Whatâs in Foxâs Game Plan? Itâs Elementary
Mr. Fox is very tall.
Mr. Fox plays football.
And if you need a little help with spelling, Mr. Fox is your man.
âWhat else makes a âKâ sound?â he asked Wednesday morning, kneeling beside a first-grader in Miss Gocoâs class at Thomas Edison Elementary in Glendale.
Maybe to the rest of Los Angeles, John Fox is the quarterback who will lead USC against UCLA Saturday at the Coliseum as the Trojans try to break UCLAâs eight-year winning streak.
To Miss Gocoâs first-graders, he is a student-teacher who holds their attention completely.
âOn the count of one, I want us in a big giant circle,â Fox told the children a little before 11 a.m. âThree . . . two . . . leave a space for me . . . one.â
Then Fox stepped into the huddle and asked them all to sit cross-legged on the floor.
âExcellent, excellent,â he said.
USCâs season rests on his shoulders, but Fox--a fifth-year senior who began this season as the third-string quarterback and has played everything from quarterback to tight end to linebacker in his career--isnât counting on the NFL. He isnât planning on teaching high school and coaching, either.
No, for Fox, elementary school is where itâs at.
âI just think itâs the influence part,â he said. âThatâs where you can make the most difference. Especially because a lot of boys--and girls--donât have good father figures, people they can talk to.â
At 6 feet 4 and 220 pounds, when Fox steps into a roomful of 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds and takes a seat in one of those tiny molded chairs, all eyes are on him.
âThe minute he walked in and introduced himself, âWow, youâve got big muscles,â was one of the first things out of their mouths,â said Margarita Goco, who supervises Fox and another student-teacher several mornings a week.
Fox understands his size has an effect on the youngsters.
âSo many of their teachers are women, and usually arenât as tall. You get a guy 6-4 come in, it tends to be like, oh my gosh,â he said. âRight away when I start to talk to them, that nervousness they have just goes out the window. Their world revolves around them, and if you enter that in a good way, theyâll latch on to you.â
The class has latched onto Fox with very little awareness of his life outside Room 31.
âI heard he was a football player, but I wasnât aware of him before,â Goco said. âI didnât know his name. Thatâs just me. I donât follow it. A lot of other teachers said, âYou have John Fox as a student-teacher? Heâs the quarterback for USC.â â
Until Wednesday, the children not only didnât know anything about this USC-UCLA business, they didnât know Fox played football.
âYou told us you play soccer!â one boy said.
âHeâs got great rapport with the kids,â Goco said. âHeâs very positive, very energetic. Heâs a really good student-teacher.â
One of Wednesdayâs lessons involved an imaginary trip around the world, and Fox walked around the circle with a small suitcase.
âWhat kinds of things do we pack in our suitcases?â he asked.
âPaper to write on?â one student asked.
âClothes!â another said.
Holding an inflatable globe, Fox turned the lesson into a game: Catch the globe when itâs tossed your way, and you get to tell the class who or what youâll take with you on your trip.
âMy sister and cousin,â a girl said.
âMom or Dad,â another said.
âExcellent--or else you could get lost,â Fox said, tossing the ball like a soft little swing pass to an open receiver.
âNice catch!â he said. âWhat else are some important things?
âA book? Thatâs very important.â
Once, Fox momentarily fumbled the ball.
âOops,â he said, and the children giggled.
âWho hasnât caught the ball yet?â he asked, surprising someone else with a shovel pass.
âMoney? Excellent.â
With that, it was time for the students to write their own lists.
âOK, count of three,â Fox said. âPapers in front of you. Pencils ready. Three, two, one, go. Start writing.â
Before the morning was over, the discussion had ranged to the names of the four oceans--âIndian Ocean, excellent,â he said--and the seven continents.
Fox, relaxed and in control, seems to have found his calling, and itâs far from a high school football field.
âWhen youâre teaching, it all pays the same. So why not go where your personality can impact the kids the best?â he said. âUpper-elementary, fourth through sixth [grades] is where I think I can do the best job.
âThatâs whatâs important. I want to go home every day enjoying what I do. The moneyâs not there, itâs obvious, but you know, the education was free here [at USC] for me.
âIâd probably eventually like to go higher and maybe start to teach teachers, make more of a difference that way. But I do want to start out being a teacher.â
With his role on USCâs team bigger than he expected this season after the injury to Carson Palmer and the decision to replace Mike Van Raaphorst at quarterback, Fox has a very full schedule.
Due at Edison Elementary several days a week at 7:15 a.m., he leaves around noon to make USCâs afternoon meetings and practices from around 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
At USC, his job is Xs and Oâs.
At Edison, his world is the ABCs taped around the wall, from Aa Alligator to Zz Zebra. Below that, a list of goals for students is printed out: âI am respectful. I am responsible. I am a team player. I always try my best.â
Funny, some people at USC would say that sounds a lot like Mr. Fox.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
THE RIVALRY
USC vs. UCLA
Saturday, Coliseum
12:30 p.m.,
Channel 7
ISLAND FEVER
June Jones has led Hawaii out from the gloom of the longest losing streak in the nation to a 7-3 record and a bowl berth. Page 6
NFL CAN WAIT
Barring a change of heart, junior defensive end Kenyon Coleman says he plans to return to UCLA next season. Page 6
USC vs. UCLA: The 1970s
Year Winner, score
1970 UCLA, 45-20
1971 Tied, 7-7
1972 USC, 24-7
1973 USC, 23-13
1974 USC, 34-9
1975 UCLA, 25-22
1976 USC, 24-14
1977 USC, 29-27
1978 USC, 17-10
*1979 USC, 49-14
* The Trojans came into the game ranked fourth in the nation with a 9-0-1 record and had little trouble disposing of the 5-5 Bruins.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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