Maurice Allen has played many different roles in life. He is a US Army Veteran, A husband, a father and a football coach.
He is also a “trainer of soldiers.”
Allen, a retired Army communications specialist, is just one of more than 1,800 “soldier trainers” certified through the veterans charity. Soldiers on the sidelines who was able to find renewed purpose after his military service.
Maurice Allen enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2012 and served for four years, including his deployment to Afghanistan in 2014-15. (Maurice Allen)
“I played football in high school. I always knew I wanted to be a coach. I was going to play college football after high school, but instead I joined the military and was stationed at Fort Hood,” Allen told Fox News Digital in an interview.
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Allen put aside his dream of coaching to serve his country and eventually pursue his education. He enlisted in 2012 and served for four years, which included his deployment to Afghanistan in 2014-15.
His story is like many others. However, after completing his service, Allen knew he wanted to get back into coaching. With that in mind, he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Education in Sport Administration from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and later an Education Specialist degree from Valdosta State University.
During that time, however, Allen was searching for something that was… For veterans only. That's when he came across Soldiers to Sidelines.
He reached out to Harrison Bernstein, president and founder of Soldiers to Sidelines, a veterans service charity whose mission is to provide a renewed sense of purpose to members of the military community through training while also serving the youth community.
They kept in touch, and eventually Allen was able to attend one of the Soldiers to Sidelines seminars.
“It's an amazing organization that really puts our veterans first. It's something I strongly believe in and it's been an amazing opportunity.”
The program is free and available to veterans, service members, military spouses and Gold Star families. (Soldiers on the margins)
SOLDIERS ON THE MARGIN FOUNDER ON A MISSION TO HELP VETERANS AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY
Bernstein told Fox News Digital that the idea for a training program designed for service members came about in 2010 after his time with the Washington Commanderswhere he served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for three years.
“I was a high school football coach and a colleague of mine was determined to help service members in the area get involved in football coaching, because the news was rife with people returning from the Middle East looking for purpose, looking for a way to reconnect and find some renewed happiness and purpose,” Bernstein explained.
“And it was a colleague who suggested that we take some of the local veterans to high school football practices and make them part of the team and teach them how to coach football.”
Bernstein admitted that he wasn't interested in the idea at first. He was working on perfecting his own training technique in hopes of getting back into it. the NFL. But after much insistence, Bernstein agreed and organized a seminar attended by just six people. To his surprise, Bernstein's plans for his future changed at that moment and Soldiers to Sidelines was born.
More than 1,800 Soldier coaches have been certified through the program in eight different sports. Veterans account for 38 percent of certified coaches, while retired and active duty military make up another 25 percent and 27 percent respectively.
The program is free and available to veterans, service members, military spouses, and veteran families. After completing the certification process, Soldiers to Sidelines offers ongoing learning with online courses, webinars, workshops, and more.
Those who have completed the certification process have gone on to coach at all levels. However, for Bernstein, the greatest impact can be seen in those coaching at the youth level.
Maurice Allen is the head football coach at South Paulding High School in Georgia. (Maurice Allen)
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Allen currently serves as the head football coach at South Paulding High School in Georgia. Previously, he coached at different 5A to 8A schools in Texas, Florida, and Georgia. However, in the spring, Soldiers to Sidelines helped open up a new opportunity for him.
Allen became the first soldier coach to land an internship with an NFL team. New York Jets. He worked with the team during mandatory minicamp and OTAs.
“It was really fascinating to see how they operate and how they practice, the coaching points and how complex it is to go from high school to the NFL,” Allen said. “But to see the level of detail of the preparation and the details of the program and how they communicate with each other and the coaching staff. And it was by far one of the best experiences I've been a part of, I made some really good connections and I was able to learn.”
Maurice Allen was the first “soldier coach” to land an internship with an NFL team last spring. (Maurice Allen)
Allen said the experience opened his eyes to the possibility of coaching at the highest level. For now, he's taking everything he learned and repurposing that knowledge within his own community. He also looks to continue spreading the mission of Soldiers to Sidelines.
“There is one team outside of the military that you can join and be a part of, and that's Soldiers to Sidelines,” Allen said of those service members transitioning out of the military.
“It gives you a purpose and you can touch so many lives, whether it's youth, middle school, high school, college or the NFL. There are so many lives and so many people that you can come into contact with and have an impact on. So my message to any veteran that is interested or looking to make the transition, or even if you're still on active duty and you're coaching a youth or high school team, Soldiers to Sidelines is for you.”
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