Hello,
My name is Meredith Anderson and I wanted to introduce to you a man whose life is divided into different categories and each category, within itself, is interesting and , at times... "astonishing". The truth is that by the time this man, Sam St-Phard, graduated from High School, his accomplishments could have already filled a book. From his humble origins in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti(born: December 29, 1963), to his audacious and grand visions for his start-up International Telecommunications Company, that is positioned to strictly serve Emerging Market Economies, Sam St-Phard has been shaped by many circumstances, both positive and negative. The greatest philosophy that he lives by though is, "Your life is not worth living, unless what you are living for outlives you." With this in mind, Sam is always quick to engage others in conversation, or use his wit to attempt to make people smile, or laugh out loud. In his own thinking, "People have enough to worry about everyday, without wondering if I am going to add to their hardship, so I try to, even if it's only for a minute, to brighten up their day with a smile or a joke...life is tough enough...I don't want to make it any tougher." I met Sam at "Mad City Coffee" in Columbia, Maryland. He was wearing a walking boot after having fractured the big toe on his left foot. Although he was in obvious discomfort, I noticed that this man was laughing and joking around, not only with the staff but also with the customers. I found it very interesting that this man, who looked at least ten years younger then his 44 years was so cheerful and giving, even though he was hobbled and using a crutch for support. I introduced myself to him and found him to be full of charm and charisma. He certainly was not feeling sorry for himself, and even though he was in apparent pain, his outward focus lit up "Mad City Coffee".
As we spoke, I learned that Sam was born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, but had moved to Columbia, Maryland in 1970.
Sam explained to me that he is an Entrepreneur and that he has three Companies that each have separate missions.
His main Company is DIMARK Telecommunications International... they focus only on Emerging Market Economies and do the Architecture, Vetting, Design and Build Out of the Technology Backbone that all Telecommunication Applications must have.
They are a Start-up but their CTO(Chief Technology Officer), Mike Sandler[http://www.sandlertech.com/home.html], has twenty years experience in the field and built Destiny Health's infrastructure in South Africa and also many similar projects in Canada. As Sam, states, "Mike is our credibility, he is why we are confident we can make an impact, technologically, in the Emerging Market Economies. For us, it's not, primarily, about making money. We really want to bring First Class Communications Infrastructure to these Emerging Market Economies so that the International Economic 'Playing Field' is equalized.".
Sam's second Entrepreneurial venture is, "The Millionaire From Nowhere Company, LLC".
The MFN Company, LLC specializes in Public Speaking and Business Entrepreneur Mentorship as well as Expert Marketing, for "Brick and Mortar" businesses as well as
"Network or MLM Marketing" and Online Marketing. The MFN Organization emphasizes that they are not Motivational speakers. In their Company philosophy they believe all people are already "Motivated". What they espouse is Inspiration through sharing obstacles that their speakers have overcome. As Sam said himself, "...inspiration is often found in the struggles we conquer, not in the heights we achieve...".
www.millionairefromnowhere.com
For those who are in the MLM or Network Marketing industry or have an interest, review this link:
http://TheMFNmagneticsponsoringonline.com
Sam's third Entrepreneurial enterprise is, DMG Expediters and Couriers. This is his latest and most recent venture. This Company specializes in acquiring Building, Grading and Trade Permits for Contractors, Builders, Engineers, Architects, and Construction Companies, as well as private Home Owners for a fee. On June 9, 2009 DMG
Expediters and Couriers had it's first Permit Acquisition job. By the middle of November of 2009 DMG was regularly executing 3-5 jobs a day. 2010 holds even greater promise. When asked, by me, how his young new business was doing this, Sam replied, "I'm simply applying the principles that 'The Millionaire From Nowhere Organization' teaches. By applying those principles to DMG I prove that 'The MFN' Course is based on actual and measurable facts rather than on any theory or third party experience." DMG now has Courier Drivers and an Engineering division which includes a Certified Professional Civil and Structural Engineer who has a State of Maryland Engineering Stamp which absolves all Counties and Home Owners of Legal Liability in regards to their Construction projects no matter how small or large.
We sat speaking for at least two hours, and as I started asking him questions about himself, a remarkable story began to unfold and with Sam St-Phard's permission I am excited to be the person who will be sharing his story with you. This is the remarkable story of Samuel St-Phard, Born on December 29, 1963 in The Capital City of Haiti...Port-Au-Prince[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-au-Prince], and when I have completed sharing his story and his dreams you will all come to understand why I have nicknamed Sam St-Phard..."The Prince from Port-Au-Prince."
Tenacious even BEFORE he was born...
Sam recounted to me the story of when he was a viable fetus in the third trimester of his Mother's pregnancy. As he shares, his Mother's lung collapsed and she was in grave danger as was the viable fetus(Sam St-Phard). The Doctor's had to consult Sam's Father and they gave him basically three impossible choices for what was needed in order for Sam's Mother to be saved or for the viable fetus(Sam St-Phard) to be saved. The choices given to his Father were, essentially, save the child and lose his wife; save his wife and lose the child; or attempt to save the child and his wife and potentially, lose both the child and his wife. At the tender age of Twenty Six years old. Sam's Father was left with a heart wrenching decision that most people never face in a lifetime...he did not hesitate or give it a second thought...he directed the Doctors to save the child and his wife. The Operation was a success and on December 29, 1963 in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
Samuel St-Phard was born to Glodys and Ghislaine St-Phard. He was their first born child and the first born child of all of the extended family on both his Father and Mother's sides of the family. He was also the first born son of his generation of St-Phard's from the first born son of the previous generation of St-Phard's going back, at least, four generations. In Haitian culture this, symbolically, means a great deal. Sam or "Sammy", as he was was referred to by doting Family members(Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and his young parents) was given an abundance of attention and from very early on in his personality development, believed that not only was he special(and what only child doesn't feel that way) but also that he had a destiny(destination) that was going to "take him places".
Another St-Phard Joins the Family...
On December 28, 1964 in Port-Au-Prince[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-au-Prince], Haiti Glodys and Ghislaine St-Phard welcomed their second child into the world at approximately 11:55pm. The reason the time is mentioned, is that, Sam's Father thought it would be unique to have his two children born exactly one year apart, but as Sam says, "No one tells my little sister what to do, she came into this world when she wanted to, not when anyone else did..." Sam said with a laugh. So, Deborah St-Phard became the second child of Glodys and Ghislaine St-Phard and the baby sister and one day a year the "Twin" of Sam St-Phard.
The Young Family would only have six more month's to live, in peace, on the Island of Haiti, as the corruption that was the brutal dictatorship of Francois "PaPa Doc" Duvalier[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/papa-doc.htm] was about to change this young Family's lives forever...
The Airplane that came...FROM NOWHERE...
Sam St-Phard's parents were both Medical Doctors and they were serving out there residencies.
The problem was that they were not being paid any money and It was taking it's toll on them financially. Glodys St-Phard became the leader of a movement to get compensation for the Doctor's and it began to draw attention to the administration of the Hospital, attention that the administrators feared may get to the highest levels of Government and potentially cost them their jobs, or worse...their lives. Even in the face of stiff resistance from the Hospital administrators Glodys St-Phard refused to allow his fellow Doctors to be unjustly used by the system, so he pressed on with his demands.
Sometime in June of 1965(to the best of what Sam has been told by his Mother) an assassination order went out on Glodys St-Phard(27 years old), Ghislaine St-Phard(27 years old), Samuel St-Phard(1 year and 6months old) and Deborah St-Phard(6 months old). The assassination was ordered by Government Officials who supported the corrupt Hospital Administration and it was ordered without the knowledge of Haiti's President and Dictator Francois "PaPa Doc" Duvalier[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/papa-doc.htm].
When word of this plot reached Glodys St-Phard he immediately took action to protect his young family. Glodys' wife Ghislaine's uncle, was the Chief of Immigration and had influence over who could leave the Country and who could not. So, when he was made aware of the plot to have his niece and nephew, by marriage, and their children killed he too, took immediate action to assist them in fleeing their homeland(Haiti) to find safety and refuge in The United States of America.
The St-Phard's were scheduled to depart on the last scheduled commercial flight out of Haiti on June 25, 1965...and then disaster...they missed it!
Knowing that their lives had been at stake, and now realizing that their lives were over...27 year old Ghislaine St-Phard took her two babies, 1 and a half year old Samuel and 6 month old Deborah and put them back to bed. She then joined her extended Family in the living room and they all prayed and cried together knowing the impending doom that was ahead for this young family.
Though things at the house appeared to be bleak, Glodys St-Phard continued to press on and get the paper work necessary for he and his family to, somehow, depart from Haiti.
At the St-Phard home a Black Government vehicle pulled up to the front of the home and all hearts dropped as Ghislaine and her Family believed that the end had, finally arrived...
Much to their surprise and relief the official who had arrived was Ghislaine's uncle the Chief of Immigration and he informed everyone that a flight had to make an unscheduled landing at the airport due to mechanical issues and it was refueling. Because of his position as Chief of Immigration he was able to hold that flight and have all of the passengers show their passports. He then told his niece, Ghislaine St-Phard, to get her son and daughter immediately and ride with him to the Airport. Her Husband, and the children's Father, Glodys St-Phard, would meet them there. In no time, Ghislaine and her children, Samuel and Deborah St-Phard, were on their way to the Airport and they boarded the Airplane that came from "Nowhere". Prior to this day, no Commercial flight had ever made an unscheduled landing in Haiti due to emergency mechanical issues.......ever! {Isn't it interesting that it was on that day and at that time and under those circumstances that a plane somehow had to land in Haiti, because of unexpected mechanical difficulties? A plane that no one in the entire Country even knew was coming? I contend and you will see that destiny needed to save this young family, because, in my view, baby Samuel could not die in Haiti, because had he perished then the rest of this story could not be told, and as his life unfolds before you, you will see how a world without this man would be a world without a dreamer and someone who genuinely wants what is best for his fellow man.} Miraculously, on June 25, 1965, Glodys St-Phard(27 years Old), Ghislaine St-Phard(27 years Old), Samuel St-Phard(1 year and 6 months old) and Deborah St-Phard(6 months old), escaped a fate that thousands of other Haitians were not able to avoid and landed safely in the United States of America. This begins the story of how Sam St-Phard, "The Prince from Port-Au-Prince", began his American Dream, a dream that when fully realized, will transform many people's lives in the world...
1971 The Dreamer(Sam St-Phard) Moves to "Color Blind"...Columbia, Maryland.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland]
In 1971 The St-Phard's moved to Columbia, Maryland[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland] from Topeka, Kansas[http://www.topeka.org]. Sam's parents had, the year before(1970), graduated from the Menninger School of Psychiatry(The Top Psychiatric Training School of it's kind in TheWorld) [http:www.menningerclinic.com/education/training-history.htm]. Prior to that, when they were affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medical School[http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/] in Baltimore, Maryland, they welcomed Samuel and Deborah's little sister Marthe-Alice St-Phard into their family on April 11, 1966.
Columbia, Maryland[http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland] was founded in 1967 and was the culmination of the dream of it's founder James Rouse[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W._Rouse], who wanted there to be a planned community where people of varying racial differences, ethnic differences, cultural differences, religious differences, and even socio-economic differences could all live together in harmony. This was a radical departure from what was happening around the United States[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States] at the time. And yet, to this day, it has worked and the children who had the privilege of growing up in Columbia, Maryland[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland] have benefited from the fulfillment of Jim Rouse's[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W._Rouse] dream {I know because I raised my three grown children in the Columbia, Maryland[http://en.wikipedia.org/wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland] area and although I am Jewish[http://www.jewish.com], one of my children is dating an African- American[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American] and I didn't even notice, until my daughter's boyfriend's father mentioned it to her. They are from another part of our State. I can, personally attest that Columbia, Maryland is "Color Blind" and that it was the perfect environment for this six year old, Sam St-Phard, to be able to believe that nothing was impossible for him to accomplish.} .
The St-Phard's settled in the Neighborhood of Swansfield at 10950 Eight Bells Lane and The three children "Sammy", "Debbie", and "Marly" made friends all over the neighborhood. Sam fondly recounts the stories of an idyllic childhood that included building snow forts in the winter and swimming at his neighborhood pool in the summer and a time when it was actually safe enough for he and his friends to walk to school through the woods. He even wanted me to mention, by name, the friends that helped shape his view of people today, because they had such a tremendous impact on his desire to make this world a better place. Friends like his next door neighbor, on Eight Bells Lane, Billy Tyson and his other next door neighbors Chris Crowley and his little brother Tim Crowley; Gary McClurkin; Frank Davis; Scott Davis; Pat Hiban...but the friend from his early neighborhood days that Sam St-Phard holds nearest to his heart and, to this day, remains his best friend in the entire world is Mike Hiban...and as far as Sam is concerned that will never change. These relationships helped to shape Sam St-Phard into the eternal optimist that he is today...and now let's get on with the rest of this man's story...
Swansfield's Nine Year Old Soccer Sensation...
In the early 1970's four men introduced a sport that was popular the world over but relatively unknown to Americans, to the children of Columbia, Maryland...that sport(Football worldwide) is the sport of Soccer. These men were Bill Sims, Douglas Goodsir(Two Englishman), and Larry Jobson and Al Goldstein(Two Americans). The Association that they formed is the Soccer Association of Columbia, Maryland(SAC) and since its inception this league has produced many Collegiate scholarship soccer players as well as professional Soccer players and even members of our Country's United States National Team and United States Olympic Team.
One day while Sam and his best friend, Mike Hiban, were hanging out, Mike told Sam that he had to go to Soccer practice. Although Sam had been playing Soccer with his Dad and his Dad's friends since he was around three years old(Soccer is Haiti's National Sport), he had never played on any organized team against kids his own age. So, at nine years old, Sam asked if he could accompany Mike to practice and see if maybe the coach would let him play. Mike said, in the understated, low key way that he still speaks to this day, "I don't see why not."
A Goal Scorer is Unleashed.
When Sam met coach Doug Goodsir, the coach was unimpressed with the appearance of this scrawny little black kid with the afro who told the Coach that he knew how to play Soccer. Don't forget, most of the kids in Columbia, Maryland were inexperienced in Soccer because this was a relatively new league and sport to these kids. Coach Goodsir was unaware that Sam was from Haiti and had already been playing the game with his Dad for six years...well, he was in for one heck of a pleasant surprise... Initially, Coach Goodsir stuck Sam way back at Goalkeeper in a drill where no Goalie was needed. Finally, Sam got bored and begged Coach Goodsir to let him play in the field during the scrimmage, Sam kept begging and begging and begging(This persistence will be seen throughout his life story)...Coach Goodsir finally gave into Sam's persistence and what happened next came from...you guessed it..."Nowhere".
While Sam was standing on his own team's goal line, the ball rolled to his feet and without a second thought or any hesitation his instincts kicked in and he immediately took the soccer ball on the dribble(began controlling it with his feet) and beat(went around him, without physical contact) the first man who confronted him to his right and continued to quickly move forward toward the opposing goal, gaining substantial ground with every stride of his skinny nine year old legs. The next player who challenged him had to stop dead in his tracks as little "Sammy" shook his shoulders feigning to his left and right and causing the kid to spread his legs, ever so slightly, so that "Sammy" pushed the ball through his legs(that's right, in between his legs) and then darted around him without losing control of the ball. By the time the opposing players began to figure out that "Sammy" had already crossed half field, it was way too late to stop him. He, basically, pushed the ball three or four more times and simply outran the opposition and his own teammates to his opponents goal, and faked out their Goalkeeper and easily touched the ball over their goal line for a goal(Sam says," I was moving so fast that my other teammates weren't near me so I couldn't pass the ball to anyone, and I knew that the object of Soccer was to put the ball over your opponents goal line, so I simply went around and past all of the obstacles, you know, my opponents, and achieved my goal...and that was to get a point for my team."). He then calmly turned to Coach Goodsir(Whose mouth had dropped to the ground at what he had just witnessed from a nine year old and whose eyes were wide with disbelief), and asked, can I play for you? Reader, of course we all know that "Sammy" joined Coach Goodsir's team that day and in his first official game Swansfield won 7-0 and "Sammy" recorded 2 of his team's goals.
"Sammy" Plays for SAC's First Ever U-13 Traveling Team.
When "Sammy" St-Phard was ten years old he was invited to try-out for SAC's Under 13 Traveling Team. At Ten years old he would be the youngest member of the squad by two years, and if he made it, at all, chances were that he might simply sit on the bench. Bill Sims and Larry Jobson were the Head Coaches of the U-13 Traveling team and after trying out many 12 year olds and one 10 year old("Sammy"St-Phard) The Coaches selected 18 players to represent Columbia, Maryland in a Tournament that was going to be played in Baltimore County called the EDRECO Tournament. "Sammy" St-Phard was selected to be one of the 18 players on that team and he was chosen as the first string "Center Forward" or as we now say, the Starting Striker.
As Sam puts it, "I was blown away to be selected for that team, because I was going to get to play with guys who had, in my mind, achieved legendary status in SAC. Guys like Greg Maranich, and Kirk Jones, and Darryl Gee(Who grew up to be on the New York Cosmos and The US Olympic Soccer Team and The US National Soccer Team) and Glenn Cadenhead(Who grew up to become The Top Rated Youth Soccer Coach in America 6-12 year olds) , and Steve Brunette and Rick Cantor and Jimmy Cramer and Kenny Bernstein, and Mark Braun, and Larry Friend...the list goes on and on...I really, really could not believe I was on that team." The first game that The SAC U-13 Travel Team played in that Tournament was against a team called "Little Flower". Their star goal scorer was a player by the name of Timmy Whitman(Who grew up to become a star of The Baltimore Blast indoor Pro Soccer Franchise). That first match went back and forth but The Columbia SAC U-13 team prevailed. The final score was 3-2. Timmy Whitman scored both goals for Little Flower, while a scrawny little black ten year old, from the tiny Caribbean Island of Haiti scored not one, not two, but all three of SAC U-13's Traveling Team's Goals that day, against kids that were two years older then he was. Although "Sammy" was physically smaller than his teammates and those he played against. Sam's advantages, according to those who have complimented his skills as a Soccer player, were his ability to anticipate, and his God given gift of speed and quickness. All three goals he scored against Little Flower that day were on "Break aways"...(When a player runs away from the pack and is in a one on one situation with the Goalie.) Much of what Sam accomplished early on as a Soccer Player in SAC gave him the confidence to attack other areas of his life...but, Reader, nothing could prepare this young man for the blow that fate was about to send into his world...
The St-Phard's Divorce, and Sam, Debbie and Their Father leave Columbia, Maryland.
everything through. So, he really believed his family was immune to divorce.
Around 1975, or so, Sam St-Phard began to hear that some of his friend's parent's were getting divorced and breaking up their families. Although Sam's parents' marriage wasn't perfect, he always believed they would never divorce and that his nuclear family would never dissolve. One thing he understood in his young life, especially in Haitian culture, was that Families worked When Sam was 11 years old things in his home became unbearable and the fighting between his parents was taking its toll on him emotionally and psychologically. He began to lose focus in school and began gaining weight and no longer performing well on the soccer field. He was eventually demoted to his own age group(he had been playing with players two years older) and then relegated to riding the bench of the team he had been demoted to. Finally, at the age of 12 , "Sammy" St-Phard was released from the Travel Team altogether and this pre-teen thought his world had come to an end. To make matters worse, "Sammy's" father moved out of their home in Swansfield and "Sammy" felt broken hearted and lost. The worst part is that "Sammy" blamed himself for the dissolution of his family and continually wondered, to himself, what he could have done better, so that his Mom and Dad wouldn't have divorced.
In 1977 when Sam(he began calling himself Sam in 1977) was 13 years old. His parents' divorce was final and Sam chose to be raised by his Father as did his younger sister Debbie. His younger sister Marly chose to remain with their Mother and this lays the foundation for the rest of the story...
Wichita, Kansas reacts to a blended family from Columbia, Maryland...
Sam's father re-married Elizabeth Gessell and became the step-father of her only daughter Lisa Gessell. Sam and his younger sister Debbie would, eventually, come to adore and protect little Lisa as their own blood sister. An interesting fact that really doesn't matter in Columbia, Maryland, but became a rallying cry and unifying force for this blended family was that Elizabeth and her daughter Lisa were caucasian. To re-iterate the point, that would make no difference in "Color Blind" Columbia, Maryland, but in Wichita, Kansas this blended family was about to face a culture "shock wave" that hit Sam, Debbie and Lisa like a "Racist Tsunami"...
"Hey, Debbie...we aren't in Columbia, Maryland anymore..."
Sam and Debbie St-Phard began attending Brooks Junior High School. Sam was in eighth grade and Debbie was in seventh grade. As soon as they began to speak out loud to the students at Brooks Junior High School there were reactions that ranged from surprise to downright violence.
Sam and Debbie were confused, and found themselves defending the way they spoke and the apparent fact that they were not "black". The fact that his step-mother was "white" and so was his younger sister also led to many physical altercations with some of the "black" students at Brooks Junior High School. As Sam put it, "I grew up in Columbia, Maryland there were no distinctions made because of our race, religion, level of education, or even our cultures. All that mattered in Columbia, Maryland was whether or not you were a jerk. Jerks come in all shapes, sizes and races, so who cared what color you were. At Brooks Junior High School in Wichita, Kansas the "Black" kids tried to make me believe that speaking proper English was, "talking white" and that showing respect to others was not being "Black". I totally rejected that definition of theirs and demanded that I be viewed not by the fact that the melanin content of my skin made me different from others, but rather by the fact that I wanted to be a credit to my race...the HUMAN RACE!! That, I suppose, is why I got into so many fist fights at Brooks Junior High School in eighth grade, because I knew, based on how I lived in Columbia, Maryland, that what these kids were trying to profess, was nothing more than division and hatred and I was about unification, cooperation, and making those in my circle of influence feel better about themselves."
The Soccer Player Learns to Play Basketball...just to survive...
"We got to Wichita, Kansas in 1978, and Basketball was the big sport. You want to talk about not fitting established stereotypes? I could not play basketball! If someone had put a gun to my head and told me to shoot and score in a basket or they would pull the trigger, I would have told them to pull the trigger because,' my best chance of scoring that basket is with my feet not my hands,'.", Sam says with a laugh. He continues, "The one thing I did have going for me was the fact that at 5'9" I had the leaping ability to dunk the basketball. One of my advantages as a Striker in Soccer, was that I had the ability to out jump defenders and Goalkeepers and knock the ball into the goal with my head. The coach of our Junior High School Varsity team, Gordon Long, saw me jumping up and grabbing the rim on the Basketball court one day and asked me to try out for the Varsity team.
Needless to say, I worked hard all winter on the outdoor courts near our home and would bring a shovel to shovel away the snow and I would remain in that cold weather until my hands and fingers were totally numb and I no longer had feeling in them. The next fall at the beginning of ninth grade(Senior year of Junior High School), I was able to play in the pick up games and because of my leaping ability I was a force rebounding the ball and on defense, primarily as a shot blocker." Sam made the Brooks Junior High School Varsity basketball team and, eventually, became the starting center by the end of the regular season and helped lead them to a second place finish in the city playoffs losing to undefeated Pleasant Valley Junior High School. Sam's most memorable moment of the season came when, "I was at half court, by myself, and we were destroying this team by something like 20 points, anyway, my team gets the rebound and I'm screaming for the ball. They throw it to me, and it's just me and the basket. As I jump up to take what I thought was a very close jumper, I realize that I am awfully close to the rim and my elbow is, actually above it. So I re-adjusted the position of the ball in my hand, and as I began to come down, I dropped the ball into the hoop. The crowd went crazy, and what I accomplished was apparently a dunk. What do you know...".
Late 1979-Early 1980 and Sam St-Phard ends up in Mobile, Alabama...The Beginning of The Making of A Southern Gentleman...
Sam started the fall of his tenth grade year at Baker High School in Mobile, Alabama. Although soccer was still the sport of his heart he realized that Football was a religion in Alabama. Bear Bryant was still The University of Alabama's head coach at that time and if you wanted to be accepted(just like basketball in Wichita, Kansas), you had better play football. So, Sam walked out onto the football field one day and asked Coach Odom(Head Coach) if they were in need of a "Kicking Specialist". The Coach said Sam could try-out and take a couple of kicks. That particular day Sam was wearing high top Basketball shoes and he was unable to kick the ball 100% Soccer style, so his very first kick rolled off the tee and wobbled about 20 yards down the field. All the Football players guffawed and were laughing at this skinny 5'10" 155lbs. black guy who could not kick a ball and was taking up their practice time. So Coach Odom asked him to leave...Reader...by now you know that he didn't leave right? RIGHT! What Sam did at that point is the stuff of Baker High School Football lore. He took the shoe off of his kicking foot and left the Basketball shoe on his left foot. He then demanded that they allow him to kick the ball with nothing but a sock on his right foot(his kicking foot) they thought he was crazy, but they figured once he failed on this next attempt or broke his foot he would simply go away. Sam set the ball on the tee, he then backed up, approximately seven yards from the ball, then approached the ball and launched it sock footed about 25 feet into the air and 65 yards down the field before the ball bounced onto the ground. Coach Odom and his staff were astonished and all the players began mumbling among themselves. They gave Sam another ball and he did the same thing. After consistently kicking 10 balls or so like that in a row, Coach Odom signed him as the School's place kicker and that season Sam St-Phard made every single Varsity extra point attempt and every single field goal attempt in official games.
It was also at Baker High School that Sam got his first indoctrination into how to be a true Gentleman. One day as Sam was approaching a doorway, he was about to pass through it before one of his female classmates, as he made his move to go through the door before she did, he felt a firm grip on his shoulder holding him back, until the Young Lady went through the door ahead of him. The hand that held him back was that of Mr. July, Baker's Assistant Principal. Mr. July gave Sam a crash course on being a Gentleman and what Sam learned has served him well to this day.
Always hold the door for a Lady...Always pull out her chair when she is sitting down to eat, and then ever so gently push it back under her until she is comfortably seated...Never walk behind a Lady when she is climbing the stairs so as not to view her posterior...Never walk behind a Lady when she is walking down the stairs, so that if she stumbles you can break her fall...Whenever a Lady stands to leave the Table you must stand, as well, as a sign of respect...Never forget that according to the Bible men and creatures were made from dirt, only women were not made from dirt therefore Ladies/Women are a precious gift and they are to always be treated as such. Sam St-Phard learned these things as a 15 year old tenth grader and he has never forgotten them{ as a matter of fact I can, personally, attest to the fact that he practices them.}.
A 15 year old Dominates a Semi-Pro Men's Soccer League until they break his face...
One fall day during Football season, Sam learned that there was a Semi-Professional Men's Soccer League in Mobile, Alabama. So he went out and met player Coach, Tommy Lee(of Bay City), and asked if he could try-out for the team. When Coach Lee saw Sam he was unimpressed by his physical appearance and tried to talk him out of trying out for the team {Amazing how from 9 years old on...it appeared that Sam was constantly being doubted, as he says..."I had to learn, early on, that the only person who can believe in you...is you! If anyone else believes in you more than you believe in yourself then you will never be a leader and no one will ever believe in your dreams.}. Sam persisted in his desire to try-out for the team(I told you he was persistent) and , finally, Coach Tommy Lee put him on the field, hoping this cocky little tenth grader would get humiliated, tuck his tail between his legs and go home for good!
What happened at the try-out was simply...breathtaking{After Sam had been cut when he was 12 years old in Columbia, Maryland, he re-dedicated his efforts and strengthened every facet of his skills in Soccer, including becoming a phenomenal Goalie. There was no position he could not play... and play at the highest level. So, he would train everyday for at least four hours, with a Soccer ball...all by himself, because as he says, "The ball became my 'Girlfriend', my closest relationship...no one was just going to take her away from me, and because we were so close, she wanted to make me happy, and my happiness was her being in the back of my opponent's net." Sam recounts with his "Million Dollar" smile and a wink.}. On that day Mobile, Alabama's Men's Semi-Pro Soccer League got it's first glimpse of the best Soccer player to lace up his boots(British terminology for Soccer cleats) up to that point in the League's history. Sam, was collecting the ball with traps that made it appear as if the ball were being gently massaged by the fingers of a masseuse. he was passing the ball to teammates with pinpoint laser accuracy from seemingly impossible angles. His 5"10" 155lbs. frame was effortlessly gliding, like a Gazelle, up and down all 120 yards of the pitch(British terminology for Soccer Field) he criss crossed the pitch at high rates of speed and created such confusion in those who were attempting to defend him that his style of play created chaos in his opponents defensive strategies and finally demoralized and frustrated them. By the end of the try-out Sam had recorded 6 goals and assisted on 3 more while also getting back and defending his own team's goal on a number of occasions. Coach Tommy Lee and all of the other members of Coach Lee's team(Bay City) welcomed Sam with great excitement and Coach Lee said, "Man, I'm glad you tried out for us first and not some other team, because whoever would have seen what we saw today would have signed you right on the spot!" Sam signed with Bay City...right on the spot.
Bay City was always a perennial runner-up they were "always the bridesmaid and never the Bride.". In Sam St-Phard, Bay City knew what no one else knew...Sam was the ENTIRE WEDDING!!! he was the groom, the bride, and the vows...This was the year Bay City was going to win it all! They had found "The missing link." And sure enough, a child would lead them...
In the first game of the season, Sam recorded a hat trick(3 goals) and Bay City won 3-0.
In the second game of the season, Sam recorded another hat trick(3 goals) and Bay City won 3-0.
The third game of the season Bay City won 3-0. You guessed it... Reader... Sam had another hat trick(3 goals).
By this point in the season, Bay city was sitting pretty in first place and had yet to surrender a single goal. As a matter of fact their offensive output was outlandish, impossible, unheard of, and a flat out lie!!!! In a sport where 1-0 or 1-1 or 0-0 or 2-1 are very common outcomes. What in the world do you mean that this Bay City Soccer Team was scoring three goals a game? And that after only three games they had outscored there opposition 9-0 ??!! I suppose the next logical question for any future opponent would be..."wow, how many of their forwards are scoring those goals? I mean, we've probably got to have a pretty sophisticated defensive strategy to stop such an offensive juggernaut right? We may need a sophisticated strategy to stop the juggernaut, but guys, the juggernaut is 15 years old and his name is Sam St-Phard and he wears #15. What? One guy? One Guy? 9 goals in three games? and he's fifteen? I won't believe it until I see it"...{I suspect that Bay City's next opponents may have been saying such things, because the strategy they devised to stop Bay City's Offensive "Juggernaut" may have led to criminal prosecution for assault or manslaughter had what happened to this 15 year old Soccer prodigy not occurred on a Soccer field during a Sanctioned Match.).
The Day Bay City Became "Bridesmaids" Again...
As Bay City walked onto the pitch for their fourth match of the season they were playing the defending champions of the league. This was a game that they couldn't wait to play because their opponents had defeated them in a hard fought, and some claim, "dirty" final, the season prior. The defending champions were not simply going to allow Bay City to "waltz" away with their "crown" and they certainly were not going to allow some child(15 year old Sam St-Phard; #15 in your programs) to take what they had earned.
The opening whistle blew and The defending champions all of a sudden were faced with the reality of what they had been hearing about...and the reality was so much worse then what they had heard about this #15. They had heard that #15 was quick... The reality was that, they could not cover this player with cat like reflexes... They heard that he was fast... The reality was that, he had long powerful strides that made him appear as if he were deceptively moving slower then he was actually moving which made their defensive coverage and attempted adjustments on him extremely difficult(opposing teams found themselves, regularly assigning two to three defenders to cover him. This is important to note, because most defensive formations, in Soccer, only have 4 total defenders)...They heard he had agility... The reality was that he could be moving in one direction as fast as he could go, and make you believe you had him contained, and then, without warning, change direction, on a dime, in the blink of an eye, and before your heart could transition to its next beat, he would be headed directly for your vulnerable Goal Tender and your Goal with his "Girlfriend(The Soccer Ball)" who wanted to please #15 by ending up in the back of your net... They heard he could jump... The reality was that he had such control of his body in mid-air that he could almost hang there for an extra milli-second, just long enough to come down after he had "kissed" it off of his forehead into the net...They had heard about his ability to anticipate...That reality came to pass within the first ten minutes of the match, when the Goalie of Bay City's opposition made, what he believed to be a safe outlet pass to one of his defenders. The reason he was lulled into such a poor decision was because Sam was standing about 30 yards from the defender. When Sam noticed the Goalie was about to pass the ball to that specific defender, Sam inched up imperceptibly and never stopped heading for the defender who was the target of the outlet pass. Once the ball left the Goalie's hand, it was too late for Bay City's opponent. Sam covered the last 15 or so yards as if he were a Lioness pouncing on her prey and as the ball bounced chest high he bounced the ball from his chest to his right thigh and without slowing down he dropped the ball to his feet and sprinted in on a one on one break away with the Goalie(who had no time to react to #15's sudden counter attack) and then allowed his "Girlfriend" to make him happy for the tenth time that season by firing a blistering salvo into the back of the defending champion's net! Serving notice to Bay City's opponent that, that was only going to be the beginning and that they had better get ready for, at least two more goals from #15, there were still 80 minutes of Soccer left to play(Note: Sam was averaging 1 goal every thirty minutes that he was on the field, up to that point in the season!!).
Sam, and Bay City, Sam and His Father(who was at the Match), Sam and his Sister Debbie(who was at the Match)...could not predict or even believe what was about to happen 15 minutes later. Bay City's Opponent, the defending champions, were about to execute the strategy that would, finally, stop Bay City's juggernaut, #15 Sam St-Phard, the youngest Bay City player to that point in their history...and the greatest player that league had ever seen to that point in its history.
As Sam was standing in the center of the penalty box, approximately 14 yards away from his opponent's goal. Bay City's Right winger sent a very high cross through the middle of the penalty box. He sent it way too high for the opposing defenders to reach and too far away from the goal line for the Goalie to challenge it. Because he was Sam's teammate the Right winger instinctively understood that because of Sam's leaping ability, Sam would be the only player who could, potentially, reach it with his head. Sam leaped for the ball and from this point only his Father's recollections can be recorded...Reader...because #15, Sam St-Phard, The fifteen year old Semi-Pro Soccer player who had recorded 10 goals in less than 3 and 1/2 games, had just been knocked unconscious in mid-air...intentionally...
Sam's Father, Dr. Glodys St-Phard speaks of how Sam "recklessly" leaped for the ball, not paying attention to the defenders that were around him. As Sam rose into the air he made contact with the ball but was unable to put any power behind the attempted header(a shot taken with one's forehead) because of the technique of how you hit a ball with your head, Sam's head was leaning to his left and then the defender jumped, full force, and slammed his head into the left side of Sam's face, instantly, rendering him unconscious; simultaneously, another defender undercut Sam from behind, directly behind his knees, and flipped him backwards. Sam's body was like a "Rag doll" as it began to roll backwards in mid-air, and completed its descent to the pitch. What most frightened all of the onlookers, including his Teammates was the fact that Sam landed on his head and neck in such a way as to suggest that this soccer player had just broken his neck and probably lost his young life or, at best, was paralyzed. Sam's Father sprinted onto the pitch, having seen a well executed assault on his child with malice aforethought, and was sad, angry and fearful for Sam's well-being, all at one time. When Sam's father got out onto the field and looked at his 15 year old son, he saw something that he would never forget. When Sam's Bay City Teammate's surrounded their fallen Superstar's lifeless(as it appeared to be in that moment) and unconscious body laying on the pitch, they were all frightened by what they saw and they all immediately feared for the life of this spectacular young Soccer player who they had come to know and love as their "Baby brother". Some of these men burst into tears, at what they saw. What they saw was the left side of Sam's face had been torn from the corner of his mouth back approximately four inches and from his left front tooth, including two other left teeth had been dislodged and pushed deep into his mouth. No one on the field could make everything out though, because Sam was laying in a pool of his own blood and the Royal Blue Bay City Uniform that bore his beloved #15 had turned purple because it was drenched in Sam's blood. After making sure that Sam's neck wasn't broken Glodys St-Phard picked up the broken body of his only son and raced him off to the Hospital to save his life as he had done 13 and 1/2 years earlier, when he and his young family had escaped from Haiti...
That day bay City went on to victory and scored three more goals in honor of , "The Child that Led them" and posted another shut-out, winning the match 4-0. Unfortunately, #15 was finished and Bay City made the play-offs, but without #15 they were unable to win the Championship... Sam had Emergency Surgery on his face and still has that "Million Dollar" smile. That smile would begin to serve him well as his story continues, beginning in his Junior year of High School...
On to Slidell Senior High School, In Slidell, Louisiana...Where Sam would begin to change the World..."One Mighty Tiger at a time..."
Glodys, Elizabeth, Sam, Debbie and Lisa arrived in Slidell, Louisiana in the Summer of 1980. Slidell is approximately 30 minutes east of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Sam got a tremendous gift from his Father and Elizabeth. On September 18, 1980 Sam's
baby sister Anne-Lise St-Phard was born and at 16 years of age, Sam became a live in "Big Brother/Baby Sitter", Sam recounts, "I used to fly her around like she was Superman. It was so fun having a baby in the house."
Sam transferred to Slidell his Junior year and the first thing he did when he arrived was
go out and try-out for place kicker on the Football team. Football wasn't just a Religion in
Alabama, Sam came to find out that it was a Religion in The South. When Sam went out for the Football Team he made it, but was only used on kick offs because of his leg strength. The Place Kicker who kicked the field goals was Bobby Anderson and he was accurate, even in the mud.
Eventually, his Junior year Sam chose to focus all of his Athletic Prowess on nothing but Soccer and he was selected to Slidell's Travel Team, "The Cobra's". Sam was their Striker and as you can imagine, he consistently scored. His Junior year with the Cobras Sam scored 20 goals including the State playoffs. The Cobras would finish third in the State in 1981 and 1982. Sam, however, began to not only get Statewide attention but also attention from The National Team Selection Committee for the U-19(Under 19) United States National Soccer Team. In 1981 Sam was selected to the Louisiana All-State Soccer Team. For most people they would have been happy with such an honor but as Sam recounts, "I was disappointed in myself because I was ranked fourth in the State and I believed I could do better. Then I went to Nachitoches, La.(where North East Louisiana University is located) and embarrassed myself in front of the National Team Coaches. I was 5'11" and 175lbs. I was way to brash and had not worked on my game like I used to. I could not believe how awesome the guys trying-out for the National Team were and I didn't score a single goal, it was very humbling."
The day after Sam returned from his embarrassing try-out for the U-19 National Team, he began waking up every morning at 5:00am and running around the perimeter of his neighborhood twice, it added up to 5.2 miles every morning. He would do, at least 500 sit ups and, realistically about 200 push-ups without fail. He would also drink 5 raw eggs. When I asked him about the raw eggs he responded with a laugh, "I saw Rocky do it in the movie 'ROCKY' when I was 12 years old so I figured, what the heck, why not?" Sam did this for an entire year. For now though, let's begin to talk about a parallel transformation that was gargantuan in the History of Slidell Senior High School. Sam St-Phard was about to do something at this Southern High School that was founded in 1907 that no one had ever conceived could ever be done....
"Unity begins with 'U'"... and A New Mathematical Equation: "2500 = 1"...
The spring semester had begun at Slidell Senior High School and Sam St-Phard had just turned 17 years old the previous December. It was the Spring of 1981 and Sam was working at "Wendy's" on Gause Boulevard. Sam fondly remembers the "Wendy's Crew"(Rory, Celina, Heidi, Cindy, Tom, Bill, Randy[their manager], Dave[an assistant manager], and Sam Schultz).
Sam had only arrived at Slidell High at the beginning of the Fall semester(The beginning of the School year 1980-1981) and he had decided to focus on Soccer and not Football. His co-workers at "Wendy's" were his clique his, "hang out buds", the one group of students that Sam felt comfortable around. Outside of Athletics Sam knew very little about his new school, so when the announcement came over the P.A. system that no one was eligible to run for Student Council President, Sam never gave it a second thought. To Sam, and apparently, his friends, the Student Council was nothing more than another clique, just another "club" like the "Glee Club". So when Sam and Rory and Bill and Tom and Sam Schultz sat down at lunch one day they concocted a scheme to run an "anti-campaign", you know, throw a monkey wrench into the process. All they needed was a "Monkey wrench", hmmm I wonder who Rory volunteered...yes Reader...Sam St-Phard, not only was he going to be the "Monkey wrench" but he had every intention of making the whole process a fiasco...
Sam, Rory, Tom and Bill went to the Administration offices and registered their candidate(Sam St-Phard) as a prospect for the Office of President of The Slidell High School Student Council. As he and his friends were leaving the office, one of the most popular and brightest students in the junior class, Yolanda Tai, approached him and asked him if he would be on her campaign staff. Sam replied that he had just registered to run himself and Yolanda wished him luck. Rory and Sam were puzzled that Yolanda wanted Sam on her team, because Sam was not well known at Slidell High, having only arrived that school year. All Sam could figure was that she saw something that he didn't...
Sam changes his mind and becomes the candidate from "Nowhere"...and a scheme becomes a DREAM...
One day, during lunch, Sam was walking in the courtyard area just outside of the cafeteria and he noticed a student sitting alone eating a bagged lunch. It was apparent to Sam that this guy was not one of the "popular" kids and that he seemed to be all alone. Sam's heart went out to him and he asked if he could sit down and hang out with him. the kid obliged and they sat together for about ten minutes or so. Sam introduced himself and the kid said, "I know who you are." Sam then asked him who he was(Sam doesn't remember his name, for the sake of this story we'll call him "Tim") and he said his name was "Tim". Sam asked him what grade he was in and he was a sophomore. Sam also asked him if he liked Slidell High and "Tim" said no. Sam said, "I don't like it here either, 'Tim', but if you vote for me I promise I'll make things different around this school.
In fact, I'll even eat lunch with you." "Tim" thought this black guy was crazy, but he committed to voting for him and then added, " You don't have to eat lunch with me, man, but I do believe you are going to make a difference here." After that encounter, Sam St-Phard went into the boy's room and locked himself into a bathroom stall and began to weep uncontrollably about the condition, not only of "Tim", but of what "Tim" represented on a larger scale...Slidell High School had lost its "SPIRIT", no one was proud of being a Tiger, and from that moment forward Sam St-Phard set out to re-kindle that fire in the hearts and minds of all the students, the staff, the faculty, the administration, and even the parents and siblings affiliated with The Slidell High Tigers. As Sam says, "One minute, I was a transfer student, who worked at 'Wendy's' and goofed off in class and, literally, in a moment of clarity I had an epiphany and all of a sudden...
I BECAME A SLIDELL HIGH SCHOOL MIGHTY TIGER...!!!"
What happened after Sam St-Phard's emotional paradigm shift, in that boy's room, is something that should have been written about long ago. From that moment on, Sam St-Phard became the epitome of "The Spirit of The Slidell High School Mighty Tigers". This was no longer an "anti-campaign", this was a a Battle to take back the "Soul" of Slidell High School from the depths of apathy that had gripped it. As far as Sam was concerned, the only thing that was going to keep him from running a hard and extremely diligent and impactful campaign was death(No kidding...to this day when Sam believes in something he still has that degree of commitment); because as far as this 17 year old was concerned, nothing mattered more to him then the Unity of Slidell Senior High School in Slidell, Louisiana...NOTHING! Sam understood that in order to revive the comatose and elusive "Spirit" of Slidell High, everyone had to be a part of it, everyone had to believe that together Slidell High's "Spirit" would be strong, and divided Slidell High would have no "Spirit" at all.
Sam, came up with the campaign slogan: "Unity begins with 'U'" and it stuck. He also had members from each class represented on his campaign staff(freshmen, sophomores and juniors).
There were four other candidates running for President of Slidell High School, all four of these candidates were formidable and Sam respected them all. However, even at 17 years old, Sam considered his greatest opponent for The Presidency of Slidell High School to be the absence of pride in being "A Mighty Tiger", "and that's what I wanted to return to this school."
The Student Council President ...from "NOWHERE"...
Sam and his classmates sat in class when the voice of principal Joseph C. Buccaran came over the P.A. system. The results of the election were in and Principal Buccaran was about to announce who would be serving as Slidell High School's Student Council President for the upcoming 1981-1982 School year. All eyes in the class room focused on Sam St-Phard and according to Sam, "I zoned out, I was already preparing myself for a loss." Mr. Buccaran then announced, "Would the person who's name I call please come to my Office. The Student Council President of Slidell High School is...Sam St-Phard. Would Sam please come to my office."
An Entire School Welcomes the School President from "Nowhere."...
Sam was overwhelmingly elected on the first ballot. In order for that to have happened he would have had to receive, at least, 51% of the vote. Had he not accomplished that percentage than there would have been a run-off. Since there was no run-off Sam earned 51% of the vote, at least. To put this into the proper perspective, realize...Reader... that the other four candidates could only generate, at most, a total of 49% of the vote to be divided among themselves...so, not that it matters to Sam, The Slidell High School Student's believed in the principle and promise of "Spirit" and "Pride" through "Unity" that was being espoused by this 17 year old visionary dreamer that they had just given a mandate to lead them to the Proverbial: "Promised Land" of being 2,500 individual students that would, the following school year, become 1 unified student body(2,500 = 1), and they understood that, indeed, "Unity begins with 'U'".
Sam recounts, that as he was walking to Principal Buccaran's Office, one of the oldest custodians on the staff (A petite and soft spoken Black lady who Sam thinks had been at Slidell High since the early 1960's)was waiting for him along the way. When he saw her, he stopped dead in his tracks, and listened, carefully, to what she had to say. {The custodian, who was born and raised in Louisiana and had lived through the darkest days of the ignorance and segregation and racism that defined the deep south for so long( she had lived through the degradation of "Separate but Equal" in terms of education, she remembers not being able to drink from the same water fountains as white people, she remembered when blacks could not eat in the same Restaurants as whites, she remembers how blacks could not vote until 1964 and also recalls when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once declared that he had a dream that people would no longer be judged by the color of their skin but, rather, by the content of their character... And there he was, coming in her direction, the fulfillment of a martyred Civil Rights leader's Dream, Sam St-Phard, 17 years old, a young black man in the deep south, the deep south that she had come to know as so segregated and unfair because of the color of her skin, here came the one who had shattered the past and was walking Slidell High School into the future... the proof that Dr King's dream was becoming a reality right before her very own eyes... the proof that the color of her or anyone else's skin meant, absolutely, NOTHING. Sam St-Phard proved the fact that a Noble and sincere purpose, ignited by an inspiring vision, were what really mattered... never, ever the color of one's skin[Thank you, Columbia, Maryland!]. The pride and joy this woman must have felt, about what this young Black man had just accomplished, must have been impossible to comprehend...)} , held him by his shoulders and to, the best of Sam's recollection, said to him, "I never thought I'd see the day that a black boy would run for President of this School," Sam recalls looking into her deep set gray eyes as she said it, " when you chose to do that, you made history. Today, you have been elected President of this School, and I am holding History in my hands...go and do exactly what you promised these kids you were going to do." The year Sam St-Phard was elected President of Slidell High School, Slidell High School was 74 years old...History was made indeed...and though he could care less about it("I wasn't elected because I was Black. I was elected because my fellow students wanted 'Spirit' and 'Unity' at our school. We wanted to all be 'Mighty Tigers'"), he became the first Black student(In a school that was mostly white) to hold that office at Slidell High School and he had only transferred there in September of the beginning of his Junior year! This was the Spring of his Junior year! How did it happen!? " No one ever told me that I couldn't do it.", says Sam, "and if they had said I couldn't do it then I would have ignored them anyway. Negativity leads to failure, I simply believe it will happen(whatever it is) then I set out to work for what needs to be achieved." The pattern being established...Reader... is that Sam St-Phard let's nothing stand in his way...{This is not a man I would, ever, bet against, would you?}...
The Principal and The Student Council President "from Nowhere", partner together to bring "Spirit" back to Slidell Senior High School...
When Sam arrived at the office of , School Principal, Joseph C. Buccaran. He noticed that Mr. Buccaran seemed to be a little more animated then his usually conservative and stern outward demeanor. Mr. Buccaran brought Sam into his office and explained to him that Sam and his own dreams for Slidell High School were in concert with one another and that, he was quietly, hoping Sam's candidacy would lead to his election. What he said next, though, made Sam remember the saying, "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it..." To the best of Sam's recollection, Mr. Buccaran challenged him by saying something to the effect of, "If you can't bring "Spirit" back to Slidell High School, then I don't know who will." All of a sudden, Sam felt the weight and dreams of 2,500 students land squarely on his 17 year old shoulders and he went home scared to death. "You see," Sam Says, "it's one thing to promise a Junior prom, or snack machines, or even a softball game against the faculty; but how do you deliver 'Unity'? How do you deliver 'Spirit'? I've got to say I didn't sleep well that night."
"When I went back to school the next day, I was given the opportunity to appoint my advisory board and I made certain I included members of it from each class(freshman, sophomore, and Junior) so that I would have a better grasp of what was happening school wide."
Because Slidell High had grown so large, the next School year North Shore High was going to open and alleviate some of the class size issues that were beginning to manifest themselves at Slidell High School. What this meant is that Sam St-Phard served out his Presidency over the single largest Student Body in the History of Slidell High School, his Senior year; which makes the rest of this story all the more remarkable, and some might even say, untrue...oh but dear Reader, it is true...{One last thing I ought to add, and this is my own poetic license, Slidell High School was founded in 1908. It's first School year was 1908-1909. This school year is the Centennial School Year of Slidell Senior High School it's 100th year Celebration. Let me note, that though it doesn't matter to Sam St-Phard, because of his "Color Blind" upbringing in Columbia, Maryland. It should never be ignored and never be forgotten that not only was Sam St-Phard the first Black to be elected Student Body President of Slidell High School, he remains in the 100 year history of Slidell High School, the only black(male or female) to have ever been the President of the entire Student Body of Slidell Senior High School. This is my own observation, because Sam's life has never been defined, by his ethnicity, race, or culture, or by the philosophy of "I can't" rather, it's been defined by the determination of, "How can I?"...and this... Reader... is the essence of why I am so excited to share this man's life story with you. As he says, "I suppose I am to stupid to know that there are limitations on me, so I just believe that I will accomplish my goals and move on. Life's way too short and I have way too much to accomplish before I breathe my last.", Sam says with a smile.}
Sam, went to Student Council Summer camp and learned alot about consensus building and leading by example. When he and his advisors returned they were ready to take on the challenge of re-igniting the Spirit of The Mighty Tigers of Slidell Senior High School. With the day to day cooperation of their Principal, Joseph C. Buccaran, the Student Council led the weekly pep rallies before every Football game and even got Mr. Buccaran to agree to hold two successful bon fires on campus. Mr. Buccaran was not fond of fire on his campus, but for his students Joe Buccaran would do whatever it took. "I am the luckiest man alive, because I got to spend an entire year with this phenomenal Human being(Joseph C. Buccaran). All the other students only got to see his serious, stern, conservative demeanor. Doug Reker(Senior Class President) and I(Student Council President) got to see the side of Mr. Buccaran that, few others knew. Mr. Buccaran knew the names of all 2,500 of us and the concern he showed when any one of us might be in some type of difficulty. Joe Buccaran loved Slidell High, because Joe Buccaran loved us...his students, we were his 'children', his younger 'brother's and sister's'. During the School year we spent the majority of our time at School so Mr. Buccaran was just as committed as Doug Reker(Senior Class President) and I(Student Council President) were to making our High School a 'family' , a 'Fraternity' of Slidell Senior High School , 'Mighty Tigers'.", Sam says with a smile...
The Hair Cut from "Nowhere"...
In October of 1981, Slidell High School's Football Team was not only personifying the can do attitude of their Head Coach, Tom Gainey, but they were also representing an entire Student body that they understood they were an extension of. They were no longer just, "The Football Team" or just a bunch of "Jocks". NO! They were Mighty Tigers who were using there Athletic skills to play Football!(Sam asked me, "Meredith does that concept make sense?"). The Football team was doing so well that with a victory over John Ehret High School in their next game they would secure a spot for Slidell High School in the State Football Playoffs for the first time since 1954...27 years prior! It would be the first time ever that they qualified for the State AAAA Playoffs! Now let's examine what lie ahead for these guys. John Ehret was the Reigning State AAAA Champions they had only lost one game in four years and the game was at their Stadium.
They also had a much bigger Team, physically, then did Slidell High and in Football that means something...it means alot!
The Football Team that came from "NOWHERE"...
Prior to the John Ehret Football game as a sign of Unity, the Football players all got Mohawks, as Sam tells me, " Yeah, they went and got their mohawks and I'm thinking, well whatever floats your boat. Next thing I know they're telling me I need to get one too, because we're one school and if I do it than everybody will know that I'm with the Football team, in spirit and purpose. Next thing I know they're throwing my campaign slogans in my face, and essentially, calling me a hypocrite...wow. So, I tell them, 'If you beat John Ehret, I'll let you shave my head in front of the entire student body at the next pep rally.' They left me alone, after that, and I hate to admit it, but I really thought my hair was safe..." Sam says with his, now familiar, laugh and smile...
IN Less Then Two Minutes The Spirit of The Mighty Tigers FLOODS John Ehret's Stadium...And courses through the veins of Slidell High's Student's...
John Ehret was killing the clock as they had a 20-26 lead. they were, methodically, marching down the field in an attempt to keep the football away from Quarterback Larry Abney and the offense of The Mighty Tigers Of Slidell High School. "No one , in the stands thought we could win because they(Ehret) had the ball. And then it happened... A FUMBLE, SLIDELL HAS THE BALL, SLIDELL HAS THE BALL!!" according to what Sam remembers, the Tigers simply handed the ball off to their fullback and tailback and made substantial yardage up the middle. They DARED John Ehret to stop them, and Ehret could not. When they, finally, got within 3-5 yards of the goal line, QB Larry Abney faked a hand-off and threw a bullet to TE Nicky Fox for 6 points. Tying the game at 26-26. Bobby Anderson kicked the PAT and the Tigers upset John Ehret 27-26. There was pandemonium in the stands and bedlam in the locker room. When Sam entered the locker room to celebrate with the team, some of the players began to rub his head, signifying that he had to follow through on his promise to them. Sam says he sometimes wonders if in one of those huddles on the winning drive in that game, if Head Coach Tom Gainey didn't possibly send in a message reminding them that the only way Sam St-Phard would have ever risked his precious Afro on this game was because he actually thought they weren't going to win. Sam says, "Their winning that game did not mean I lost any bet, it meant that we, as "The Mighty Tigers", had all just made history...TOGETHER!"...
A Bald Head Unifies a School and Seals in the Spirit Of The Mighty Tigers...FOREVER!
True to his word, Sam quietly sat behind a towel, in front of the entire Student Body at Slidell High School Stadium. 2,500 students, the administration, all of the faculty, and all of the staff, as well as many of the citizens of Slidell, were witnesses to this historic event. When the Football players were done giving Sam his monstrous 'fro Mohawk, he stood up, with the towel still raised in front of him, and received the pep rally microphone and then gave the signal for the towel to drop to the track...
The Speech That came from "Nowhere"...from The School President that came from "Nowhere"...
Everyone in that stadium burst into loud, and boisterous laughter at the sight of their Student Council President's 'frohawk. All but one...Sam's younger sister Debbie, who was a Junior that year, she ducked down and hid her face. After, approximately 5 minutes or so, Sam silenced the Stadium crowd and said something like, " My hair is going to grow back, so feel free to laugh. But we cannot diminish what our Football Players have done. 27 years ago, seniors... we were, at least, 10 years from being born, Faculty, some of you weren't even alive 27 years ago. This Football team is a part of us, they are our heart and we are theirs. It has taken 27 years for them to do this...so instead of laughing at my haircut, which will grow back...let's hail our conquering heroes!" At that point Sam ran off the track and into the field house and listened from the locker room as The Student Body Chanted and Praised their Football team...with cheers and chants led by the Cheerleaders(Varsity and Junior Varsity) and Pom Pom team. Although their Student Body President had hidden himself away and disappeared into the lonely confines of the Locker Room, Sam St-Phard heard and felt something he had been hoping he could experience from the moment he began, in earnest, to run for the Presidency of Slidell Senior High School. He heard a roar... he heard one loud roar... he no longer heard 2,500 individuals... he heard 1 Roar... from 1 gargantuan Tiger... that Mighty Tiger was the entire unified Student Body of his beloved Slidell Senior High School. It blew his mind... and it moved him to the very core of his being, at that moment, he knew that, if his life had come to an abrupt and sudden end... his life would have made a difference...he would not have lived in vain. What he heard made him grateful to be a part of, in Sam's assessment, "A small part of..." Slidell Senior High School. Sam, finally, loved being a part of the bigger, unified picture..."The 'Spirit' had come back to our School, and I can't take any credit for it, we all believed, we all, simply, believed..." as Sam quietly recounted to me, just before he broke down into tears at the memory. " I am so, unbelievably, grateful that I was allowed to be a part of that School at that time in it's history." Sam says through his tears. {Reader, allow me a little more poetic license. I suppose that Sam, fails to recall that, without him, and his visionary dreams, it is not likely that the 1981-1982 school year would have been the School year that it was at Slidell Senior High School in Slidell, Louisiana...because, although he takes no personal credit for the unification of Slidell Senior High School, he is the one who dreamed the dreams that his fellow students believed in... ponder that as you read on about this, remarkable, man from "nowhere"...).
Twenty five years later, at Sam's High School reunion(In July of 2007), Allison Burch, put the Haircut into perspective for Sam. She explained, " You promised us that you would bring us together. You said we would be one school. Don't you see that your haircut was the one single major event that we all participated in together? We were all there! For the rest of our lives we will all share that memory. After you did that, Sam, we knew you were our leader and we trusted you to lead us anywhere." Sam says, "Allison helped me realize that on the day I got my haircut, everyone at Slidell High School knew and believed that we were ALL Mighty Tigers. We were one." And the slogan: "Unity begins with 'U'" became the mathematical equation: "2,500 = 1"...
Welcome to Chapel Hill, North Carolina...U-19 National Team Trials...
Sam St-Phard and the rest of the Senior Class of Slidell High School graduated in May of 1982.
In Sam's Athletic High School Career he played Junior High School Varsity Basketball in ninth grade at Brooks Junior High School(In Wichita, Kansas). He barely made the roster at the beginning of the season but ended up starting in the City Championship against Pleasant Valley Junior High School at the end of the season.
In tenth grade at Baker High School in Mobile, Alabama. Sam earned a Varsity letter as a place kicker and never missed an extra point or field goal attempt that season. As a matter of fact, Sam scored 2 extra points and a 32 yard field goal in Baker's Homecoming game which they won 17-12.
Sam also ran Track his Senior year at Slidell High School and earned a letter in that sport as well.
Sam's love, though, remained Soccer and he excelled at it like no other Soccer player, I have ever, personally, met. The breakdown of Sam's High School Soccer Career is as follows:
Heights High School(Club Team, Freshman Year) Wichita, Kansas:
10 games played...................12 goals scored.
Mobile, Alabama Semi-Pro Men's Soccer League(Sam was in tenth grade. Fall Season 15 years old):
Less than 3 and 1/2 games* played....10 goals scored.
*Sam's season ended, brutally, 25 minutes into the fourth match of the season.
He never played a full four games. In fact, four matches in soccer are a total of
360 minutes(90 minutes each). Sam, actually, scored 10 goals in 295 minutes(that is an average of 1 goal every 29 minutes and 30 seconds)!
A goal scoring output I have never heard of in my life! And he did it as a fifteen
year old against grown-ups!
Bay City Soccer Club Head Coach: Tommy Lee
Baker High School(Club Team, Sophomore Year, Spring, 16 years old) Mobile, Alabama:
12 games played....................16 goals scored
Head Coach: Bob Grube(Pronounced Grewbee)
Slidell Cobras Select Traveling Team, Slidell, Louisiana(Junior Year, 17 years old, Spring):
13 games played....................20 goals scored
Slidell Cobras Select Traveling Team, Slidell, Louisiana(Senior Year, 18 years old, Spring):
13 games played....................26 goals scored
Head Coach: Lee McGinn
Assistant Coach : Leonard Middlebrooks
In total Sam St-Phard played in just under 51 and a 1/2 Soccer matches in his High School Career(4 years) and Recorded 84 goals! Averaging over a goal a match! This got Sam Statewide recognition in Louisiana and he was invited, for the second straight year, to try-out for The United States U-19 National Soccer Team as it was preparing to select the roster for the Junior World Cup that was going to be played.
Two years earlier, in 1980, Darryl Gee, Sam's former teammate in Columbia, Maryland on the U-13 SAC Travel Team, had led the U-19 US National Soccer Team to The Junior World Cup in China. Argentina won the Junior World Cup Soccer title in 1980 led by a 5'2" stalky 18 year old soccer player by the name of Diego Maradona.(Six years later in 1986, Diego Maradona would lead his Nation, Argentina, to it's second World Cup Title in Mexico. They won their first in 1978 against Germany when they hosted the World Cup in Argentina, Mario Kempes was their star that World Cup.).
In 1982 Sam wanted to acquit himself well and not embarrass himself as he did the previous year. For starters, Sam woke up at 5am each day and ran 5.2 miles. He was in far better condition, having gone from 5"11"" 175lbs. to a sleek and lean 5'11" 162lbs. Although Sam had lost 13lbs. and was faster and quicker than ever, his lower body was very strong. Each of Sam's thighs were defined like an anatomy chart or poster and they each measured 24 and a 1/2 inches in circumference(the size of some women's waist lines). His upper torso had slimmed out, but because he was doing 500 sit ups each morning and, at least, 200 push ups, as well as watching his nutrition("I even started drinking Grape fruit juice because someone said it would give me extremely defined muscles.") he was in today's fitness vernacular: "Ripped" or "Shredded".
The break down of Sam's times from his try-out in 1981 and 1982 go as follows:
Flying 40 yard dash(5 yard head start): 1981..... 4.3 seconds
1982.... 4.05 seconds
Vertical Leap
(Jumping straight up with no running start): 1981..... 27.4 inches
1982..... 28 inches
Cooper's Test
(How many miles you can run in eight minutes): 1981.....1.63 miles
1982.....1.75 miles
Acceleration
(How much ground you can cover in a certain
time from a prone position.): 1981......28 yards
1982......30 yards
Test: 1981.....31
1982.....35
Technical Ability: 1981....38
1982....39
Game Grade: 1981....42
1982....47
Total Testing Grade: 1981....111 points (Fourth best in the State).
(First best in 1981, Steinkamp, had 114 points).
1982...121 points (First Best in the State).
Sam, had improved in all of the tangible and measurable facets of his game. But, more importantly, he learned that the hard work of the entire prior year was successful and that the secret to success is, "To never give up."
There were also 3 Matches at the State level. Sam played for the Southeast, Louisiana Team(Coached by Cobra's Head Coach Lee McGinn), against three teams that represented Southwest, Louisiana...Central, Louisiana...and North, Louisiana. In those 3 matches Sam St-Phard recorded 5 goals and led Southeast, Louisiana to a first place finish at the State Team Trials and went on to The National Team Try-Outs in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as the Number one Soccer Player in the State of Louisiana.
As I stated at the outset, a book could have been written about this Man by the end of his High School years. And so far, that is what I have done, in a blog. From this point forward I am going to make additions to this blog from the point where Sam is today in his life. Sam went to College on a full Soccer scholarship and then two years later was injured and his Soccer career ended. He also became a Songwriter when he was 22 years old and had a Song on the air in Washington, DC in 1987. In 1988 he became a Licensed professional Songwriter with BMI(Broadcast Music Incorporated) in Manhattan, New York. He was Married in 1992 and divorced in 2008. He is now the single custodial parent of two sons, and is pursuing some major enterprises in the Business world. It is the Businesses of Sam St-Phard that I will continue to follow in these entries because it is The Businesses of This "Prince from Port-Au-Prince" that will, he hopes in his heart of hearts, change the world for the better.
My name is Meredith Anderson and I wanted to introduce to you a man whose life is divided into different categories and each category, within itself, is interesting and , at times... "astonishing". The truth is that by the time this man, Sam St-Phard, graduated from High School, his accomplishments could have already filled a book. From his humble origins in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti(born: December 29, 1963), to his audacious and grand visions for his start-up International Telecommunications Company, that is positioned to strictly serve Emerging Market Economies, Sam St-Phard has been shaped by many circumstances, both positive and negative. The greatest philosophy that he lives by though is, "Your life is not worth living, unless what you are living for outlives you." With this in mind, Sam is always quick to engage others in conversation, or use his wit to attempt to make people smile, or laugh out loud. In his own thinking, "People have enough to worry about everyday, without wondering if I am going to add to their hardship, so I try to, even if it's only for a minute, to brighten up their day with a smile or a joke...life is tough enough...I don't want to make it any tougher." I met Sam at "Mad City Coffee" in Columbia, Maryland. He was wearing a walking boot after having fractured the big toe on his left foot. Although he was in obvious discomfort, I noticed that this man was laughing and joking around, not only with the staff but also with the customers. I found it very interesting that this man, who looked at least ten years younger then his 44 years was so cheerful and giving, even though he was hobbled and using a crutch for support. I introduced myself to him and found him to be full of charm and charisma. He certainly was not feeling sorry for himself, and even though he was in apparent pain, his outward focus lit up "Mad City Coffee".
As we spoke, I learned that Sam was born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, but had moved to Columbia, Maryland in 1970.
Sam explained to me that he is an Entrepreneur and that he has three Companies that each have separate missions.
His main Company is DIMARK Telecommunications International... they focus only on Emerging Market Economies and do the Architecture, Vetting, Design and Build Out of the Technology Backbone that all Telecommunication Applications must have.
They are a Start-up but their CTO(Chief Technology Officer), Mike Sandler[http://www.sandlertech.com/home.html], has twenty years experience in the field and built Destiny Health's infrastructure in South Africa and also many similar projects in Canada. As Sam, states, "Mike is our credibility, he is why we are confident we can make an impact, technologically, in the Emerging Market Economies. For us, it's not, primarily, about making money. We really want to bring First Class Communications Infrastructure to these Emerging Market Economies so that the International Economic 'Playing Field' is equalized.".
Sam's second Entrepreneurial venture is, "The Millionaire From Nowhere Company, LLC".
The MFN Company, LLC specializes in Public Speaking and Business Entrepreneur Mentorship as well as Expert Marketing, for "Brick and Mortar" businesses as well as
"Network or MLM Marketing" and Online Marketing. The MFN Organization emphasizes that they are not Motivational speakers. In their Company philosophy they believe all people are already "Motivated". What they espouse is Inspiration through sharing obstacles that their speakers have overcome. As Sam said himself, "...inspiration is often found in the struggles we conquer, not in the heights we achieve...".
www.millionairefromnowhere.com
For those who are in the MLM or Network Marketing industry or have an interest, review this link:
http://TheMFNmagneticsponsoringonline.com
Sam's third Entrepreneurial enterprise is, DMG Expediters and Couriers. This is his latest and most recent venture. This Company specializes in acquiring Building, Grading and Trade Permits for Contractors, Builders, Engineers, Architects, and Construction Companies, as well as private Home Owners for a fee. On June 9, 2009 DMG
Expediters and Couriers had it's first Permit Acquisition job. By the middle of November of 2009 DMG was regularly executing 3-5 jobs a day. 2010 holds even greater promise. When asked, by me, how his young new business was doing this, Sam replied, "I'm simply applying the principles that 'The Millionaire From Nowhere Organization' teaches. By applying those principles to DMG I prove that 'The MFN' Course is based on actual and measurable facts rather than on any theory or third party experience." DMG now has Courier Drivers and an Engineering division which includes a Certified Professional Civil and Structural Engineer who has a State of Maryland Engineering Stamp which absolves all Counties and Home Owners of Legal Liability in regards to their Construction projects no matter how small or large.
We sat speaking for at least two hours, and as I started asking him questions about himself, a remarkable story began to unfold and with Sam St-Phard's permission I am excited to be the person who will be sharing his story with you. This is the remarkable story of Samuel St-Phard, Born on December 29, 1963 in The Capital City of Haiti...Port-Au-Prince[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-au-Prince], and when I have completed sharing his story and his dreams you will all come to understand why I have nicknamed Sam St-Phard..."The Prince from Port-Au-Prince."
Tenacious even BEFORE he was born...
Sam recounted to me the story of when he was a viable fetus in the third trimester of his Mother's pregnancy. As he shares, his Mother's lung collapsed and she was in grave danger as was the viable fetus(Sam St-Phard). The Doctor's had to consult Sam's Father and they gave him basically three impossible choices for what was needed in order for Sam's Mother to be saved or for the viable fetus(Sam St-Phard) to be saved. The choices given to his Father were, essentially, save the child and lose his wife; save his wife and lose the child; or attempt to save the child and his wife and potentially, lose both the child and his wife. At the tender age of Twenty Six years old. Sam's Father was left with a heart wrenching decision that most people never face in a lifetime...he did not hesitate or give it a second thought...he directed the Doctors to save the child and his wife. The Operation was a success and on December 29, 1963 in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
Samuel St-Phard was born to Glodys and Ghislaine St-Phard. He was their first born child and the first born child of all of the extended family on both his Father and Mother's sides of the family. He was also the first born son of his generation of St-Phard's from the first born son of the previous generation of St-Phard's going back, at least, four generations. In Haitian culture this, symbolically, means a great deal. Sam or "Sammy", as he was was referred to by doting Family members(Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and his young parents) was given an abundance of attention and from very early on in his personality development, believed that not only was he special(and what only child doesn't feel that way) but also that he had a destiny(destination) that was going to "take him places".
Another St-Phard Joins the Family...
On December 28, 1964 in Port-Au-Prince[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-au-Prince], Haiti Glodys and Ghislaine St-Phard welcomed their second child into the world at approximately 11:55pm. The reason the time is mentioned, is that, Sam's Father thought it would be unique to have his two children born exactly one year apart, but as Sam says, "No one tells my little sister what to do, she came into this world when she wanted to, not when anyone else did..." Sam said with a laugh. So, Deborah St-Phard became the second child of Glodys and Ghislaine St-Phard and the baby sister and one day a year the "Twin" of Sam St-Phard.
The Young Family would only have six more month's to live, in peace, on the Island of Haiti, as the corruption that was the brutal dictatorship of Francois "PaPa Doc" Duvalier[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/papa-doc.htm] was about to change this young Family's lives forever...
The Airplane that came...FROM NOWHERE...
Sam St-Phard's parents were both Medical Doctors and they were serving out there residencies.
The problem was that they were not being paid any money and It was taking it's toll on them financially. Glodys St-Phard became the leader of a movement to get compensation for the Doctor's and it began to draw attention to the administration of the Hospital, attention that the administrators feared may get to the highest levels of Government and potentially cost them their jobs, or worse...their lives. Even in the face of stiff resistance from the Hospital administrators Glodys St-Phard refused to allow his fellow Doctors to be unjustly used by the system, so he pressed on with his demands.
Sometime in June of 1965(to the best of what Sam has been told by his Mother) an assassination order went out on Glodys St-Phard(27 years old), Ghislaine St-Phard(27 years old), Samuel St-Phard(1 year and 6months old) and Deborah St-Phard(6 months old). The assassination was ordered by Government Officials who supported the corrupt Hospital Administration and it was ordered without the knowledge of Haiti's President and Dictator Francois "PaPa Doc" Duvalier[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/papa-doc.htm].
When word of this plot reached Glodys St-Phard he immediately took action to protect his young family. Glodys' wife Ghislaine's uncle, was the Chief of Immigration and had influence over who could leave the Country and who could not. So, when he was made aware of the plot to have his niece and nephew, by marriage, and their children killed he too, took immediate action to assist them in fleeing their homeland(Haiti) to find safety and refuge in The United States of America.
The St-Phard's were scheduled to depart on the last scheduled commercial flight out of Haiti on June 25, 1965...and then disaster...they missed it!
Knowing that their lives had been at stake, and now realizing that their lives were over...27 year old Ghislaine St-Phard took her two babies, 1 and a half year old Samuel and 6 month old Deborah and put them back to bed. She then joined her extended Family in the living room and they all prayed and cried together knowing the impending doom that was ahead for this young family.
Though things at the house appeared to be bleak, Glodys St-Phard continued to press on and get the paper work necessary for he and his family to, somehow, depart from Haiti.
At the St-Phard home a Black Government vehicle pulled up to the front of the home and all hearts dropped as Ghislaine and her Family believed that the end had, finally arrived...
Much to their surprise and relief the official who had arrived was Ghislaine's uncle the Chief of Immigration and he informed everyone that a flight had to make an unscheduled landing at the airport due to mechanical issues and it was refueling. Because of his position as Chief of Immigration he was able to hold that flight and have all of the passengers show their passports. He then told his niece, Ghislaine St-Phard, to get her son and daughter immediately and ride with him to the Airport. Her Husband, and the children's Father, Glodys St-Phard, would meet them there. In no time, Ghislaine and her children, Samuel and Deborah St-Phard, were on their way to the Airport and they boarded the Airplane that came from "Nowhere". Prior to this day, no Commercial flight had ever made an unscheduled landing in Haiti due to emergency mechanical issues.......ever! {Isn't it interesting that it was on that day and at that time and under those circumstances that a plane somehow had to land in Haiti, because of unexpected mechanical difficulties? A plane that no one in the entire Country even knew was coming? I contend and you will see that destiny needed to save this young family, because, in my view, baby Samuel could not die in Haiti, because had he perished then the rest of this story could not be told, and as his life unfolds before you, you will see how a world without this man would be a world without a dreamer and someone who genuinely wants what is best for his fellow man.} Miraculously, on June 25, 1965, Glodys St-Phard(27 years Old), Ghislaine St-Phard(27 years Old), Samuel St-Phard(1 year and 6 months old) and Deborah St-Phard(6 months old), escaped a fate that thousands of other Haitians were not able to avoid and landed safely in the United States of America. This begins the story of how Sam St-Phard, "The Prince from Port-Au-Prince", began his American Dream, a dream that when fully realized, will transform many people's lives in the world...
1971 The Dreamer(Sam St-Phard) Moves to "Color Blind"...Columbia, Maryland.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland]
In 1971 The St-Phard's moved to Columbia, Maryland[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland] from Topeka, Kansas[http://www.topeka.org]. Sam's parents had, the year before(1970), graduated from the Menninger School of Psychiatry(The Top Psychiatric Training School of it's kind in TheWorld) [http:www.menningerclinic.com/education/training-history.htm]. Prior to that, when they were affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medical School[http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/] in Baltimore, Maryland, they welcomed Samuel and Deborah's little sister Marthe-Alice St-Phard into their family on April 11, 1966.
Columbia, Maryland[http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland] was founded in 1967 and was the culmination of the dream of it's founder James Rouse[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W._Rouse], who wanted there to be a planned community where people of varying racial differences, ethnic differences, cultural differences, religious differences, and even socio-economic differences could all live together in harmony. This was a radical departure from what was happening around the United States[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States] at the time. And yet, to this day, it has worked and the children who had the privilege of growing up in Columbia, Maryland[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland] have benefited from the fulfillment of Jim Rouse's[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W._Rouse] dream {I know because I raised my three grown children in the Columbia, Maryland[http://en.wikipedia.org/wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_Maryland] area and although I am Jewish[http://www.jewish.com], one of my children is dating an African- American[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American] and I didn't even notice, until my daughter's boyfriend's father mentioned it to her. They are from another part of our State. I can, personally attest that Columbia, Maryland is "Color Blind" and that it was the perfect environment for this six year old, Sam St-Phard, to be able to believe that nothing was impossible for him to accomplish.} .
The St-Phard's settled in the Neighborhood of Swansfield at 10950 Eight Bells Lane and The three children "Sammy", "Debbie", and "Marly" made friends all over the neighborhood. Sam fondly recounts the stories of an idyllic childhood that included building snow forts in the winter and swimming at his neighborhood pool in the summer and a time when it was actually safe enough for he and his friends to walk to school through the woods. He even wanted me to mention, by name, the friends that helped shape his view of people today, because they had such a tremendous impact on his desire to make this world a better place. Friends like his next door neighbor, on Eight Bells Lane, Billy Tyson and his other next door neighbors Chris Crowley and his little brother Tim Crowley; Gary McClurkin; Frank Davis; Scott Davis; Pat Hiban...but the friend from his early neighborhood days that Sam St-Phard holds nearest to his heart and, to this day, remains his best friend in the entire world is Mike Hiban...and as far as Sam is concerned that will never change. These relationships helped to shape Sam St-Phard into the eternal optimist that he is today...and now let's get on with the rest of this man's story...
Swansfield's Nine Year Old Soccer Sensation...
In the early 1970's four men introduced a sport that was popular the world over but relatively unknown to Americans, to the children of Columbia, Maryland...that sport(Football worldwide) is the sport of Soccer. These men were Bill Sims, Douglas Goodsir(Two Englishman), and Larry Jobson and Al Goldstein(Two Americans). The Association that they formed is the Soccer Association of Columbia, Maryland(SAC) and since its inception this league has produced many Collegiate scholarship soccer players as well as professional Soccer players and even members of our Country's United States National Team and United States Olympic Team.
One day while Sam and his best friend, Mike Hiban, were hanging out, Mike told Sam that he had to go to Soccer practice. Although Sam had been playing Soccer with his Dad and his Dad's friends since he was around three years old(Soccer is Haiti's National Sport), he had never played on any organized team against kids his own age. So, at nine years old, Sam asked if he could accompany Mike to practice and see if maybe the coach would let him play. Mike said, in the understated, low key way that he still speaks to this day, "I don't see why not."
A Goal Scorer is Unleashed.
When Sam met coach Doug Goodsir, the coach was unimpressed with the appearance of this scrawny little black kid with the afro who told the Coach that he knew how to play Soccer. Don't forget, most of the kids in Columbia, Maryland were inexperienced in Soccer because this was a relatively new league and sport to these kids. Coach Goodsir was unaware that Sam was from Haiti and had already been playing the game with his Dad for six years...well, he was in for one heck of a pleasant surprise... Initially, Coach Goodsir stuck Sam way back at Goalkeeper in a drill where no Goalie was needed. Finally, Sam got bored and begged Coach Goodsir to let him play in the field during the scrimmage, Sam kept begging and begging and begging(This persistence will be seen throughout his life story)...Coach Goodsir finally gave into Sam's persistence and what happened next came from...you guessed it..."Nowhere".
While Sam was standing on his own team's goal line, the ball rolled to his feet and without a second thought or any hesitation his instincts kicked in and he immediately took the soccer ball on the dribble(began controlling it with his feet) and beat(went around him, without physical contact) the first man who confronted him to his right and continued to quickly move forward toward the opposing goal, gaining substantial ground with every stride of his skinny nine year old legs. The next player who challenged him had to stop dead in his tracks as little "Sammy" shook his shoulders feigning to his left and right and causing the kid to spread his legs, ever so slightly, so that "Sammy" pushed the ball through his legs(that's right, in between his legs) and then darted around him without losing control of the ball. By the time the opposing players began to figure out that "Sammy" had already crossed half field, it was way too late to stop him. He, basically, pushed the ball three or four more times and simply outran the opposition and his own teammates to his opponents goal, and faked out their Goalkeeper and easily touched the ball over their goal line for a goal(Sam says," I was moving so fast that my other teammates weren't near me so I couldn't pass the ball to anyone, and I knew that the object of Soccer was to put the ball over your opponents goal line, so I simply went around and past all of the obstacles, you know, my opponents, and achieved my goal...and that was to get a point for my team."). He then calmly turned to Coach Goodsir(Whose mouth had dropped to the ground at what he had just witnessed from a nine year old and whose eyes were wide with disbelief), and asked, can I play for you? Reader, of course we all know that "Sammy" joined Coach Goodsir's team that day and in his first official game Swansfield won 7-0 and "Sammy" recorded 2 of his team's goals.
"Sammy" Plays for SAC's First Ever U-13 Traveling Team.
When "Sammy" St-Phard was ten years old he was invited to try-out for SAC's Under 13 Traveling Team. At Ten years old he would be the youngest member of the squad by two years, and if he made it, at all, chances were that he might simply sit on the bench. Bill Sims and Larry Jobson were the Head Coaches of the U-13 Traveling team and after trying out many 12 year olds and one 10 year old("Sammy"St-Phard) The Coaches selected 18 players to represent Columbia, Maryland in a Tournament that was going to be played in Baltimore County called the EDRECO Tournament. "Sammy" St-Phard was selected to be one of the 18 players on that team and he was chosen as the first string "Center Forward" or as we now say, the Starting Striker.
As Sam puts it, "I was blown away to be selected for that team, because I was going to get to play with guys who had, in my mind, achieved legendary status in SAC. Guys like Greg Maranich, and Kirk Jones, and Darryl Gee(Who grew up to be on the New York Cosmos and The US Olympic Soccer Team and The US National Soccer Team) and Glenn Cadenhead(Who grew up to become The Top Rated Youth Soccer Coach in America 6-12 year olds) , and Steve Brunette and Rick Cantor and Jimmy Cramer and Kenny Bernstein, and Mark Braun, and Larry Friend...the list goes on and on...I really, really could not believe I was on that team." The first game that The SAC U-13 Travel Team played in that Tournament was against a team called "Little Flower". Their star goal scorer was a player by the name of Timmy Whitman(Who grew up to become a star of The Baltimore Blast indoor Pro Soccer Franchise). That first match went back and forth but The Columbia SAC U-13 team prevailed. The final score was 3-2. Timmy Whitman scored both goals for Little Flower, while a scrawny little black ten year old, from the tiny Caribbean Island of Haiti scored not one, not two, but all three of SAC U-13's Traveling Team's Goals that day, against kids that were two years older then he was. Although "Sammy" was physically smaller than his teammates and those he played against. Sam's advantages, according to those who have complimented his skills as a Soccer player, were his ability to anticipate, and his God given gift of speed and quickness. All three goals he scored against Little Flower that day were on "Break aways"...(When a player runs away from the pack and is in a one on one situation with the Goalie.) Much of what Sam accomplished early on as a Soccer Player in SAC gave him the confidence to attack other areas of his life...but, Reader, nothing could prepare this young man for the blow that fate was about to send into his world...
The St-Phard's Divorce, and Sam, Debbie and Their Father leave Columbia, Maryland.
everything through. So, he really believed his family was immune to divorce.
Around 1975, or so, Sam St-Phard began to hear that some of his friend's parent's were getting divorced and breaking up their families. Although Sam's parents' marriage wasn't perfect, he always believed they would never divorce and that his nuclear family would never dissolve. One thing he understood in his young life, especially in Haitian culture, was that Families worked When Sam was 11 years old things in his home became unbearable and the fighting between his parents was taking its toll on him emotionally and psychologically. He began to lose focus in school and began gaining weight and no longer performing well on the soccer field. He was eventually demoted to his own age group(he had been playing with players two years older) and then relegated to riding the bench of the team he had been demoted to. Finally, at the age of 12 , "Sammy" St-Phard was released from the Travel Team altogether and this pre-teen thought his world had come to an end. To make matters worse, "Sammy's" father moved out of their home in Swansfield and "Sammy" felt broken hearted and lost. The worst part is that "Sammy" blamed himself for the dissolution of his family and continually wondered, to himself, what he could have done better, so that his Mom and Dad wouldn't have divorced.
In 1977 when Sam(he began calling himself Sam in 1977) was 13 years old. His parents' divorce was final and Sam chose to be raised by his Father as did his younger sister Debbie. His younger sister Marly chose to remain with their Mother and this lays the foundation for the rest of the story...
Wichita, Kansas reacts to a blended family from Columbia, Maryland...
Sam's father re-married Elizabeth Gessell and became the step-father of her only daughter Lisa Gessell. Sam and his younger sister Debbie would, eventually, come to adore and protect little Lisa as their own blood sister. An interesting fact that really doesn't matter in Columbia, Maryland, but became a rallying cry and unifying force for this blended family was that Elizabeth and her daughter Lisa were caucasian. To re-iterate the point, that would make no difference in "Color Blind" Columbia, Maryland, but in Wichita, Kansas this blended family was about to face a culture "shock wave" that hit Sam, Debbie and Lisa like a "Racist Tsunami"...
"Hey, Debbie...we aren't in Columbia, Maryland anymore..."
Sam and Debbie St-Phard began attending Brooks Junior High School. Sam was in eighth grade and Debbie was in seventh grade. As soon as they began to speak out loud to the students at Brooks Junior High School there were reactions that ranged from surprise to downright violence.
Sam and Debbie were confused, and found themselves defending the way they spoke and the apparent fact that they were not "black". The fact that his step-mother was "white" and so was his younger sister also led to many physical altercations with some of the "black" students at Brooks Junior High School. As Sam put it, "I grew up in Columbia, Maryland there were no distinctions made because of our race, religion, level of education, or even our cultures. All that mattered in Columbia, Maryland was whether or not you were a jerk. Jerks come in all shapes, sizes and races, so who cared what color you were. At Brooks Junior High School in Wichita, Kansas the "Black" kids tried to make me believe that speaking proper English was, "talking white" and that showing respect to others was not being "Black". I totally rejected that definition of theirs and demanded that I be viewed not by the fact that the melanin content of my skin made me different from others, but rather by the fact that I wanted to be a credit to my race...the HUMAN RACE!! That, I suppose, is why I got into so many fist fights at Brooks Junior High School in eighth grade, because I knew, based on how I lived in Columbia, Maryland, that what these kids were trying to profess, was nothing more than division and hatred and I was about unification, cooperation, and making those in my circle of influence feel better about themselves."
The Soccer Player Learns to Play Basketball...just to survive...
"We got to Wichita, Kansas in 1978, and Basketball was the big sport. You want to talk about not fitting established stereotypes? I could not play basketball! If someone had put a gun to my head and told me to shoot and score in a basket or they would pull the trigger, I would have told them to pull the trigger because,' my best chance of scoring that basket is with my feet not my hands,'.", Sam says with a laugh. He continues, "The one thing I did have going for me was the fact that at 5'9" I had the leaping ability to dunk the basketball. One of my advantages as a Striker in Soccer, was that I had the ability to out jump defenders and Goalkeepers and knock the ball into the goal with my head. The coach of our Junior High School Varsity team, Gordon Long, saw me jumping up and grabbing the rim on the Basketball court one day and asked me to try out for the Varsity team.
Needless to say, I worked hard all winter on the outdoor courts near our home and would bring a shovel to shovel away the snow and I would remain in that cold weather until my hands and fingers were totally numb and I no longer had feeling in them. The next fall at the beginning of ninth grade(Senior year of Junior High School), I was able to play in the pick up games and because of my leaping ability I was a force rebounding the ball and on defense, primarily as a shot blocker." Sam made the Brooks Junior High School Varsity basketball team and, eventually, became the starting center by the end of the regular season and helped lead them to a second place finish in the city playoffs losing to undefeated Pleasant Valley Junior High School. Sam's most memorable moment of the season came when, "I was at half court, by myself, and we were destroying this team by something like 20 points, anyway, my team gets the rebound and I'm screaming for the ball. They throw it to me, and it's just me and the basket. As I jump up to take what I thought was a very close jumper, I realize that I am awfully close to the rim and my elbow is, actually above it. So I re-adjusted the position of the ball in my hand, and as I began to come down, I dropped the ball into the hoop. The crowd went crazy, and what I accomplished was apparently a dunk. What do you know...".
Late 1979-Early 1980 and Sam St-Phard ends up in Mobile, Alabama...The Beginning of The Making of A Southern Gentleman...
Sam started the fall of his tenth grade year at Baker High School in Mobile, Alabama. Although soccer was still the sport of his heart he realized that Football was a religion in Alabama. Bear Bryant was still The University of Alabama's head coach at that time and if you wanted to be accepted(just like basketball in Wichita, Kansas), you had better play football. So, Sam walked out onto the football field one day and asked Coach Odom(Head Coach) if they were in need of a "Kicking Specialist". The Coach said Sam could try-out and take a couple of kicks. That particular day Sam was wearing high top Basketball shoes and he was unable to kick the ball 100% Soccer style, so his very first kick rolled off the tee and wobbled about 20 yards down the field. All the Football players guffawed and were laughing at this skinny 5'10" 155lbs. black guy who could not kick a ball and was taking up their practice time. So Coach Odom asked him to leave...Reader...by now you know that he didn't leave right? RIGHT! What Sam did at that point is the stuff of Baker High School Football lore. He took the shoe off of his kicking foot and left the Basketball shoe on his left foot. He then demanded that they allow him to kick the ball with nothing but a sock on his right foot(his kicking foot) they thought he was crazy, but they figured once he failed on this next attempt or broke his foot he would simply go away. Sam set the ball on the tee, he then backed up, approximately seven yards from the ball, then approached the ball and launched it sock footed about 25 feet into the air and 65 yards down the field before the ball bounced onto the ground. Coach Odom and his staff were astonished and all the players began mumbling among themselves. They gave Sam another ball and he did the same thing. After consistently kicking 10 balls or so like that in a row, Coach Odom signed him as the School's place kicker and that season Sam St-Phard made every single Varsity extra point attempt and every single field goal attempt in official games.
It was also at Baker High School that Sam got his first indoctrination into how to be a true Gentleman. One day as Sam was approaching a doorway, he was about to pass through it before one of his female classmates, as he made his move to go through the door before she did, he felt a firm grip on his shoulder holding him back, until the Young Lady went through the door ahead of him. The hand that held him back was that of Mr. July, Baker's Assistant Principal. Mr. July gave Sam a crash course on being a Gentleman and what Sam learned has served him well to this day.
Always hold the door for a Lady...Always pull out her chair when she is sitting down to eat, and then ever so gently push it back under her until she is comfortably seated...Never walk behind a Lady when she is climbing the stairs so as not to view her posterior...Never walk behind a Lady when she is walking down the stairs, so that if she stumbles you can break her fall...Whenever a Lady stands to leave the Table you must stand, as well, as a sign of respect...Never forget that according to the Bible men and creatures were made from dirt, only women were not made from dirt therefore Ladies/Women are a precious gift and they are to always be treated as such. Sam St-Phard learned these things as a 15 year old tenth grader and he has never forgotten them{ as a matter of fact I can, personally, attest to the fact that he practices them.}.
A 15 year old Dominates a Semi-Pro Men's Soccer League until they break his face...
One fall day during Football season, Sam learned that there was a Semi-Professional Men's Soccer League in Mobile, Alabama. So he went out and met player Coach, Tommy Lee(of Bay City), and asked if he could try-out for the team. When Coach Lee saw Sam he was unimpressed by his physical appearance and tried to talk him out of trying out for the team {Amazing how from 9 years old on...it appeared that Sam was constantly being doubted, as he says..."I had to learn, early on, that the only person who can believe in you...is you! If anyone else believes in you more than you believe in yourself then you will never be a leader and no one will ever believe in your dreams.}. Sam persisted in his desire to try-out for the team(I told you he was persistent) and , finally, Coach Tommy Lee put him on the field, hoping this cocky little tenth grader would get humiliated, tuck his tail between his legs and go home for good!
What happened at the try-out was simply...breathtaking{After Sam had been cut when he was 12 years old in Columbia, Maryland, he re-dedicated his efforts and strengthened every facet of his skills in Soccer, including becoming a phenomenal Goalie. There was no position he could not play... and play at the highest level. So, he would train everyday for at least four hours, with a Soccer ball...all by himself, because as he says, "The ball became my 'Girlfriend', my closest relationship...no one was just going to take her away from me, and because we were so close, she wanted to make me happy, and my happiness was her being in the back of my opponent's net." Sam recounts with his "Million Dollar" smile and a wink.}. On that day Mobile, Alabama's Men's Semi-Pro Soccer League got it's first glimpse of the best Soccer player to lace up his boots(British terminology for Soccer cleats) up to that point in the League's history. Sam, was collecting the ball with traps that made it appear as if the ball were being gently massaged by the fingers of a masseuse. he was passing the ball to teammates with pinpoint laser accuracy from seemingly impossible angles. His 5"10" 155lbs. frame was effortlessly gliding, like a Gazelle, up and down all 120 yards of the pitch(British terminology for Soccer Field) he criss crossed the pitch at high rates of speed and created such confusion in those who were attempting to defend him that his style of play created chaos in his opponents defensive strategies and finally demoralized and frustrated them. By the end of the try-out Sam had recorded 6 goals and assisted on 3 more while also getting back and defending his own team's goal on a number of occasions. Coach Tommy Lee and all of the other members of Coach Lee's team(Bay City) welcomed Sam with great excitement and Coach Lee said, "Man, I'm glad you tried out for us first and not some other team, because whoever would have seen what we saw today would have signed you right on the spot!" Sam signed with Bay City...right on the spot.
Bay City was always a perennial runner-up they were "always the bridesmaid and never the Bride.". In Sam St-Phard, Bay City knew what no one else knew...Sam was the ENTIRE WEDDING!!! he was the groom, the bride, and the vows...This was the year Bay City was going to win it all! They had found "The missing link." And sure enough, a child would lead them...
In the first game of the season, Sam recorded a hat trick(3 goals) and Bay City won 3-0.
In the second game of the season, Sam recorded another hat trick(3 goals) and Bay City won 3-0.
The third game of the season Bay City won 3-0. You guessed it... Reader... Sam had another hat trick(3 goals).
By this point in the season, Bay city was sitting pretty in first place and had yet to surrender a single goal. As a matter of fact their offensive output was outlandish, impossible, unheard of, and a flat out lie!!!! In a sport where 1-0 or 1-1 or 0-0 or 2-1 are very common outcomes. What in the world do you mean that this Bay City Soccer Team was scoring three goals a game? And that after only three games they had outscored there opposition 9-0 ??!! I suppose the next logical question for any future opponent would be..."wow, how many of their forwards are scoring those goals? I mean, we've probably got to have a pretty sophisticated defensive strategy to stop such an offensive juggernaut right? We may need a sophisticated strategy to stop the juggernaut, but guys, the juggernaut is 15 years old and his name is Sam St-Phard and he wears #15. What? One guy? One Guy? 9 goals in three games? and he's fifteen? I won't believe it until I see it"...{I suspect that Bay City's next opponents may have been saying such things, because the strategy they devised to stop Bay City's Offensive "Juggernaut" may have led to criminal prosecution for assault or manslaughter had what happened to this 15 year old Soccer prodigy not occurred on a Soccer field during a Sanctioned Match.).
The Day Bay City Became "Bridesmaids" Again...
As Bay City walked onto the pitch for their fourth match of the season they were playing the defending champions of the league. This was a game that they couldn't wait to play because their opponents had defeated them in a hard fought, and some claim, "dirty" final, the season prior. The defending champions were not simply going to allow Bay City to "waltz" away with their "crown" and they certainly were not going to allow some child(15 year old Sam St-Phard; #15 in your programs) to take what they had earned.
The opening whistle blew and The defending champions all of a sudden were faced with the reality of what they had been hearing about...and the reality was so much worse then what they had heard about this #15. They had heard that #15 was quick... The reality was that, they could not cover this player with cat like reflexes... They heard that he was fast... The reality was that, he had long powerful strides that made him appear as if he were deceptively moving slower then he was actually moving which made their defensive coverage and attempted adjustments on him extremely difficult(opposing teams found themselves, regularly assigning two to three defenders to cover him. This is important to note, because most defensive formations, in Soccer, only have 4 total defenders)...They heard he had agility... The reality was that he could be moving in one direction as fast as he could go, and make you believe you had him contained, and then, without warning, change direction, on a dime, in the blink of an eye, and before your heart could transition to its next beat, he would be headed directly for your vulnerable Goal Tender and your Goal with his "Girlfriend(The Soccer Ball)" who wanted to please #15 by ending up in the back of your net... They heard he could jump... The reality was that he had such control of his body in mid-air that he could almost hang there for an extra milli-second, just long enough to come down after he had "kissed" it off of his forehead into the net...They had heard about his ability to anticipate...That reality came to pass within the first ten minutes of the match, when the Goalie of Bay City's opposition made, what he believed to be a safe outlet pass to one of his defenders. The reason he was lulled into such a poor decision was because Sam was standing about 30 yards from the defender. When Sam noticed the Goalie was about to pass the ball to that specific defender, Sam inched up imperceptibly and never stopped heading for the defender who was the target of the outlet pass. Once the ball left the Goalie's hand, it was too late for Bay City's opponent. Sam covered the last 15 or so yards as if he were a Lioness pouncing on her prey and as the ball bounced chest high he bounced the ball from his chest to his right thigh and without slowing down he dropped the ball to his feet and sprinted in on a one on one break away with the Goalie(who had no time to react to #15's sudden counter attack) and then allowed his "Girlfriend" to make him happy for the tenth time that season by firing a blistering salvo into the back of the defending champion's net! Serving notice to Bay City's opponent that, that was only going to be the beginning and that they had better get ready for, at least two more goals from #15, there were still 80 minutes of Soccer left to play(Note: Sam was averaging 1 goal every thirty minutes that he was on the field, up to that point in the season!!).
Sam, and Bay City, Sam and His Father(who was at the Match), Sam and his Sister Debbie(who was at the Match)...could not predict or even believe what was about to happen 15 minutes later. Bay City's Opponent, the defending champions, were about to execute the strategy that would, finally, stop Bay City's juggernaut, #15 Sam St-Phard, the youngest Bay City player to that point in their history...and the greatest player that league had ever seen to that point in its history.
As Sam was standing in the center of the penalty box, approximately 14 yards away from his opponent's goal. Bay City's Right winger sent a very high cross through the middle of the penalty box. He sent it way too high for the opposing defenders to reach and too far away from the goal line for the Goalie to challenge it. Because he was Sam's teammate the Right winger instinctively understood that because of Sam's leaping ability, Sam would be the only player who could, potentially, reach it with his head. Sam leaped for the ball and from this point only his Father's recollections can be recorded...Reader...because #15, Sam St-Phard, The fifteen year old Semi-Pro Soccer player who had recorded 10 goals in less than 3 and 1/2 games, had just been knocked unconscious in mid-air...intentionally...
Sam's Father, Dr. Glodys St-Phard speaks of how Sam "recklessly" leaped for the ball, not paying attention to the defenders that were around him. As Sam rose into the air he made contact with the ball but was unable to put any power behind the attempted header(a shot taken with one's forehead) because of the technique of how you hit a ball with your head, Sam's head was leaning to his left and then the defender jumped, full force, and slammed his head into the left side of Sam's face, instantly, rendering him unconscious; simultaneously, another defender undercut Sam from behind, directly behind his knees, and flipped him backwards. Sam's body was like a "Rag doll" as it began to roll backwards in mid-air, and completed its descent to the pitch. What most frightened all of the onlookers, including his Teammates was the fact that Sam landed on his head and neck in such a way as to suggest that this soccer player had just broken his neck and probably lost his young life or, at best, was paralyzed. Sam's Father sprinted onto the pitch, having seen a well executed assault on his child with malice aforethought, and was sad, angry and fearful for Sam's well-being, all at one time. When Sam's father got out onto the field and looked at his 15 year old son, he saw something that he would never forget. When Sam's Bay City Teammate's surrounded their fallen Superstar's lifeless(as it appeared to be in that moment) and unconscious body laying on the pitch, they were all frightened by what they saw and they all immediately feared for the life of this spectacular young Soccer player who they had come to know and love as their "Baby brother". Some of these men burst into tears, at what they saw. What they saw was the left side of Sam's face had been torn from the corner of his mouth back approximately four inches and from his left front tooth, including two other left teeth had been dislodged and pushed deep into his mouth. No one on the field could make everything out though, because Sam was laying in a pool of his own blood and the Royal Blue Bay City Uniform that bore his beloved #15 had turned purple because it was drenched in Sam's blood. After making sure that Sam's neck wasn't broken Glodys St-Phard picked up the broken body of his only son and raced him off to the Hospital to save his life as he had done 13 and 1/2 years earlier, when he and his young family had escaped from Haiti...
That day bay City went on to victory and scored three more goals in honor of , "The Child that Led them" and posted another shut-out, winning the match 4-0. Unfortunately, #15 was finished and Bay City made the play-offs, but without #15 they were unable to win the Championship... Sam had Emergency Surgery on his face and still has that "Million Dollar" smile. That smile would begin to serve him well as his story continues, beginning in his Junior year of High School...
On to Slidell Senior High School, In Slidell, Louisiana...Where Sam would begin to change the World..."One Mighty Tiger at a time..."
Glodys, Elizabeth, Sam, Debbie and Lisa arrived in Slidell, Louisiana in the Summer of 1980. Slidell is approximately 30 minutes east of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Sam got a tremendous gift from his Father and Elizabeth. On September 18, 1980 Sam's
baby sister Anne-Lise St-Phard was born and at 16 years of age, Sam became a live in "Big Brother/Baby Sitter", Sam recounts, "I used to fly her around like she was Superman. It was so fun having a baby in the house."
Sam transferred to Slidell his Junior year and the first thing he did when he arrived was
go out and try-out for place kicker on the Football team. Football wasn't just a Religion in
Alabama, Sam came to find out that it was a Religion in The South. When Sam went out for the Football Team he made it, but was only used on kick offs because of his leg strength. The Place Kicker who kicked the field goals was Bobby Anderson and he was accurate, even in the mud.
Eventually, his Junior year Sam chose to focus all of his Athletic Prowess on nothing but Soccer and he was selected to Slidell's Travel Team, "The Cobra's". Sam was their Striker and as you can imagine, he consistently scored. His Junior year with the Cobras Sam scored 20 goals including the State playoffs. The Cobras would finish third in the State in 1981 and 1982. Sam, however, began to not only get Statewide attention but also attention from The National Team Selection Committee for the U-19(Under 19) United States National Soccer Team. In 1981 Sam was selected to the Louisiana All-State Soccer Team. For most people they would have been happy with such an honor but as Sam recounts, "I was disappointed in myself because I was ranked fourth in the State and I believed I could do better. Then I went to Nachitoches, La.(where North East Louisiana University is located) and embarrassed myself in front of the National Team Coaches. I was 5'11" and 175lbs. I was way to brash and had not worked on my game like I used to. I could not believe how awesome the guys trying-out for the National Team were and I didn't score a single goal, it was very humbling."
The day after Sam returned from his embarrassing try-out for the U-19 National Team, he began waking up every morning at 5:00am and running around the perimeter of his neighborhood twice, it added up to 5.2 miles every morning. He would do, at least 500 sit ups and, realistically about 200 push-ups without fail. He would also drink 5 raw eggs. When I asked him about the raw eggs he responded with a laugh, "I saw Rocky do it in the movie 'ROCKY' when I was 12 years old so I figured, what the heck, why not?" Sam did this for an entire year. For now though, let's begin to talk about a parallel transformation that was gargantuan in the History of Slidell Senior High School. Sam St-Phard was about to do something at this Southern High School that was founded in 1907 that no one had ever conceived could ever be done....
"Unity begins with 'U'"... and A New Mathematical Equation: "2500 = 1"...
The spring semester had begun at Slidell Senior High School and Sam St-Phard had just turned 17 years old the previous December. It was the Spring of 1981 and Sam was working at "Wendy's" on Gause Boulevard. Sam fondly remembers the "Wendy's Crew"(Rory, Celina, Heidi, Cindy, Tom, Bill, Randy[their manager], Dave[an assistant manager], and Sam Schultz).
Sam had only arrived at Slidell High at the beginning of the Fall semester(The beginning of the School year 1980-1981) and he had decided to focus on Soccer and not Football. His co-workers at "Wendy's" were his clique his, "hang out buds", the one group of students that Sam felt comfortable around. Outside of Athletics Sam knew very little about his new school, so when the announcement came over the P.A. system that no one was eligible to run for Student Council President, Sam never gave it a second thought. To Sam, and apparently, his friends, the Student Council was nothing more than another clique, just another "club" like the "Glee Club". So when Sam and Rory and Bill and Tom and Sam Schultz sat down at lunch one day they concocted a scheme to run an "anti-campaign", you know, throw a monkey wrench into the process. All they needed was a "Monkey wrench", hmmm I wonder who Rory volunteered...yes Reader...Sam St-Phard, not only was he going to be the "Monkey wrench" but he had every intention of making the whole process a fiasco...
Sam, Rory, Tom and Bill went to the Administration offices and registered their candidate(Sam St-Phard) as a prospect for the Office of President of The Slidell High School Student Council. As he and his friends were leaving the office, one of the most popular and brightest students in the junior class, Yolanda Tai, approached him and asked him if he would be on her campaign staff. Sam replied that he had just registered to run himself and Yolanda wished him luck. Rory and Sam were puzzled that Yolanda wanted Sam on her team, because Sam was not well known at Slidell High, having only arrived that school year. All Sam could figure was that she saw something that he didn't...
Sam changes his mind and becomes the candidate from "Nowhere"...and a scheme becomes a DREAM...
One day, during lunch, Sam was walking in the courtyard area just outside of the cafeteria and he noticed a student sitting alone eating a bagged lunch. It was apparent to Sam that this guy was not one of the "popular" kids and that he seemed to be all alone. Sam's heart went out to him and he asked if he could sit down and hang out with him. the kid obliged and they sat together for about ten minutes or so. Sam introduced himself and the kid said, "I know who you are." Sam then asked him who he was(Sam doesn't remember his name, for the sake of this story we'll call him "Tim") and he said his name was "Tim". Sam asked him what grade he was in and he was a sophomore. Sam also asked him if he liked Slidell High and "Tim" said no. Sam said, "I don't like it here either, 'Tim', but if you vote for me I promise I'll make things different around this school.
In fact, I'll even eat lunch with you." "Tim" thought this black guy was crazy, but he committed to voting for him and then added, " You don't have to eat lunch with me, man, but I do believe you are going to make a difference here." After that encounter, Sam St-Phard went into the boy's room and locked himself into a bathroom stall and began to weep uncontrollably about the condition, not only of "Tim", but of what "Tim" represented on a larger scale...Slidell High School had lost its "SPIRIT", no one was proud of being a Tiger, and from that moment forward Sam St-Phard set out to re-kindle that fire in the hearts and minds of all the students, the staff, the faculty, the administration, and even the parents and siblings affiliated with The Slidell High Tigers. As Sam says, "One minute, I was a transfer student, who worked at 'Wendy's' and goofed off in class and, literally, in a moment of clarity I had an epiphany and all of a sudden...
I BECAME A SLIDELL HIGH SCHOOL MIGHTY TIGER...!!!"
What happened after Sam St-Phard's emotional paradigm shift, in that boy's room, is something that should have been written about long ago. From that moment on, Sam St-Phard became the epitome of "The Spirit of The Slidell High School Mighty Tigers". This was no longer an "anti-campaign", this was a a Battle to take back the "Soul" of Slidell High School from the depths of apathy that had gripped it. As far as Sam was concerned, the only thing that was going to keep him from running a hard and extremely diligent and impactful campaign was death(No kidding...to this day when Sam believes in something he still has that degree of commitment); because as far as this 17 year old was concerned, nothing mattered more to him then the Unity of Slidell Senior High School in Slidell, Louisiana...NOTHING! Sam understood that in order to revive the comatose and elusive "Spirit" of Slidell High, everyone had to be a part of it, everyone had to believe that together Slidell High's "Spirit" would be strong, and divided Slidell High would have no "Spirit" at all.
Sam, came up with the campaign slogan: "Unity begins with 'U'" and it stuck. He also had members from each class represented on his campaign staff(freshmen, sophomores and juniors).
There were four other candidates running for President of Slidell High School, all four of these candidates were formidable and Sam respected them all. However, even at 17 years old, Sam considered his greatest opponent for The Presidency of Slidell High School to be the absence of pride in being "A Mighty Tiger", "and that's what I wanted to return to this school."
The Student Council President ...from "NOWHERE"...
Sam and his classmates sat in class when the voice of principal Joseph C. Buccaran came over the P.A. system. The results of the election were in and Principal Buccaran was about to announce who would be serving as Slidell High School's Student Council President for the upcoming 1981-1982 School year. All eyes in the class room focused on Sam St-Phard and according to Sam, "I zoned out, I was already preparing myself for a loss." Mr. Buccaran then announced, "Would the person who's name I call please come to my Office. The Student Council President of Slidell High School is...Sam St-Phard. Would Sam please come to my office."
An Entire School Welcomes the School President from "Nowhere."...
Sam was overwhelmingly elected on the first ballot. In order for that to have happened he would have had to receive, at least, 51% of the vote. Had he not accomplished that percentage than there would have been a run-off. Since there was no run-off Sam earned 51% of the vote, at least. To put this into the proper perspective, realize...Reader... that the other four candidates could only generate, at most, a total of 49% of the vote to be divided among themselves...so, not that it matters to Sam, The Slidell High School Student's believed in the principle and promise of "Spirit" and "Pride" through "Unity" that was being espoused by this 17 year old visionary dreamer that they had just given a mandate to lead them to the Proverbial: "Promised Land" of being 2,500 individual students that would, the following school year, become 1 unified student body(2,500 = 1), and they understood that, indeed, "Unity begins with 'U'".
Sam recounts, that as he was walking to Principal Buccaran's Office, one of the oldest custodians on the staff (A petite and soft spoken Black lady who Sam thinks had been at Slidell High since the early 1960's)was waiting for him along the way. When he saw her, he stopped dead in his tracks, and listened, carefully, to what she had to say. {The custodian, who was born and raised in Louisiana and had lived through the darkest days of the ignorance and segregation and racism that defined the deep south for so long( she had lived through the degradation of "Separate but Equal" in terms of education, she remembers not being able to drink from the same water fountains as white people, she remembered when blacks could not eat in the same Restaurants as whites, she remembers how blacks could not vote until 1964 and also recalls when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once declared that he had a dream that people would no longer be judged by the color of their skin but, rather, by the content of their character... And there he was, coming in her direction, the fulfillment of a martyred Civil Rights leader's Dream, Sam St-Phard, 17 years old, a young black man in the deep south, the deep south that she had come to know as so segregated and unfair because of the color of her skin, here came the one who had shattered the past and was walking Slidell High School into the future... the proof that Dr King's dream was becoming a reality right before her very own eyes... the proof that the color of her or anyone else's skin meant, absolutely, NOTHING. Sam St-Phard proved the fact that a Noble and sincere purpose, ignited by an inspiring vision, were what really mattered... never, ever the color of one's skin[Thank you, Columbia, Maryland!]. The pride and joy this woman must have felt, about what this young Black man had just accomplished, must have been impossible to comprehend...)} , held him by his shoulders and to, the best of Sam's recollection, said to him, "I never thought I'd see the day that a black boy would run for President of this School," Sam recalls looking into her deep set gray eyes as she said it, " when you chose to do that, you made history. Today, you have been elected President of this School, and I am holding History in my hands...go and do exactly what you promised these kids you were going to do." The year Sam St-Phard was elected President of Slidell High School, Slidell High School was 74 years old...History was made indeed...and though he could care less about it("I wasn't elected because I was Black. I was elected because my fellow students wanted 'Spirit' and 'Unity' at our school. We wanted to all be 'Mighty Tigers'"), he became the first Black student(In a school that was mostly white) to hold that office at Slidell High School and he had only transferred there in September of the beginning of his Junior year! This was the Spring of his Junior year! How did it happen!? " No one ever told me that I couldn't do it.", says Sam, "and if they had said I couldn't do it then I would have ignored them anyway. Negativity leads to failure, I simply believe it will happen(whatever it is) then I set out to work for what needs to be achieved." The pattern being established...Reader... is that Sam St-Phard let's nothing stand in his way...{This is not a man I would, ever, bet against, would you?}...
The Principal and The Student Council President "from Nowhere", partner together to bring "Spirit" back to Slidell Senior High School...
When Sam arrived at the office of , School Principal, Joseph C. Buccaran. He noticed that Mr. Buccaran seemed to be a little more animated then his usually conservative and stern outward demeanor. Mr. Buccaran brought Sam into his office and explained to him that Sam and his own dreams for Slidell High School were in concert with one another and that, he was quietly, hoping Sam's candidacy would lead to his election. What he said next, though, made Sam remember the saying, "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it..." To the best of Sam's recollection, Mr. Buccaran challenged him by saying something to the effect of, "If you can't bring "Spirit" back to Slidell High School, then I don't know who will." All of a sudden, Sam felt the weight and dreams of 2,500 students land squarely on his 17 year old shoulders and he went home scared to death. "You see," Sam Says, "it's one thing to promise a Junior prom, or snack machines, or even a softball game against the faculty; but how do you deliver 'Unity'? How do you deliver 'Spirit'? I've got to say I didn't sleep well that night."
"When I went back to school the next day, I was given the opportunity to appoint my advisory board and I made certain I included members of it from each class(freshman, sophomore, and Junior) so that I would have a better grasp of what was happening school wide."
Because Slidell High had grown so large, the next School year North Shore High was going to open and alleviate some of the class size issues that were beginning to manifest themselves at Slidell High School. What this meant is that Sam St-Phard served out his Presidency over the single largest Student Body in the History of Slidell High School, his Senior year; which makes the rest of this story all the more remarkable, and some might even say, untrue...oh but dear Reader, it is true...{One last thing I ought to add, and this is my own poetic license, Slidell High School was founded in 1908. It's first School year was 1908-1909. This school year is the Centennial School Year of Slidell Senior High School it's 100th year Celebration. Let me note, that though it doesn't matter to Sam St-Phard, because of his "Color Blind" upbringing in Columbia, Maryland. It should never be ignored and never be forgotten that not only was Sam St-Phard the first Black to be elected Student Body President of Slidell High School, he remains in the 100 year history of Slidell High School, the only black(male or female) to have ever been the President of the entire Student Body of Slidell Senior High School. This is my own observation, because Sam's life has never been defined, by his ethnicity, race, or culture, or by the philosophy of "I can't" rather, it's been defined by the determination of, "How can I?"...and this... Reader... is the essence of why I am so excited to share this man's life story with you. As he says, "I suppose I am to stupid to know that there are limitations on me, so I just believe that I will accomplish my goals and move on. Life's way too short and I have way too much to accomplish before I breathe my last.", Sam says with a smile.}
Sam, went to Student Council Summer camp and learned alot about consensus building and leading by example. When he and his advisors returned they were ready to take on the challenge of re-igniting the Spirit of The Mighty Tigers of Slidell Senior High School. With the day to day cooperation of their Principal, Joseph C. Buccaran, the Student Council led the weekly pep rallies before every Football game and even got Mr. Buccaran to agree to hold two successful bon fires on campus. Mr. Buccaran was not fond of fire on his campus, but for his students Joe Buccaran would do whatever it took. "I am the luckiest man alive, because I got to spend an entire year with this phenomenal Human being(Joseph C. Buccaran). All the other students only got to see his serious, stern, conservative demeanor. Doug Reker(Senior Class President) and I(Student Council President) got to see the side of Mr. Buccaran that, few others knew. Mr. Buccaran knew the names of all 2,500 of us and the concern he showed when any one of us might be in some type of difficulty. Joe Buccaran loved Slidell High, because Joe Buccaran loved us...his students, we were his 'children', his younger 'brother's and sister's'. During the School year we spent the majority of our time at School so Mr. Buccaran was just as committed as Doug Reker(Senior Class President) and I(Student Council President) were to making our High School a 'family' , a 'Fraternity' of Slidell Senior High School , 'Mighty Tigers'.", Sam says with a smile...
The Hair Cut from "Nowhere"...
In October of 1981, Slidell High School's Football Team was not only personifying the can do attitude of their Head Coach, Tom Gainey, but they were also representing an entire Student body that they understood they were an extension of. They were no longer just, "The Football Team" or just a bunch of "Jocks". NO! They were Mighty Tigers who were using there Athletic skills to play Football!(Sam asked me, "Meredith does that concept make sense?"). The Football team was doing so well that with a victory over John Ehret High School in their next game they would secure a spot for Slidell High School in the State Football Playoffs for the first time since 1954...27 years prior! It would be the first time ever that they qualified for the State AAAA Playoffs! Now let's examine what lie ahead for these guys. John Ehret was the Reigning State AAAA Champions they had only lost one game in four years and the game was at their Stadium.
They also had a much bigger Team, physically, then did Slidell High and in Football that means something...it means alot!
The Football Team that came from "NOWHERE"...
Prior to the John Ehret Football game as a sign of Unity, the Football players all got Mohawks, as Sam tells me, " Yeah, they went and got their mohawks and I'm thinking, well whatever floats your boat. Next thing I know they're telling me I need to get one too, because we're one school and if I do it than everybody will know that I'm with the Football team, in spirit and purpose. Next thing I know they're throwing my campaign slogans in my face, and essentially, calling me a hypocrite...wow. So, I tell them, 'If you beat John Ehret, I'll let you shave my head in front of the entire student body at the next pep rally.' They left me alone, after that, and I hate to admit it, but I really thought my hair was safe..." Sam says with his, now familiar, laugh and smile...
IN Less Then Two Minutes The Spirit of The Mighty Tigers FLOODS John Ehret's Stadium...And courses through the veins of Slidell High's Student's...
John Ehret was killing the clock as they had a 20-26 lead. they were, methodically, marching down the field in an attempt to keep the football away from Quarterback Larry Abney and the offense of The Mighty Tigers Of Slidell High School. "No one , in the stands thought we could win because they(Ehret) had the ball. And then it happened... A FUMBLE, SLIDELL HAS THE BALL, SLIDELL HAS THE BALL!!" according to what Sam remembers, the Tigers simply handed the ball off to their fullback and tailback and made substantial yardage up the middle. They DARED John Ehret to stop them, and Ehret could not. When they, finally, got within 3-5 yards of the goal line, QB Larry Abney faked a hand-off and threw a bullet to TE Nicky Fox for 6 points. Tying the game at 26-26. Bobby Anderson kicked the PAT and the Tigers upset John Ehret 27-26. There was pandemonium in the stands and bedlam in the locker room. When Sam entered the locker room to celebrate with the team, some of the players began to rub his head, signifying that he had to follow through on his promise to them. Sam says he sometimes wonders if in one of those huddles on the winning drive in that game, if Head Coach Tom Gainey didn't possibly send in a message reminding them that the only way Sam St-Phard would have ever risked his precious Afro on this game was because he actually thought they weren't going to win. Sam says, "Their winning that game did not mean I lost any bet, it meant that we, as "The Mighty Tigers", had all just made history...TOGETHER!"...
A Bald Head Unifies a School and Seals in the Spirit Of The Mighty Tigers...FOREVER!
True to his word, Sam quietly sat behind a towel, in front of the entire Student Body at Slidell High School Stadium. 2,500 students, the administration, all of the faculty, and all of the staff, as well as many of the citizens of Slidell, were witnesses to this historic event. When the Football players were done giving Sam his monstrous 'fro Mohawk, he stood up, with the towel still raised in front of him, and received the pep rally microphone and then gave the signal for the towel to drop to the track...
The Speech That came from "Nowhere"...from The School President that came from "Nowhere"...
Everyone in that stadium burst into loud, and boisterous laughter at the sight of their Student Council President's 'frohawk. All but one...Sam's younger sister Debbie, who was a Junior that year, she ducked down and hid her face. After, approximately 5 minutes or so, Sam silenced the Stadium crowd and said something like, " My hair is going to grow back, so feel free to laugh. But we cannot diminish what our Football Players have done. 27 years ago, seniors... we were, at least, 10 years from being born, Faculty, some of you weren't even alive 27 years ago. This Football team is a part of us, they are our heart and we are theirs. It has taken 27 years for them to do this...so instead of laughing at my haircut, which will grow back...let's hail our conquering heroes!" At that point Sam ran off the track and into the field house and listened from the locker room as The Student Body Chanted and Praised their Football team...with cheers and chants led by the Cheerleaders(Varsity and Junior Varsity) and Pom Pom team. Although their Student Body President had hidden himself away and disappeared into the lonely confines of the Locker Room, Sam St-Phard heard and felt something he had been hoping he could experience from the moment he began, in earnest, to run for the Presidency of Slidell Senior High School. He heard a roar... he heard one loud roar... he no longer heard 2,500 individuals... he heard 1 Roar... from 1 gargantuan Tiger... that Mighty Tiger was the entire unified Student Body of his beloved Slidell Senior High School. It blew his mind... and it moved him to the very core of his being, at that moment, he knew that, if his life had come to an abrupt and sudden end... his life would have made a difference...he would not have lived in vain. What he heard made him grateful to be a part of, in Sam's assessment, "A small part of..." Slidell Senior High School. Sam, finally, loved being a part of the bigger, unified picture..."The 'Spirit' had come back to our School, and I can't take any credit for it, we all believed, we all, simply, believed..." as Sam quietly recounted to me, just before he broke down into tears at the memory. " I am so, unbelievably, grateful that I was allowed to be a part of that School at that time in it's history." Sam says through his tears. {Reader, allow me a little more poetic license. I suppose that Sam, fails to recall that, without him, and his visionary dreams, it is not likely that the 1981-1982 school year would have been the School year that it was at Slidell Senior High School in Slidell, Louisiana...because, although he takes no personal credit for the unification of Slidell Senior High School, he is the one who dreamed the dreams that his fellow students believed in... ponder that as you read on about this, remarkable, man from "nowhere"...).
Twenty five years later, at Sam's High School reunion(In July of 2007), Allison Burch, put the Haircut into perspective for Sam. She explained, " You promised us that you would bring us together. You said we would be one school. Don't you see that your haircut was the one single major event that we all participated in together? We were all there! For the rest of our lives we will all share that memory. After you did that, Sam, we knew you were our leader and we trusted you to lead us anywhere." Sam says, "Allison helped me realize that on the day I got my haircut, everyone at Slidell High School knew and believed that we were ALL Mighty Tigers. We were one." And the slogan: "Unity begins with 'U'" became the mathematical equation: "2,500 = 1"...
Welcome to Chapel Hill, North Carolina...U-19 National Team Trials...
Sam St-Phard and the rest of the Senior Class of Slidell High School graduated in May of 1982.
In Sam's Athletic High School Career he played Junior High School Varsity Basketball in ninth grade at Brooks Junior High School(In Wichita, Kansas). He barely made the roster at the beginning of the season but ended up starting in the City Championship against Pleasant Valley Junior High School at the end of the season.
In tenth grade at Baker High School in Mobile, Alabama. Sam earned a Varsity letter as a place kicker and never missed an extra point or field goal attempt that season. As a matter of fact, Sam scored 2 extra points and a 32 yard field goal in Baker's Homecoming game which they won 17-12.
Sam also ran Track his Senior year at Slidell High School and earned a letter in that sport as well.
Sam's love, though, remained Soccer and he excelled at it like no other Soccer player, I have ever, personally, met. The breakdown of Sam's High School Soccer Career is as follows:
Heights High School(Club Team, Freshman Year) Wichita, Kansas:
10 games played...................12 goals scored.
Mobile, Alabama Semi-Pro Men's Soccer League(Sam was in tenth grade. Fall Season 15 years old):
Less than 3 and 1/2 games* played....10 goals scored.
*Sam's season ended, brutally, 25 minutes into the fourth match of the season.
He never played a full four games. In fact, four matches in soccer are a total of
360 minutes(90 minutes each). Sam, actually, scored 10 goals in 295 minutes(that is an average of 1 goal every 29 minutes and 30 seconds)!
A goal scoring output I have never heard of in my life! And he did it as a fifteen
year old against grown-ups!
Bay City Soccer Club Head Coach: Tommy Lee
Baker High School(Club Team, Sophomore Year, Spring, 16 years old) Mobile, Alabama:
12 games played....................16 goals scored
Head Coach: Bob Grube(Pronounced Grewbee)
Slidell Cobras Select Traveling Team, Slidell, Louisiana(Junior Year, 17 years old, Spring):
13 games played....................20 goals scored
Slidell Cobras Select Traveling Team, Slidell, Louisiana(Senior Year, 18 years old, Spring):
13 games played....................26 goals scored
Head Coach: Lee McGinn
Assistant Coach : Leonard Middlebrooks
In total Sam St-Phard played in just under 51 and a 1/2 Soccer matches in his High School Career(4 years) and Recorded 84 goals! Averaging over a goal a match! This got Sam Statewide recognition in Louisiana and he was invited, for the second straight year, to try-out for The United States U-19 National Soccer Team as it was preparing to select the roster for the Junior World Cup that was going to be played.
Two years earlier, in 1980, Darryl Gee, Sam's former teammate in Columbia, Maryland on the U-13 SAC Travel Team, had led the U-19 US National Soccer Team to The Junior World Cup in China. Argentina won the Junior World Cup Soccer title in 1980 led by a 5'2" stalky 18 year old soccer player by the name of Diego Maradona.(Six years later in 1986, Diego Maradona would lead his Nation, Argentina, to it's second World Cup Title in Mexico. They won their first in 1978 against Germany when they hosted the World Cup in Argentina, Mario Kempes was their star that World Cup.).
In 1982 Sam wanted to acquit himself well and not embarrass himself as he did the previous year. For starters, Sam woke up at 5am each day and ran 5.2 miles. He was in far better condition, having gone from 5"11"" 175lbs. to a sleek and lean 5'11" 162lbs. Although Sam had lost 13lbs. and was faster and quicker than ever, his lower body was very strong. Each of Sam's thighs were defined like an anatomy chart or poster and they each measured 24 and a 1/2 inches in circumference(the size of some women's waist lines). His upper torso had slimmed out, but because he was doing 500 sit ups each morning and, at least, 200 push ups, as well as watching his nutrition("I even started drinking Grape fruit juice because someone said it would give me extremely defined muscles.") he was in today's fitness vernacular: "Ripped" or "Shredded".
The break down of Sam's times from his try-out in 1981 and 1982 go as follows:
Flying 40 yard dash(5 yard head start): 1981..... 4.3 seconds
1982.... 4.05 seconds
Vertical Leap
(Jumping straight up with no running start): 1981..... 27.4 inches
1982..... 28 inches
Cooper's Test
(How many miles you can run in eight minutes): 1981.....1.63 miles
1982.....1.75 miles
Acceleration
(How much ground you can cover in a certain
time from a prone position.): 1981......28 yards
1982......30 yards
Test: 1981.....31
1982.....35
Technical Ability: 1981....38
1982....39
Game Grade: 1981....42
1982....47
Total Testing Grade: 1981....111 points (Fourth best in the State).
(First best in 1981, Steinkamp, had 114 points).
1982...121 points (First Best in the State).
Sam, had improved in all of the tangible and measurable facets of his game. But, more importantly, he learned that the hard work of the entire prior year was successful and that the secret to success is, "To never give up."
There were also 3 Matches at the State level. Sam played for the Southeast, Louisiana Team(Coached by Cobra's Head Coach Lee McGinn), against three teams that represented Southwest, Louisiana...Central, Louisiana...and North, Louisiana. In those 3 matches Sam St-Phard recorded 5 goals and led Southeast, Louisiana to a first place finish at the State Team Trials and went on to The National Team Try-Outs in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as the Number one Soccer Player in the State of Louisiana.
As I stated at the outset, a book could have been written about this Man by the end of his High School years. And so far, that is what I have done, in a blog. From this point forward I am going to make additions to this blog from the point where Sam is today in his life. Sam went to College on a full Soccer scholarship and then two years later was injured and his Soccer career ended. He also became a Songwriter when he was 22 years old and had a Song on the air in Washington, DC in 1987. In 1988 he became a Licensed professional Songwriter with BMI(Broadcast Music Incorporated) in Manhattan, New York. He was Married in 1992 and divorced in 2008. He is now the single custodial parent of two sons, and is pursuing some major enterprises in the Business world. It is the Businesses of Sam St-Phard that I will continue to follow in these entries because it is The Businesses of This "Prince from Port-Au-Prince" that will, he hopes in his heart of hearts, change the world for the better.
