When he was 10 years old, Anthony White promised his mother she never would have to worry about paying college tuition.

He knew the money would be hard to come by for his mom, who was raising three children on her own.

That's why White will always remember when Ron McBride and Kyle Whittingham offered him a scholarship to the University of Utah. Moments before he accepted, he looked over at his mother and said, "I told you I'd take care of it."

More than a decade later, White, now a coach, is overhauling a long-suffering high school football team in Buena Park, Calif. In his first season at the helm, he has lifted a program that won four games in the past four seasons to a 6-2 start, one of the best records in program history.

But in a low socioeconomic neighborhood — much like where he grew up — White knows winning is not enough to help his players. He's now working on giving them success off the field by helping them get to college.

White is more ambitious than the average jock. He was one of the best players on the field at Rosemead High School in California, but also had one of the best GPAs on the team. As a Ute special-teams ace and cornerback, he was student body vice president, a three-year resident assistant and graduated with three degrees. Now, in his sixth year of coaching, he hopes his team will start to understand opportunities that come with a college education.

"I don't call my kids football players, I call them student athletes, and the student comes first," White says. "These guys need to know it's too hard to be in this for yourself. When you get a bad grade, it affects me, it affects their teammates, it affects their school, it affects their community."

At Buena Park High School, more than 60 percent of students qualify for free school lunches. When White took the job after leaving Temple City High, there were 24 players on the football team and 13 students were academically ineligible. White had been warned that coaching the Coyotes would be a career death trap, but he never believed his kids couldn't be helped.

"All the things they say about Buena Park, they aren't true," White says. "These are great kids, it's a great school, a great administration and a supportive community. We don't make excuses. There are no reasons they shouldn't succeed. We either work hard enough to succeed, or we don't."

The change has been staggering. White has joined forces with first-year Principal Jim Coombs and the Buena Park faculty to set up new programs for Buena Park students, including after-practice study hall and weekly grade checks. Sometime in the next year, the school plans to add a "middle college" on campus, allowing students to graduate with a diploma and an associate's degree. The football program is now more than 100 students strong, and last semester, the team's collective GPA was 2.68.

"Coach White understands that athletics is a tool to get education, not the end result," Coombs says. "It's the same message those students get from their parents and teachers, but it's different when it comes from the person they admire most. He's someone who comes from the same background, and he's made it. Kids start thinking, 'Well, I can do it if he did it.' "

Coaching doesn't end after practice. White and his wife, San White, get calls at all hours of the night from players or parents who ask for study help. San White often does laundry for the players who don't have washers or dryers, or brings food to practice for players who might not have dinner when they get home.

It's a difficult path, but not a thankless one. White says although the Coyotes have lost their past two games, starting out 6-0 was better than most ever believed possible. And he says he always will remember when one of his players told him that he was changing his plans: He would have to put off a job until after college.

"When you see kids wanting to be teachers or coaches, it says a lot about what you do," White says. "There's still a lot of work to do, but what we're doing now is working."

kgoon@sltrib.com Twitter: @kylegoon —

Anthony White brings change

In his first year, the former Ute guided the Buena Park Calif., football team to a 6-0 start, the best in program history.

The football program has nearly quadrupled in size and has a collective 2.68 GPA, only a semester after half the team was ineligible.

Buena Park High School has instituted after-practice tutoring sessions and weekly grade checks to hold athletes accountable for academics.