Sunday night video: Bernstein’s love letters

For the next few Sundays this summer, I’m going to offer some of my favorite video stories from recent years and tell the backstory.

First up is the Bernstein High football love letters.

In the fall, a former Bernstein assistant coach sent me an email telling me to take a look at Coach Masaki Matsumoto, because he was doing special things at Bernstein.

Sure enough, I learned about a bonding experience Matsumoto pulled off last summer. He instructed his players to take home a sealed envelope and deliver it to their mom or dad. Inside was a letter asking the parents to write how much they loved their son and return it in the sealed envelope.

Then Matsumoto had his players open the envelopes in the school gym, and his players were stunned reading the love letters.

Months later, I went to Bernstein, interviewed some players and they started to cry reading the letters again.

Bernstein is so fortunate to have a coach who understands that high school football isn’t just about winning. It’s about helping prepare teenagers to become productive young men.

It’s one of my favorite stories ever, because it shows the impact a coach can have with one simple idea.

Twitter:@LATSondheimer