July 15, 2009

FRESNO, Calif. - While Pat Hill's trip to the Lemoore Naval Air Station was extremely rewarding and entertaining, Wednesday's stop on the 2009 Bulldog Caravan was easily the most important.

PHOTO GALLERY

Hill spoke to nearly 150 at-risk youths as part of the StepUp program in Tulare County. The event, held at Café 210 in downtown Visalia, included youth groups from all over the county.

A major focus of the organizers of the StepUp program is to keep children focused on their education and making good decisions in life.

Hill hammered both those points in his usual direct manner, which was popular with the children, who ranged in age from 7 to 18-years old. He told of his own upbringing and mistakes he's made and how he was fortunate to overcome bad decisions, earn a college degree, and enter a fulfilling career.

In his 12 seasons at Fresno State, Hill has become a nationally recognized coach who has guided his team to eight bowl game appearances in the last nine seasons. He ranks fourth all-time WAC history for most coaching victories.

"The young people of today are so much smarter than my generation," Hill told the group. "Because of the internet, you are exposed to things I never was as a child. It doesn't mean you have it made, or are better, but because of what you know and the access you have to information, you can make better life decisions. You all know the difference between right and wrong, and we all are going to make some bad choices in your lives, but overcoming those and having the toughness to walk away from bad situation is really hard. When you have friends pulling at you to do something wrong, to take drugs or hang out with the wrong crowd, you need to be smart enough and strong enough to pull your friends away from trouble."

"Education gives you opportunity," Hill told the group. "Having a college degree will open so many doors to you and in our economy, when jobs are hard to come by, a degree and a strong educational foundation will make the difference in whether you can get a job. I couldn't be a football coach at Fresno State without my college degree. It opens so many new doors and that's so valuable."

He compared an education to the foundation of a home. The smaller the home's foundation, the home cannot be expanded if needed. But a home with a large foundation, will be strong enough to handle a larger structure with additional rooms and floors.

The Bulldog Caravan concludes Thursday at Bakersfield. Hill will be the guest speaker at the Rotary Luncheon at Noon and then will meet with fans at Tahoe Joes from 4-6 p.m. Fans are invited to come out and talk with Coach Hill about the upcoming season. The Fresno State Athletics department will have ticket information and point of sales locations for tickets and merchandise.

There are a variety of excellent ticketing plans for the 2009 season, including: