Joey Mickey is in the business of changing lives

Lined up in the parking lot near 4th and Hudson, the group was such a sight that even the bums stared.

Some folks wore workout clothes. Running shoes. Sweatshirts. Shorts for a brave few on a brisk January morning. One gal even carried an iPod.

There were others, though, in baggy jeans and clunky boots. One guy even puffed on a cigarette.

The man in the black sweatshirt and grey sweatpants towered over all of them.

"C'mon,” he said. "Stretch it on out.”

He started with neck rolls, then switched to shoulder and hips and knees and ankles.

Joey Mickey was a star at Millwood High and a standout at Oklahoma. He even played for a short time in the NFL, his rookie year with Dallas coming the season that the Cowboys won the second of back-to-back Super Bowls under Jimmy Johnson.

He's gone from Owen Field and Texas Stadium to a deserted downtown parking lot.

And has never been happier.

He is the founder of the New Alternatives Center, a place where young people are getting their lives on track. All have been assigned to the program by the courts. Most have deferred or suspended sentences, and many are dealing with drug or alcohol offenses, not to mention addictions.

The program has been so successful that several judges are pushing Mickey to open a residential treatment center.

Ever wonder why sports matter?

Joey Mickey is using the lesson he learned in sports even though than a decade has passed since his playing days ended.

"That's what I turn back to every day with these kids — what did I learn in sports?” he said. "It taught me teamwork, how to fail, how to fall on my face and get back up. You still have 30 more plays to finish out the game. You can't just give up.”

Those lessons forged a philosophy. New Alternatives is a team, and Mickey is the coach. Discipline? Encouragement? A ride to the center? A meeting in his office? He'll do whatever it takes to get the best out of everyone.

Thing is, Mickey requires the same level of commitment, including a mandatory run every Saturday at 8 a.m.

Before, they ran the streets and found trouble.

Now, they follow a man trying to change their path.

"To do this on a day-in, day-out basis is not glamorous,” Oklahoma County District Judge Twyla Mason Gray said. "It's plain old hard work. I am so grateful that there are people that will dedicate their lives to turning other people's lives around.”

Joey Mickey never intended to be in the business of changing lives.

Selected in the seventh round of the 1993 NFL Draft, Mickey landed with the