James Reid, known to most as Coach Hank, returned to Garfield, Pennsylvania, intent on changing his life and changing lives around him.
After serving more than a decade in federal prison, Reid spent the next 20 years coaching youth football and running after-school programs.
The result, he says, is not trophies but saved futures, and one of those futures just earned a full scholarship to college.
Reid’s post lays out the arc plainly. He rebuilt his life, raised a family, and made community work his mission.
“God had blessed me with an ability to reach and groom young black males,” he wrote.
Since coming home, he has been married, raised children, watched his oldest graduate from college, built a business, and earned recognition, including a Man of Excellence award from the Pittsburgh Courier and honors from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
But Reid measures success by the young men who walk through his program.
One, called Jo in Reid’s post, was labeled by Pittsburgh Public Schools as too troubled for a PPS placement.
Jo had been in alternative programs since elementary school and faced a future many expected to be another negative statistic.
A Great Turnaround by Coach Hank
Reid and Coach Donta stepped in, vouching for the boy and helping place him at Westinghouse High School. Reid says he has been part of Jo’s life since the boy was seven.
“Although he’s tested my patience and faith numerous times over the years, I never gave up on him,” Reid wrote.
That persistence paid off. Jo is headed to the University of Akron on a full scholarship. Reid called it one of his proudest moments.
“This young man who MANY said would amount to nothing is going to college on a full ride scholarship to Akron University. I am beyond proud of him and his growth,” he wrote.
Reid’s work is practical and public. He uses football as the tool to teach discipline, accountability, and structure, and he follows the sport closely, from youth leagues to college football and the NFL.
His coaching focuses on real-world life skills as much as the game. That approach is reflected in the community’s reaction, where commenters praised his steadiness and impact.
“Football is merely a tool, while the lives you are saving are truly remarkable,” wrote Kenya Alford.
Sincerity Collins, identifying herself as a grateful grandmother, thanked Reid for molding her grandson: “You DEFINITELY molded him the way me and his mom were not able. You are true testament to ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE.’”
Other replies called Reid an inspiration and urged him to keep doing the work. “Keep up the good work Bro. So many more kids need your help,” one commenter wrote.
The thread is full of similar messages: congratulations, blessings, and pride in Jo’s achievement.
Reid frames the scholarship not as an endpoint but as proof that sustained mentorship works. “This is what defines my success in life,” he said, saving lives and changing cycles of negativity among young Black males.
His personal turnaround, civic awards, steady job, and family life give weight to that claim, but arguably more important are the students who now have better options because someone stayed in their corner.
Jo’s full scholarship to Akron is the latest example. For Reid and his supporters, it is the kind of result they say should be the measure of community programs: kids who might otherwise slip through the cracks getting a real shot at college and other leagues.
