Henry Buchan is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Camelback High School for AZpreps365.com. 

Jamar Pinnock, the linebackers coach for Camelback football, is a Spartan through and through. While he aims to help the football team compete at a higher level, for him, coaching the team comes with a greater purpose.

Pinnock strives to create great athletes and better men.

Pinnock grew up in the Camelback area, playing varsity football for four years. Ericka Wimble, the current Principal of Freshmen at Camelback, first met Pinnock when he was a senior in high school and she was the school librarian.

“I had just started working here and he was placed as my teacher's assistant,” Wimble said. “One of the things about Jamar is that even when he was a knuckleheady senior boy, he would do anything for anyone. He’s always been the one in his friend group that takes care of everyone else.”

When Pinnock was that age, he didn’t see himself returning to Camelback.

“I never saw myself coming back,” Pinnock said. “I’ve always known I wanted to give back in some sense, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was.” 

At the time, Pinnock had his own goals as a football player.

His athletic story is one of accomplishment. He starred for the varsity Camelback team for four years. He then became the rare Camelback student to play college football, working his way from junior college to playing Division I at Youngstown State in Ohio.

Still, Pinnock feels that he left something on the table during his own football career, falling short of what he could have been. 

“I look back and ask myself what went wrong, why didn’t I get to where I thought I could have,” Pinnock said. “It’s not a morbid regret, but you start evaluating yourself and being honest with yourself.

“It’s ‘this didn’t go right, show these kids so they don’t make the same mistakes you did.’ As you get older, you see how fast time goes by, and sometimes kids don’t realize how fast.”

After graduating from college, Pinnock returned to Camelback to coach a summer youth camp. There he realized that working with the high schoolers could give him a greater sense of purpose.

“It wasn’t until I came back four or five years ago that I realized ‘Oh, I like these kids, and I’m looking for something that will help build me as a young man as well.’ Helping people who are at a disadvantage is fulfilling — showing them that there’s way more out there than what they grew up with.”

Pinnock sees a lot of potential in his current group of players and aims to reach heights that the program hasn’t seen in more than 20 years.

“We’re in a quest for a region title. We haven’t won that since ‘02,” Pinnock said. “The last four years we’ve been close. I want to be a part of that team when we do win it. I think about it all the time.”

Still, his primary objective remains helping his players develop as young men.

“Handling yourself as a young man is everything. Football is just the avenue to help teach these kids,” Pinnock said. “Playing football, you’re going to go through tough times, and in life you’ll go through tough times. It’s helping them prepare. Anytime something bad happens, it’s about trying to find a brighter side in it. I try to teach these kids that and hope they can embody it.”

Unfortunately, Pinnock was shot in the back by a stray bullet last summer while in Ohio coaching an NFL-sponsored youth camp, forcing him to use many of these same skills to overcome the psychological trauma from his shooting. 

Struggling with its aftermath and unsure if he was going to be able to make a full physical recovery, Pinnock found inspiration from the team.

“Anything that happens you have to be thankful,” Pinnock said. “It was an unfortunate situation, but I’m lucky that I’m able to walk again. At that time, it was dark, very dark. But I started thinking about the kids. When bad things happen to you and you think about others, it helps you pull yourself out of that situation.”

Kemahn Knight, a senior wide receiver for the Spartans, was a freshman on the varsity team and worked with Pinnock for four seasons. He said that with Pinnock, coaching goes beyond x’s and o’s.

“When he coaches, football is secondary,” Knight said. “He teaches you how to be a young man, things outside of football. He taught me that when you shake somebody’s hand you look them in the eye. He taught me how to handle losing games and disappointment, keeping my composure.”

Tyler Warchol, a senior linebacker, said that Pinnock puts a lot of emphasis on changing the team’s culture.

“Football players are seen as jockey, cocky, walking around campus like they own it,” Warchol said. “He doesn’t want us walking around like that — he wants us to be good people. He’s always talking about being in class on time, doing little things that people appreciate.”

Pinnock echoed those thoughts.

“I’m here partially to change that stigma,” Pinnock said. “You can’t change it with one kid, you have to change the culture first.”

Beyond instilling those values, Wimble provided some insight into Pinnock’s attitude in working with the players on the team.

“He’ll hold all our kids accountable, but when I’m working with them he’ll also come back and say ‘did you know his family is struggling right now’ or ‘did you know that his friend got killed in a car accident,’” Wimble said. 

“He always finds the heart of the matter. During the offseason, he makes sure our kids get a ride to practice, he makes sure our kids get food. He just really really cares about our kids and our community. You see that with everything he does.”

Pinnock said looking out for the well-being of his players was an essential part of coaching for him.

“I don’t do things to broadcast it — it comes from the bottom of my heart,” Pinnock said.