An Angel empowers Pine Forest students to ‘stand on business,’ dressing up every Monday

PENSACOLA, Fla. — It was quite an honor making Pine Forest High School’s ninth grade football team. The players had their lofty ideas of the status a football player carried. They weren’t familiar with Coach Marquette Oliver’s playbook yet.

Coach Oliver is teaching his players to stand on business while looking the part. “Standing on Business Mondays” at the Pines teaches students the benefits of presenting your best self through dress.

“They get it from a rap song, ‘We Standing on Business…’ So, I just took from what I heard from them and try to use it in a positive way,” said Oliver. “Mondays, let’s dress up. Let’s stand on business. Let’s get prepared for the week.”

That’s right, they’re to dress up every Monday, and this would not be an option. Reactions from students Ke’marion Jordan and Patrick Jones was pretty much felt across the team.

“I wanted to be like the varsity and wear my jersey around the school like a big dog, you know,” said Jordan. “So once he told us, I was like, ‘Coach, I don’t know about that.'”

“I thought he was crazy, because I thought we were just going to be wearing jerseys, like varsity,” Jones said. “But then I found out we had to wear a button up shirt, tie and slacks.”

“I don’t play,” said Oliver.

Coach Oliver wasn’t playing. He was serious. He was standing on business and his players were about to get in line. Mondays they were to be dressed.

Any student who didn’t have dress clothes, Oliver helped them get them. The young men learned how to tie a tie. They helped each other.

“When they dress up, they are different people,” said Oliver. “They are different students. They’re smiling, they’re happy. They walk different, they talk different.”

“I just thought, if I can use that piece with the students, give them a sense of self-worth, empowerment, build their confidence up and their self-esteem, we can go in and take on the challenges in the classroom, as well on the football field,” he said.

Beyond appearances, they’re taught the art of a handshake and to always extend a greeting.

“It’s a sign of respect,” Oliver said. “We got so many people, students, that lost their way with respect. And we’re just trying to go back to the old school.”

Richard Jester is a senior who’s still inspired by Coach Oliver. You’ll find him dressed and ready for business every Monday.

“Coach, he’s an advocate for youth growth and success,” said Jester. “He’s an advocate for making a change. He’s a great guy, and he just invests his time because he wants to see all of us be successful, not only in school and the classroom, but in real life as well.”

Head ninth grade coach Shaun Harris believes “Standing on Business Monday” is a winning strategy. And from the players’ reactions, Oliver’s turnaround take on a rap song was a hit.

“We want to start them in the right direction when they come to high school. Like I said, not only on the athletic field, but in the classroom also,” said Harris. “So, we do things like require all our kids to be in the front of the class. Be leaders, because… the thing about them is when the classmates see them being leaders, that makes everybody else step their game up also.”

“Feels great. You know, I feel more like a man,” said Jordan. “I feel good. I smile more. I walk different, talk different. It’s a lot. It makes my day better. When I wake up in the morning, I just smile in the mirror with my suit on…. You know, [I] just feel good.

“He’s dedicated to us, committed to making us better in life,” Jones said. “And the first day we knew coach, he said he loved us, and ever since then, he showed us that he’s a leader to us.”