I was listening to ESPN radio this morning and heard a great story about how Western Michigan’s football coach, P.J. Fleck, talk about how he surprised one of his walk-on players with the news that he was now a full scholarship player.
Walk-on players are there because they love the game. They start with no athletic scholarships, and rarely do they get awarded one during the academic career.
So to get one is a very big deal.
I love how Fleck describes walk-ons: “These kids are our backbone. They’re the ones who row the boat more than anyone else.”
Fleck is the youngest coach in the FBS. His past includes working as a sixth-grade social studies teacher. He credits that time for teaching him how to understand people and manage his classroom. He also learned how to deliver the same message, but in many different ways so that each individual ‘got it’.
Read the blurb and watch the video below to see how Coach Fleck made a memory for one (actually all) of his walk-ons (players)! 🙂
Fleck wrapped a scholarship note with a rubber band around a football to be used for an onside kick at practice, with running back Trevor Sweeney recovering the ball and being told to inspect it. The entire Broncos roster, in on the ploy, surrounded the 5-foot-8 Sweeney before he could even read the whole letter, lifting the junior up and down as he pointed to the sky and struggled to contain his emotions.
“He’s from Mattawan (Michigan), which is right down the street,” Fleck told ESPN.com. “He’s probably the most popular kid on the team, and he’s a 4.0 kid and he plays. He’s full special-teamer for us. Just a kick-butt guy, tough as nails and a really good player.”
“These kids are our backbone,” Fleck added of walk-ons. “They’re the ones who row the boat more than anyone else.”