The men of the Body and Soul Soccer Team at St. John's Hospice (www.saintjohnshospice.org) may be homeless, but they must stay focused just like the pros.

"I want them running with Back on My Feet" (www.backonmyfeet.org), the homeless jogging club, Oaks says. "And we'll be doing some recruiting. I hope to get new members through Sister Mary Scullion and Jon Bon Jovi."

While the nun and the rock star erect houses for the homeless, Oaks - a celebrity in his own right - rebuilds his players from the inside out.

Season One involved learning the basics of the game and teamwork, "teaching them the meaning of words like dependability, determination, pride, and passion." Season Two will find his charges fine-tuning their interview skills and playing some actual games.

"I've got three goals," Oaks told me last week after City Council honored him for his one-man homeless outreach.

"I want to make them a better person," he said. "I want to make them a better athlete. And I want to get them a job."

Treating body and soul

Employment should be the last thing on Oaks' mind. At 81, the internist only recently stopped seeing patients, but he still teaches 25 hours a week at Hahnemann University Hospital.

"He's a legend," raved hospital CEO Michael P. Halter. "When I met him, I thought, 'This guy has been a student, resident, faculty member, or practicing physician at this facility since 1951. That's as long as I have been alive.' "

Throughout his career, Oaks had VIP patients, like Frank L. Rizzo. He also brought students to St. John's to treat men in wretched shape, emotionally and physically.

"Why," he'd ask bluntly but lovingly, "don't you guys get off your butts and do something?"

Oaks had something in mind - soccer. He captained a "terrible" team his senior year at Lafayette College and played until a bum left knee forced him off the field at 65.

Seeking practice space, Oaks called City Councilman Frank Rizzo, who asked the Recreation Department to find some green grass for Team Body and Soul.

"As successful as he is, as hard as he worked," Rizzo marveled, "he still wants to give."

Up and down

A year ago, Troy Smith, 37, had never kicked a soccer ball. Now, he's bouncing one off his head, killing time before an interview for bartending school.

"He showed us stretches and how to scrimmage," Smith shared.

Even more remarkable? "Dr. Oaks was out there with us," Smith said. "He fell a couple times, but he'd get right back up. I hope I'm that active when I'm his age."

As a kid, Isaac Lincoln, 37, ran track, a solitary endeavor. Soccer, he realized after joining the team, requires a collective mental grit.

"Being patient and persistent, don't complain or force things - these are the things we learned on the soccer field."

Given Lincoln's past - "it's been a long time since I worked" - he was touched when Oaks offered mentorship and his phone number.

"I just got a job last week," he said, beaming and grateful.

"I've written recommendation letters for students and athletes," the doctor explained. "Now I'm writing them for homeless men."

On Team Body and Soul, successes are tempered by struggles. One player got kicked out of the shelter and wound up in jail briefly after a bar fight. Still, the troubled man showed up at Oaks' City Hall ceremony wearing a coat and tie.

Soccer and recovery, Coach Oaks tells his players, aren't so different.

"Learn something from the loss, then win the next one," he instructs. "It's all up and down. That's what sports is about. That's what life is about."

Read her recent work at http://go.philly.com/yantkinney.