Oak Park football players, community find a silver lining
By Michael Picarella
Acorn Staff Writer

A negative event last year eventually caused a positive reaction in Oak Park.

Last July, many of the varsity football players at Oak Park High School were involved in possession of alcohol during an out-of-town football camp.

To compensate for their mistake, 15 players had to participate in a program set up by peace officers known as "Cops ’N’ Jocks."

Six hours of alcohol counseling were required. It included parents. Also required were 30 hours of community service per player to be donated to the community of Oak Park. Six-hundred seventy-five hours were completed.

The service included washing cars and picking up trash, to helping kids at Los Robles Regional Medical Center, to assisting deputies at DUI checkpoints.

"All of them came together as a group, as a team," said officer Rich Randolph of the Santa Paula Police Department, head of Cops ’N’ Jocks in Oak Park and a part-time criminal justice teacher in Oak Park. Not only did the players help their community, but they also learned a lot about the dangers of alcohol.

"I love Oak Park and I love working with the kids here," Randolph said.

Despite his busy schedule, Randolph makes Cops ’N’ Jocks a personal priority.

When he heard about the incident involving the football players last summer, Randolph took the group to the movies. He felt that they were going through hard times with their school and families, and that some time with Cops ’N’ Jocks would help. Randolph’s gesture helped ease the pressure that was hitting the players on all sides.

By the time football season began in September, their Cops ’N’ Jocks services were complete. But some of the players still keep in contact with Randolph.

"Kids call me in the middle of the night," said Randolph. They ask him for advice and not necessarily related to Cops ’N’ Jocks.

The questions are occasionally personal. Sometimes the players ask about diverse topics, such as driving laws and regulations.

Cops ’N’ Jocks is a volunteer group of about 190 to 200 peace officers. It was founded in Ventura and has expanded nationwide.

It assists kids in learning more about the dangers of intoxicants and was recently given a $5,000 grant to fund its alcohol counseling. The money was also used to make a commercial for Cops ’N’ Jocks which featured football players and cheerleaders of Oak Park.

For more information about Cops ’N’ Jocks, log onto www.copsnjocks.org.