the Tampa Bay Storm, an
arena football program where he shared the field with former Tulane teammate
Lynaris Elpheage. Soon after, Sanchez moved to Canada and played for the
Toronto Argonauts before coming back to Louisiana.

 

Sanchez now lives in Violet with his fiancé and 7-year-old son. 

 

For more information about the Recreation Department programs, call the
office at 504-278-4295 during office hours on Mondays through Fridays from
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or visit www.sbpg.net.

 

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