DENVER — Matt Beck is one of the lucky ones. He is doing exactly what he loves.
“I wanted to make a difference," he said. "I wanted to find something to do my little part to change the world."
For 15 years, Beck has been a volunteer coach at the Denver Broncos Boys & Girls Club.
“It is the perfect organization to help children prepare for the future,” he told Denver7.
Beck is a volunteer football and basketball coach in Denver’s Montbello neighborhood. Over the past 15 years, he has mentored hundreds of kids.
“It is all about little, simple things,” he said. “How to hold the ball correctly, how to show up and dress right for practice.”
Beck's core principles of attitude, effort and respect are ones that stick with kids long after they’ve graduated. Just ask Jayden Tolson.
“He’ll give you the shirt off his back to make sure you’re good. Matt makes sure everything’s good at home,” said Tolson.
Tolson is one of Beck’s former athletes. Now in his twenties, he still makes sure to stay in touch.
“He kept me from, you know, going down the wrong path and changed my life this direction,” said Tolson. “Not having a father figure, he was like a father figure to me.”
Beck says he always tries to set an example.
“I try to show up in a nice car coming from my job,” said Beck. “I think it is ignorant of a society to expect success out of people who have never seen it.”
Through it all, Beck knows his lessons can mean so much.
“It’s seeing these little amazing humans, that just want to be loved and appreciated and listened to — like me and like everybody else."
