Southside Wolfpack Mentoring Program Leading Young People On The Ballfield And In The Game Of Life
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Ask most people, and they will tell you there's a hand behind their success; maybe a parent, a teacher, or – like in this story – a coach and his organization.
On this Black History Month, CBS 2's Mugo Odigwe caught up with two young people influenced by the same organization known as the Southside Wolfpack.
One of them now serves at Kenwood Academy High School, tutoring and helping students be the best they can be, but she'll tell you a big part of what helped shape her into the woman she is today was her time with the Southside Wolfpack.
"I was 9 years old. I joined in 2003," Raven Johnson said.
Back then, Johnson was a self-proclaimed "awkward fifth grader;" a bookworm; but when she joined Wolfpack as a cheerleader, she quickly broke out of her shell.
"It was invigorating, and from there I just became part of the Wolfpack family," she said.
That quiet little girl found the voice within, thanks to the Southside Wolfpack. She found a village to hold her accountable.
"With my academics, with cheerleading itself, with my confidence," she said.
She's not the only one.
"I played the '98-'99 season," said Chris Coutee-Bouyer, who was around 12 years old when he joined the Wolfpack. "There was always the absence of very strong men in my life."
So it was inspirational having steady and constant men from Wolfpack in his life.
"I think it's absolutely time for our young men and our young women to see what strong Black men look like in their community, and that's what the Wolfpack is for me," he said.
One of those men, the one who started all this, is Coach Ernest Radcliffe.
Just last year, he and his team celebrated 12 baseball players who got college scholarships.
"This Wolfpack cape, he wears it well. He wears it with grace, he wears it with dignity, and he makes it so cool that other individuals within our community, they want to be attached to it," Coutee-Bouyer said.
Years after wolfpack, Coutee-Bouyer graduated from Texas A&M. He now works at the Social Security Administration. He's also an entrepreneur, designing clothes for men and women.
Johnson is still using the voice Wolfpack gave her. The chemistry major graduated from Northwestern, and launched her own tutoring company, Crystal Tutoring LLC, which is currently serving eight Chicago Public Schools campuses.
"We want to serve the entire city. We want to serve the entire world, but we'll start here," she said.
Both of them are still part of the Wolfpack community. Johnson joined the board, helping young players with the academic side of things. Coutee-Bouyer is now one of the coaches. His son currently plays for the football team.