EVERETT – Sometimes, a few twists and turns on the back-roads leads to Street smarts.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
Thus, Everett Hawks offensive specialist A.J. Street – who grew up in Oakland – credits a football odyssey over the past seven years with broadening his view on life.
Street’s path has taken him far from the inner city to the Great Plains and, most recently, to the Puget Sound region.
Street, 29, lived in Oakland through junior high school before his family moved to nearby Modesto.
In an area rife with drugs and violence, Street steered clear of the mayhem.
He focused on school and sports. His mother saw to his spiritual development.
“She made sure I was in church every Sunday,” Street said.
“That’s correct,” Irma Street, a retired United States Postal Service police officer said. “Being involved in his activities, school and sports was important.
“I knew all of his friends and all of his friend’s parents too.”
After playing football and basketball at Modesto Junior College, Street joined several friends at tiny University of Mary, a private Catholic school in Bismarck (N.D.).
There he adapted well to the twin shocks of cold weather and wheat-belt culture.
Street flourished on the football field – he was a second-team NAIA All-American as a senior – and graduated with a degree in Social Behavior Science.
He remained in Bismarck after college and worked full-time for several years as a group home counselor, where he lent his faith and support to troubled youths.
“I just like working with kids,” Street said. “Not everyone believes in God, but I keep an open mind about the beliefs of others.”
Even while working he pursued a football career, with the goal of perhaps eventually earning a living in the Arena or Canadian Football League.
In 2002-03 Street played two seasons for the Bismarck Roughriders of the National Indoor Football League. In his rookie year he returned six kickoffs for touchdowns and amassed 1,336 yards on kick returns. Both are NIFL single-season records.
When the Bismarck team folded, Street spent the 2004 season with the Omaha Beef of the NIFL.
“I had a good experience overall,” Street said of his time in Bismarck and Omaha. “It was a different atmosphere, more conservative and not as diversified as the Bay area.
“But, it made me wiser.”
In 2005 he came to Everett and quickly became a fan favorite during the Hawks’ lone season in the NIFL.
Street jump-started the Hawks’ offense with a kickoff return average of 23.7 yards. He added 58 pass receptions for 784 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Even as the Hawks have found rougher sledding in the higher level arenafootball2 league, Street has shined.
He was not on the active roster for the season opener, a 60-54 home loss to Bakersfield on March 30, but has started each of the past two games.
He leads the team in receptions (17), receiving yards (200) and TD catches (3), but don’t bother telling him.
“I don’t know what my numbers are and I don’t care,” Street said. “All I know is we’re 0-3. Nothing matters unless we get the ‘W.’”
Everett quarterback Julian Reese said that’s typical of Street’s team-first approach.
Reese recalled Street’s 24-yard TD reception in the late going against Spokane April 15. The score gave the Hawks a 41-37 lead before they ultimately fell 44-41.
“He dragged three guys into the end zone,” Reese said. “He was not going to be denied.”
The play was a metaphor for Street’s approach to football.
“Every snap counts,” Street said. “With me being 29 I play every down like it might be my last.”
“He’s very athletic and can take guys on his shoulders,” Reese said. “He’s going to be one of the best receivers in this league.”
That suits him fine, as long as the team wins.
“I want to win so bad and I don’t care how we get it done,” Street said. “We’re struggling, but, I just put faith in my teammates and coaches we’ll get it turned around.”
Well-traveled, yet possessing a sense of selflessness born on the home-front.
“Always thinking of the other person,” Irma Street laughed. “I think he gets that from his mother.”
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