C.J. Green felt like something was missing when he was putting blood, sweat and tears into building Western Washington University’s football team — and that was before the team was snatched away from him when the university cut the program in 2009.

“It didn’t quite feel like home,” Green said. “It wasn’t Federal Way.”

Home, for Green, is Federal Way High School. And Green has come back home. This time, his cleats, sneakers and spikes are all hung up as he focuses on his new path: giving back to the school he helped build by mentoring coming generations both on and off the field.

“You get that feeling,” Green said, trying to describe the indescribable contentment that comes with teaching and coaching at his alma mater. “It feels real good, especially now that I’m not talking about helping the school and I’ve actually started applying it.”

Green isn’t the only one excited: so too is Federal Way’s head football coach John Meagher. Meagher said he jumped at the chance to hire Green once he heard he was on the job market.

“He was a no-brainer hire when I found out he was available to coach. Now he’s our marketing teacher and will help to shape future generations of Eagles,” Meagher said. “Coach Green is a true Eagle, and we are blessed to have him in the program.”

Not only an alum of Federal Way, Green also attended Panther Lake Elementary School and Illahee when it was “Junior High School,” making him nearly a lifelong Federal Wayan despite being born in Bellevue. In his early days, he found himself playing basketball, football and track, but he also played the clarinet and practiced karate to keep his mind occupied.

Green needed to keep his mind busy because the third grade brought the passing of his father, with whom he shares the name Carl. Right away, Green said male figures began to positively influence his life in response to his loss.

“That’s where all the male figures, all positive and all coaches, took me as their son,” Green said. “I really leaned on them.”

Through his many activities, the maturing Green especially stood out on the field, the court and the track, boasting team captain status in all three sports.

“He was an excellent player and leader in his playing days,” Meagher said. “His role as captain helped to define our current captains.”

By the time he graduated in 2005, Green was an all-league and all-state selection as an athlete, and he served as the Eagles’ student body president his senior year. Federal Way wasn’t known then for the dominance it displays on the football field now, and Green and his teammates knew it. But they wanted to give back to the school they loved so it could thrive in the future.

“We wanted to set the foundation of what was going to change for when we left Federal Way,” Green said.

The sacrifices he made in his time on campus have led him to an increased appreciation for all who have walked the halls of Federal Way High School.

“When there’s an alum that comes in here, I’m going to give you your due respect because it’s important,” Green said. “These kids are getting new jerseys, we’re getting pub[licity], UW’s coming to the school now. All these people are coming here and hearing about Federal Way because of the guys before.

“I’m a historian of this school. These are the guys that helped build what we’ve been maintaining now.”

His passion for Federal Way High School is matched only by his passion for being a presence in the life of youths, some of whom have a life trajectory similar to his own, just as he had growing up without a father.

If the words of senior Eagles receiver Jaeger Steckler is any indication of Green’s success being like those father figures he had as a third-grader, the sky’s the limit for what Green is capable of.

“Coach Green cares more than any coach on the coaching staff about making us not only better football players but better men in life,” Steckler said.

Luckily for parents sending their kids to Federal Way High School, Green said he’s in it for the long haul, laughing at even the thought he would leave.

“I don’t see it going anywhere. I lucked out,” he said. “Now I can coach, be in the building, I can teach. It’s good, it feels good. And they like the fact I’m here too.”