Jaguars' defensive tackle John Henderson, helped the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation kick off the 2002-2003 Playbooks reading initiative at the Regency Square Branch of the Jacksonville Public Library on September 10.

Foundation Chair/ CEO Delores Barr Weaver, team mascot Jaxson de Ville, members of The Roar and Henderson were on hand to unveil the new edition of Playbooks and to speak to the 100-plus guests in attendance about the importance of reading.

Henderson spoke to children about his favorite children's book, "Green Eggs and Ham," by Dr. Seuss, and how reading plays a crucial part of his football career.

"If it weren't for reading, I wouldn't be able to do my job, which is to play football," stated Henderson. "The playbook I have to read is about 5 inches thick and I have to learn our plays plus the other teams' plays, so I can do my job the best I can. That's just one of the reasons that reading is important," he added.

The Playbooks initiative involves development and distribution of 30,000 books to public libraries. Each colorful 24-page book, which Jaguars' coaches and players list and describe books that they found particularly interesting and motivating as youth, is designed to encourage young people to better utilize public libraries.

The September 10 Kickoff event was the first of five library branch visits which will cover Duval, Baker, Nassau, St. Johns and Clay counties. For more information about the 2002-2003 Playbooks program, log onto www.playbooks.org