SAN BERNARDINO - Before they hit the playing field to do their drills, scrimmages and conditioning, football players at Arroyo Valley High School are encouraged to read the words of great poets or work on complicated math equations.The reading, writing and work in other subjects are all part of mandatory study halls held three days a week before football practice.

And they were generated by none other than head football coach Marcus Soward, a firm believer that the game of life is much bigger than the game of football.

“We have a `classroom first’ philosophy that means in the case of student athletes, the student comes before the athlete,” he said.

The study halls held after school for the about 120 students on the freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams were something Soward was interested in long before he came to Arroyo Valley High School.

He became familiar with the concept back when he was attending Arizona State University on a football scholarship.

At the time he decided if he ever became a head coach he would carry on the tradition of learning before playing.

The idea stayed with him while he played professional football with the Chicago Bears and Montreal Alouettes.

And it remained after he was hired as an English instructor and assistant football coach at Arroyo Valley for the 2007-08 school year.

So when he was named head football coach at the high school in early 2008, he started

working that very same day on implementing the study halls before practice.By the spring, it was a reality with English instructor Bruce Bean serving as study hall coordinator.

Bean said from the get-go it has been a good idea.

“Many of our young men are growing up in single-parent homes and all they need is for someone to give them a little push,” he said.

At the start of this school year, the study halls started up again with the junior varsity team attending Monday through Wednesday and a combined junior varsity/varsity study session on Wednesday. The freshman team attends a separate study hall.

Bean uses a lot of Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) strategies in the sessions.

AVID teaches students the skills they need to succeed academically and reinforces the importance of personal responsibility.

Players are also tested to determine their skill level in reading and language arts and are then provided with appropriate tutoring if needed.

Bean also works with players individually to address their specific academic needs in other subjects.

So far he has seen many students lift their grades and change their attitudes.

“More than anything I think they realize that everyone is on the same page,” he said.

So many have met with success that there is now the Hawk All-Academic Team, which recognizes football players who are on the honor roll or have earned honorable mention in academics.

All-Academic team member and defensive end Chris Bradford, 17, said getting the opportunity to study before practice has made a big difference in his life.

“I have lifted my GPA from a 2.5 to a 3.6 and that means when scouts come and talk to me, I can tell them I earn good grades,” he said.