Proactive Day at Harvard-Westlake

STUDIO CITY —  There isn’t a high school football player in America who would pass up the opportunity to spend an afternoon hanging out with a group of current and former NFL players such as J.J. Stokes, Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Merton Hanks and Roger Craig.

Some of the 100 high school players who gathered on the Harvard-Westlake football field last Saturday must have wondered if they were living out a childhood fantasy.

Craig, former San Francisco 49ers running back, and Abdul-Jabbar, the Miami Dolphins’ starting tailback, were standing side by side passing balls to a group of aspiring running backs.

“I feel like I’m in the pros right now,” said Javaun Lewis, a junior tailback from Dorsey High. “Their [passes] are like gold to me.”

Across the field, Stokes, the 49ers’ wide receiver, and Rae Carruth, a wide receiver with the Carolina Panthers, were teaching another group of players fundamentals of catching passes.

Hanks, the 49ers’ All-Pro free safety, was offering tips to defensive backs. Gary Plummer, a former 49er linebacker, was trying to inspire a group of linebackers with a loud verbal barrage.

Only players from Harvard-Westlake, North Hollywood and Dorsey took part in the unique one-day football clinic put together by Iheanyi Uwaezuoke, former Harvard-Westlake and California receiver.

Dubbed the Books & Balls Clinic, Uwaezuoke convinced nine players from the NFL to sacrifice an entire day passing along lessons to high school players they’ve never met. Each enthusiastically volunteered because they believe in what Uwaezuoke is trying to accomplish.

Uwaezuoke was born in Nigeria, grew up in South Central Los Angeles, received financial aid to attend Harvard-Westlake, walked on at California, made All-Pacific 10 Conference two consecutive years and was a fourth-round draft pick of the 49ers in 1996.

From high school through college and up to today as a receiver with the Panthers, Uwaezuoke has committed himself to helping young people obtain the same kind of educational and athletic opportunities he received.

“I’m pretty much a product of other people’s philanthropic endeavors,” he said. “It’s a way to celebrate your success by giving back to communities and environments that have affected you in one shape or form.”

A bus donated by Harvard-Westlake picked up 35 Dorsey players at 7:30 a.m. and transported them to the glistening campus that resembles a small college.

“Some were in awe to see the facilities,” said Ralph Caldwell, an assistant coach at Dorsey. “From the inner city, you don’t see too much like this unless you go up to USC.”

The day started at 9 a.m. with a representative from Ivy West Educational Services giving a 45-minute lecture on preparing for the SAT. Then a UCLA athletic department official explained NCAA academic requirements and the importance of registering with the NCAA Clearinghouse.

The presentation made an impact on one Harvard-Westlake student who told a teammate, “I’m not going to any parties with you next year. I’m staying home and studying.”

There was a lunch break, where every high school player received a free box lunch and got to interact with the pros.

“I think it gives every kid a positive outlook,” Coach Jason Garrison of North Hollywood said. “It allows them to put their own abilities into perspective and make realistic goals.”

In the afternoon, each NFL player spoke on what it takes to succeed on the field and in the classroom.

There was Abdul-Jabbar, a Dorsey graduate who played at UCLA and wants to become a doctor when his NFL days are over.

“You can make it,” he boldly told the high school players gathered in the Ahmanson Lecture Hall. “There’s nothing you can’t do. I was never that big, fast or strong. Everybody else was partying and I’d do whatever it takes to get where I wanted to go.”

There was Hanks, the 49ers’ 185-pound All-Pro safety.

“You’ll always run into somebody more talented than you,” he said. “The key is whether you will work harder to achieve more.”

There was Junior Bryant, an overachieving 49er defensive tackle.

“We have a saying that a lot of guys look like Tarzan and play like Jane,” he said. “It comes down to desire.”

There was Carruth, who once admitted caring only about “broads and balls” in high school until he discovered a love for writing in college and decided he wanted to become a screenwriter and football player.

“Set your goals high and believe in your dreams,” he said.

Soon, the players were on the football field, moving from drill to drill and offering each other high fives. What a scene, a Harvard-Westlake player locking hands with a Dorsey player even though they are separated by a vast socioeconomic divide.

Thanks to Uwaezuoke and his friends, barriers are coming down and dreams are alive.

“I think I have a shot at anything,” said Lewis, the Dorsey running back with a 3.6 grade-point average. “I want to be a brain surgeon. I want to be the valedictorian.”

Another Dorsey player scoffed at Lewis’ comment. Except this was a day teenagers were inspired to dream the impossible.

“If these kids can take some of the messages home with them . . . ,” Plummer said. “Eighty kids might not want to hear you, but those 20 kids who do are going to go on and affect a lot of kids in their life.”

Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com