Feature article on JJ

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071216/SPORTS0201/312160006/1312/SPORTS0201&template=UHsports

About JJ's horrible car accident, his mother Marilyn Jones said:
"It was horrible, just terrible. They thought my son was dead." (HA)

About how the people on the scene initially thought that he was dead, JJ said:
"They thought I was dead, until I moaned." (HA)

About his experience from the accident, JJ said:
"I didn't have that near-death experience that everybody talks about. I didn't see or hear anything." (HA)

About how JJ still has some negative effects from his accident, Marilyn said:
"He still has a lot more problems than he lets on." (HA)

About how he always thinks about why he survived his accident, JJ said:
"I think about the accident. I always wonder why God chose to let me live, and somebody else wasn't so lucky. I always think about that." (HA)

HA Note: "Then a few years ago he overheard one of Norman Nakanishi's sermons. Every Sunday night, Pastor Norm transforms a Leeward Community College lecture hall into Grace Bible Church. They became friends. Then Jones asked Pastor Norm to serve as the Warriors' chaplain."

About what JJ learned from his accident, Pastor Norm said:
"The crash woke him up to why he's on Earth. It brought him back to realizing his purpose. He's here to change young people's lives, which he can do better at the college level than pro level. It recalibrated his life and his priorities. He understood that 'this is why God put me here and why God made me like this.' " (HA)

Crediting UH's success to the love each player has for his teammates, JJ said:
"Look at history," he said, "the greatest fighters had that. That's the difference between being a good team and being a great team." (HA)

About his mother, JJ said:
"My mother made me breakfast and lunch every day until I got out of high school," Jones said.

During basketball season practices started at 5:30am, but JJ said:
"No matter what, she had breakfast waiting on the table. You know, I never ate in a lunch room. I'd walk home three blocks every day for lunch. It would always be there. She's an amazing woman. She made so many sacrifices. That's how much love she had." (HA)

HA Note: "His father never missed one of his games, magnificently juggling his schedule to follow his four active children. Since the day he went away to college, Jones and his father have spoken almost daily by telephone."

About his father, JJ said:
"He was always there for me. He had that old-school way. I knew he loved me even though I never heard him say 'I love you' until seven, eight years ago. I was a little taken aback by it, but it was nice to hear." (HA)

HA Note: "Before and after each game, Jones leads the team in prayer. It is that love — God's love — that seized his soul when he was a teenager."

About embracing God as a teenager, JJ said:
"I made a decision that affected my whole life at that time. God's blessed me. I don't have any anxiety about anything. God's blessed me with a peace. I learned that at a young age." (HA)

HA Note: "During a chapel service, Jones learned of the passage he recites daily: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

About what he learned from that passage, JJ said:
"It's the only place in the Bible where God promises you, the second you pray, he will grant you this peace and humility. He doesn't say he will grant you what you pray for, but he will grant you peace. And the bottom line is, if you have peace, you don't care if you get your wish or not." (HA)

HA Note: "It is that calm, he said, that boosted the Warriors to three comeback road victories this season. The team's mantra is: Believe. It also is why he does not worry about job or financial security. He recalled his stint as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach. After leading the Falcons to the playoffs in his second season, in 1995, he shook hands on a three-year contract extension. But the papers were never signed. The following year, the Falcons fell to 3-13, losing the regular-season finale when the NFL's most reliable kicker, Morten Andersen, was wide on a field-goal attempt. A teary Andersen apologized to Jones."

JJ remembered Anderson apologizing to him and his response was:
"I said, 'Mort, don't worry about it. That kick has nothing to do with me keeping my job or not.' " (HA)

HA Note: "The next day, as expected, Jones was called into the office of Taylor Smith, the Falcons' president. Smith said he admired Jones for imploring his team to keep battling against tough odds, but that a coaching change was needed. Because Jones did not sign the contract extension, the Falcons were only obligated to pay Jones for the next two weeks. But Smith then handed Jones a paper, telling him to sign it. It was the contract extension. Although Jones would be fired for the first time in his life, he would receive two more years of pay."

About receiving the 2 years of pay despite not signing his contract extension, JJ said:
"He didn't have to do that. That was very generous. But the truth is, I've never worried about that stuff. The coaching business is the most insecure business there is. You're day to day, year to year. I've seen so many coaches on pins and needles. That's why I always pray for peace." (HA)

About how Smith called him to congratulate him after UH beat BSU to win the WAC, JJ said:
"That was one of the best calls I ever received." (HA)

HA Note: "Smith will be on the UH sideline during the Sugar Bowl."

About the criticism JJ gets for not showing emotion more, Pastor Norm said:
"His media persona belies who he is. At the very core, he is a very sensitive, loving and compassionate person — which is not what football players want to be associated with. But that's the June I know. He really cares about his players." (HA)

HA Note: "The season and this team had meant so much, that if he spoke, he would break down in tears, and who knows when he would be able to stop? He was emotional the entire day leading to the banquet, and if he were to stand before the 1,400 fans and family members and talk about quarterback Colt Brennan, who sacrificed millions of NFL dollars to be a part of this season, or defensive tackle Michael Lafaele, a father of three who led the summer workouts ... No, no, no. Love can be shown in deeds, not words."

About JJ, Kevin Kaplan, executive director of the 3.5-year-old JJ Foundation, said:
"If there is a better person out there, I have not met him or her. He is so kind and generous. He has so much humility." (HA)

HA Note: "Jones has offered second chances to several players who had legal problems. He gave a scholarship to running back James Fenderson, who was living in his car. He refused to release a player from his scholarship because he feared for the player's safety if he returned to his crime-infested neighborhood. Four years ago, he was riding on his Harley when, by chance, he stopped at an event for HUGS, a not-for-profit organization that helps families who have a child with a life-threatening illness or fragile medical condition. Soon after, he created his foundation. In three years, the foundation has raised $250,000 in grants for several charities, including HUGS."

HA Note: "A few years ago, Jones learned that Mun Kin Wong, the quarterback and lone survivor of the 1941 UH team whose season was abbreviated because of the Pearl Harbor attack, had not received his varsity letter. Jones invited Wong to the Quarterbacks for Charity dinner in September. The lights dimmed, and a video was shown of the 1941 team. When the lights were turned back on, Jones was at the podium, holding a varsity letter and jersey for 85-year-old Wong."

About JJ, close friend Al Souza said:
"He's a very nice guy who will do anything for anyone." (HA)

HA Note: "Jones had noticed that Brian Kajiyama, who is in a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy, attended every practice. Through his players, Jones learned of Kajiyama's sharp mind — he has a master's degree — and his passion for football. This year, Jones gave Kajiyama a job as graduate assistant. In September, during a team meeting in which the real-life "Rudy" spoke, Kajiyama was presented an additional $2,500 scholarship as a reward for his contributions to the team."

About his promise to Colt before Colt decided to stay, JJ said:
"I said to him, and this was like 10 days before that 17th deadline, 'If you make the decision you want to stay, I'll be here next year. Don't worry about me on the 29th deciding I'm not going to coach here and you got stuck. If you decide to stay, and somebody calls me with an offer after the 17th, I'll say no.'" (HA)

About how the public doesn't know the real JJ, Pastor Norm said:
"The public doesn't really know the real June. As his pastor, I have the privilege of seeing a different side of him. He really loves people. He loves the underdog. He has been the underdog." (HA)

About the rumors that have been made about him, JJ said they:
"frustrated me a lot. It used to bother me when I was going through some things. But it doesn't bother me anymore. I play it off." (HA)

About how he lives a simple life away from UH, JJ said:
"I don't go anywhere. I go home. I go out to dinner. I go to (the) Waialae (Country Club) to see my buddies. I'm not going to the opera or to going to some new movie that's coming out. I'm not into those things. I don't go to parties. I've never been on a dance floor in my life." (HA)

HA Note: "Jones and his ex-wife, Diane, have a friendly relationship. She moved back to Hawai'i two years ago so together they could raise their fourth child, June IV, or "Juner." "

About the 2 units that he and his ex-wife own in a Kahala highrise, JJ said:
"Bought it and remodeled it. It's a great location." (HA)

About the simple decoration of his unit, JJ said:
"Big-screen TV and a bed." (HA)

HA Note: "Diane manages property in Portland. She returns there a few times a year, often bringing along Juner if Jones is busy with football work. But 13-year-old Juner, who is approaching 6 feet, spends most of the year in Hawai'i."

About his son Juner, JJ said:
"He plays all of the sports. He's with his buddies." (HA)

HA Note: "Juner is part of a home-school program, just like his three adult siblings were at his age. He will attend a conventional high school when he is a freshman."

About the home-school program for Juner, JJ said:
"It's worth it." (HA)

The program uses DVDs, allowing Juner to study in Portland or Honolulu.
About how the home-school program uses DVDs, allowing Juner to study in Portland or Honolulu, JJ said:
"It's like you're in the classroom. He stands up, says the Pledge of Allegiance. When I watch the (DVDs), it's how you and I went to school. That's what it's like. That's what I like about it." (HA)

About how the time-consuming lessons are worth it, JJ said that each year Juner makes a state exam and:
"He scores in the 95 percentile in almost everything." (HA)

Not worried about his expiring contract, JJ said that in his 24 years of coaching:
"I've let my contract run out six times, which is unheard of. Do I worry about it? No, I don't." (HA)

About the 2 years he needs in the NFL to get his pension, JJ said:
"It's not a significant amount of money. If I never got it, it would not bother me." (HA)

About going back to the NFL, JJ said that:
"for me to go back to the National Football League, it would have to be a real special situation. I don't know if there are those anymore." (HA)

About a hotel near the Hualalai golf course in Kona in 1999, JJ said:
"I was sitting in a jacuzzi, looking at a billion stars, and saying, 'this is the best place I've been in my life.'" (HA)

When invited to play golf at Hokuli'a, JJ said:
"I'm driving (there), and I'm going, 'Oh, my gosh, this is unbelievable.' " (HA)

HA Note: "He walked to a pavilion, which was 150 feet above a cove. John De Fries, the property's CEO, was the only other person in the pavilion. They had not talked to each other since the 1970s, when De Fries' family served as host for Jones, who was a high school exchange student."

About his conversation with John De Fries, JJ said:
"We hadn't talked in 30 years, but it seemed like no time had passed." (HA)

HA Note: "Jones could not help but admire nature's architecture. Then he looked down at the cove. Right at the mouth, there is a steep drop. Whales, drawn to the sound of the crashing waves, swim right to the edge. Every day."

About how he loves that place, JJ said:
"It's a heaven on Earth. It is so beautiful. I'll go there, and I don't even feel like playing golf. There's such peace and spirituality there." (HA)