Dodging Bullets
Jim Herron Zamora of the San Francisco Chronicle takes us from the gridiron to the mortuary with "Drill No. 1: Don't Get Killed." Zamora follows the championship Berkeley Cougars, a Pop Warner football team, as they learn about life and death. He describes how Cougars Coach Todd Walker, frustrated by the number of his players who have died from street violence, takes his players on funeral home tours so they can see the consequences of street life. In addition to the print version of his story, Zamora offers us a compelling podcast as well. I like how Zamora goes beyond the football team's on-the-field success to show us the struggles the players face off the field. Thanks to the Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families for sharing this story.