Anthony Spencer at home helping youth to 'Next Level'

By Larry Whitt

Anthony Spencer has made the journey that so many youths have dreamed of taking—a trip to a career in the NFL, and with the Dallas Cowboys no less—the team known as “America’s team” in some circles.

Spencer returned home last week to lend a helping hand and be a role model to the youth involved in the Next Level youth outreach programs.

On the surface, Next Level would appear to simply be a basketball program. But, upon closer examination, it is much more. Spencer’s mother, Tonia Creech, is the executive director of Next Level and her personal experience with her son and other youth in reaching their maximum potential is something she now shares with at-risk youth ages 12 to 14—a critical time in one’s life as far as the direction it takes. The program’s main focus is to develop the complete young man, intellectually, socially and spiritually.

According to Creech, sports is a good beginning point for young people to learn discipline, cooperation and teamwork, but in developing Next Level, she said she believes that sports alone do not result in the development of positive social and emotional characteristics in young people. The presence of positive role models to instruct and guide young people is also key.

“Modeling the behavior, thoughts and attitudes of successful people has been shown to help a person become more successful. Research has shown that almost all successful people today (success defined as setting and reaching reone’s own goal) had a series of role models. Many great leaders had a role models that inspired them to great heights,” Creech explained in a written history of Next Level.

She said she’s seen the positive results of those principles in the life of her son and is happy that he’s coming back home to help others.

Spencer said he supports the program completely and last week at Prime Time Youth Center, which houses the Next Level at 3701 S. Calhoun St., he held a press conference and made a presentation to several youth currently involved in the program. He also made it a point to praise his parents and other adult mentors for the roles they played in his development. That’s a role he said he intends to help play for others coming along behind him.

With dedicated people like Creech and her son, Next Level is off to a very good start.

This is part of the March 4, 2009 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you. Click here.