>Coaches...I was 14 five years ago, and after my dad my
>Soccer and Track coaches had the most influence on me.
>
>After that I'd say people this age can be reached by good
>teachers. We need to pay more attention to who is teaching
>the youth, and what agenda those teachers are following.

-cosign, a really good teacher can have an amazing effect on our youth. I don't know of the situation in the states, but here (canada) there aren't enough male black teachers to be role models for the youth.
-definitely that 12-14 age group is crucial
-i hear from so many adults how they read the autobiography of malcolm x and it changed their lives. i don't see this happening much now. i mean, honestly i don't read enough now myself, but i know that however difficult it may be to get some of our young brothers to read more, it's incredibly important