KIDS GET GAME PLAN FOR AVOIDING DRUGS

Dallas Burn's Players, Staff Join Treatment Center To Help Pupils Make
Tough Choices

Dallas Burn goalkeeper Mark Dodd doesn't envy kids today.

The 34-year-old Major League Soccer veteran, who grew up in Richardson,
knows how powerful and negative some of the messages that young people
receive can be, especially when it comes to drugs.

That's why Mr. Dodd found himself standing before a crowd of roughly 700
boisterous adolescents Tuesday at Thomas J. Rusk Middle School in Dallas,
talking about his sport, his life and the choices he had to make as a
youngster.

"Yes, I was pressured to make tough choices when I was in high school," Mr.
Dodd said in answer to a question from one teenager. "But at some point in
your life you've got to be strong enough to say no, and not let other
people talk you into doing something you know is wrong."

Mr. Dodd's appearance at Rusk was part of a two-day Burn Out Drugs Campaign
put on by the Dallas Burn and Phoenix House, the nation's largest provider
of substance-abuse treatment and prevention services. Burn players and
staff, along with Phoenix House employees, planned about 40 anti-drug
presentations Tuesday and Wednesday at 28 schools in the Dallas area.

More than 25,000 schoolchildren are expected to hear their message.

"Right now is the time for you to make some of the most important decisions
of your life," Suzanne Smith of Phoenix House told the Rusk pupils. "One
path is all about getting to do all the things you dream about and the
other is the path to destruction."

During the 45-minute presentation, Ms. Smith and Mr. Dodd stressed the
importance of making wise choices. Mr. Dodd also acknowledged that the
choices adolescents have to make often are complicated by friends or family
members.

The Burn Out Drugs Campaign, Ms. Smith said, is part of a national
anti-drug effort being made in conjunction with the President's Office of
National Drug Control Policy. Major League Soccer, and especially the
Dallas Burn, have been key supporters of the effort.

In fact, she said, MLS uses the Dallas Burn program as a model for its
anti-drug campaigns.

Burn forward Dante Washington, who is MLS' representative on the anti-drug
issue, said he gladly takes part in the school presentations because he has
seen the devastation drugs cause for individuals and families.

"It's a great opportunity for us, as figures that kids look up to, to give
an important and positive message. . . . If we can get to just one kid in
our few minutes, it's all worth it."

Goalkeeper Matt Jordan said the campaign is a chance for players to give
something back to the community.

"It really opens your eyes and gives you a special feeling to go out and
see and affect so many kids," he said.

Ceci Ortiz, 12, a member of the girls soccer team at Rusk, was on the front
row listening to Mr. Dodd's message Tuesday. She even got a chance to show
off some of her soccer skills in a brief demonstration.

"I think it's pretty cool that a professional soccer player would take time
to come talk to us," she said. "I think he said some important things."

Eduardo Hernandez, 15, was among those who hung back and asked for an
autograph after the assembly. He said he, too, appreciated the anti-drug
message.

"I think it's really good to hear that from an athlete," Eduardo said.