Snoop Dogg poses with Tony Gonzalez at the “Coach Snoop” screening.
Credit: @SnoopDogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., more commonly known as Snoop Dogg, founded a non-profit children’s league, the Snoop Youth Football League. “Coach Snoop” is an American television series following legendary Hip-Hop artist, Snoop Dogg as he coaches a youth football league.
The purpose of the Snoop Youth Football League is to prevent young teenage boys from getting into trouble by keeping them occupied; playing football keeps them off the streets. The boys are all between the ages of 13 to 14 and get coached on not only football but more importantly life. In 2015, Snoop told The Times, “It’s going to be hard for them, as black men. So, I try to prepare them for the good, the bad and the ugly, and teach them to walk as respectable men in the world.” This Netflix Original consists of eight thirty-minute long episodes; these episodes aired Feb. 2, 2018.
The series is considered a docuseries since it follows real people in real life events over a period as viewers get a closer look at the kids, their parents, and the football coaches. The theme song of each episode begins with Snoop Dogg narrating his own struggles in life; the point of this is to emphasize the entire reason why the league was started.
Through Snoop’s music, listeners constantly hear about a life of drugs, gang violence, and money. He makes his joy in smoking marijuana quite known, it’s not at all a secret. On social media, he would always post videos smoking, however, in the episodes, he is completely different. He makes it known at one point that to them he is not Snoop Dogg. When he is on the football field, to them, he is Coach Snoop. He would never bring that side of him out to the field as it would defeat the purpose of what he is trying to instill in the boys. He is trying to teach them to live a different lifestyle than he lived.
Most times when celebrities take on projects like this, people claim it is for publicity, however, Snoop tries to make it known that he does not want to make this about himself. In most of these episodes, he is not at all the center of attention. Viewers get to see more of the boys’ home lives as well as the coaches’ before they even get a look into Snoop’s life. Every child’s problems are put on the table and viewers are allowed to see how they play out.
The coaches on the show are a bit tough on the boys at times. In the episodes, the audience sees the coaches teaching the boys to be tough all the time and to control their feelings. For example, Max, who is a defender on the team, has personal issues. He is picked on because he is a heavier, taller child. In these episodes, viewers get to see his character develop. In the beginning, he is babied by his mother and his father is absent. At one point, the coaches tell the boys to target him to make him tougher. It sounds harsh, but it helped him get stronger; he was less sensitive in the end because of what he went through. Truthfully, the world is cruel. He eventually understood their treatment toward him, and it prepared him for the real world.
Some assumed the series would be more about the league itself; however, it showed more than expected. Getting to see the boys’ personal lives and seeing them overcome struggles made the docuseries a lot better. Some viewers would think the boys had to separate their personal lives from the game, but most of what they were going through showed on the field as they played. Most of the people in these children’s lives were brought up in gang violence or on the streets, and it was nice to see them trying to give the children better lives.
The series could have been longer and shown more boys. The audience got to see the lives of a few but not all of the team. Seeing Snoop trying to be a good influence on the children, completely contrasting from what most people expect from such a bold character, was also
refreshing. They were finally given the opportunity to change and make something great of their lives. Seeing someone make something out of troubled teenagers and encouraging them to make something of their lives was worth watching.
Rating: 4 out of 5 paws
