Lynch
attended Torrey Pines High School in Del Mar, Calif.,
lettering in football (two-year captain) and baseball
while earning All-West and all-academic accolades
in football. In addition to being considered one
of the best players in the NFL on the field, Lynch
is widely considered one of the top humanitarians
around league circles. Among his noted charitable
contributions to both the cities of Tampa and Denver,
Lynch and his wife, Linda, formed the John Lynch
Foundation in 2000 with a mission to develop quality
young leaders through its community programs. Those
programs included the “John Lynch Star of
the Month,” a student- athlete recognition
program; the “Lynch Family Legacy Scholarships,”
which provide financial assistance to area high
school student-athletes who exemplify excellence
in academics, community service and athletics; the
“John Lynch Salutes the Stars” program,
a community event where the area's brightest student-athletes
came together to be honored; and the “Lynch's
Safety Zone” program, which provided 24 tickets
per game to Boys & Girls Club members who met
educational goals.
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Damian
& Gabie Maldonado with John Lynch |
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By John Lynch
Special to NFL.com
I understand that having a father who plays
in the NFL is not the norm for most kids,
but the big thing that we try to teach our
kids is that their father gets to do what
he loves to do. For me, it happens to be play
football, but in life in general, doing what
you love is what matters most. There are a
lot of lessons you can teach your kids regardless
of your occupation. It
was before I was born, but my father was actually
an NFL player, too. He was drafted by the
Pittsburgh Steelers and was on what would
today be called the practice squad. He wasn't
on the team very long, but he was an NFL player.
He was always very humble about his experience,
but my grandparents were very proud and told
me about him. He was a Hall of Famer in my
mind.
I
was born after his career ended. Having my own
kids now is such a source of pride for me. I'm
like any other parent. I have immense pride
about them, and being a parent is a much bigger
responsibility and is much harder than playing
football. There are life lessons to teach, and
it's important to be a positive role model every
day. |
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