OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS I HAVE BEEN PUTTING TOGETHER FEATURES ON CODY BRONC ATHLETES CONTINUING THEIR ATHLETIC AND ACADEMIC CAREERS AT THE NEXT LEVEL. RECENTLY, I SAT DOWN WITH HEAD COACH OF THE CODY BRONC FOOTBALL TEAM MATT MCFADDEN. COACH MCFADDEN HAS COACHED CHARLIE BEAUDRIE, HUNTER HAYS AND DUNCAN RADAKOVICH FOR THEIR ENTIRE FOUR YEARS AT THE SCHOOL. HE GOES ON TO TALK ABOUT THEIR JOURNEY’S AND ALSO WHAT IS NEXT FOR CODY BRONC FOOTBALL.
COACH MCFADDEN WHAT IT’S LIKE TO SEE THEM MOVE ON TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
“ITS BEEN ONE OF THEIR GOALS FOR A LONG TIME AND JUST TO SEE THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT, NOT EVERYONE KNOWS HOW MUCH WORK THEY’VE PUT IN. WHETHER, IT’S IN THE WEIGHT ROOM OR AT CAMPS OR EXTRA CONDITIONING AND THEN THE ACADEMICS SIDE TOO. SO TO SEE THEM, TO SEE ALL THAT HARD WORK PAY OFF FOR THEM. I’M REALLY JUST PROUD OF THEM, I’M EXCITED FOR THEM. I’M GLAD THEY GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY ON.”
WIN IN THE DARK IS A MANTRA FOR THESE ATHLETES. DO THE HARD WORK WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING. NO ONE WORKED HARDER THAN THESE KIDS AND COACH MCFADDEN TOUCHES ON THEIR WORK ETHIC AND HOW THAT SETS THEM UP FOR FUTURE SUCCESS.
“WHAT SETS THESE GUYS APART IS REALLY THE WORK THAT THEY PUT IN AND THEY COULDN’T BE MORE TEAM ORIENTED GUYS. THAT WAS ONE OF THEIR GOALS BUT THEIR GOAL NUMBER 1 WAS TO HAVE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SEASON AS A TEAM AND THEY’LL BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU THEIR TEAMMATES HELP THEM WITH THESE SCHOLARSHIPS. JUST THE WORK THAT THEY PUT IN, THE DEDICATION TO IT. IT’S HARD. IT’S IN THE CLASSROOM, IT’S OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM AND IT TAKE A LOT OF PERSEVERANCE AND IT’S HARD. WE’RE IN SMALL TOWN WYOMING AND YOU’VE GOT TO BE ABOVE AND BEYOND TO SHOWCASE THOSE SKILLS. JUST SUPER PROUD OF THEM.”
ONE THING THAT THESE THREE AND THE MAJORITY OF CODY ATHLETES HAVE IN COMMON IS THEY’RE MULTI SPORT ATHLETES. COACH MCFADDEN IS A PROPONENT OF BEING A MULTI SPORT ATHLETE AND EXPLAINS WHY.
“I THINK RIGHT NOW THE WORLD NEEDS MORE OF IT. IF YOU LOOK AT ALL OF THE TOP PROGRAMS FROM D1 DOWN, THE BEST PRO PLAYERS, THEY’RE PLAYING MULTIPLE SPORTS. WE GET IN OUR HEADS SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO FOCUS ON ONE AND I THINK JUST THE OPPOSITE. WE NEED TO PUSH THESE KIDS TO COMPETE YEAR ROUND, PLAY DIFFERENT SPORTS, ENJOY BEING A KID. YOU MIGHT NOT BE GREAT AT ONE OF THOSE SPORTS BUT HAVE A FAVORITE AND THEN PICK TWO MORE AND GO ENJOY IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS.”
AS FOR WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE CODY BRONC FOOTBALL PROGRAM.
“WE’RE GETTING READY FOR NEXT YEAR AND WE’RE GETTING OUR NEXT YEARS KIDS READY IN THE WEIGHT ROOM AND THIS YEAR’S KIDS, THESE SENIORS WE’RE FOCUSING ON THEM. MAKING SURE THEY’RE DOING EVERYTHING ACADEMICALLY THAT THEY CAN FINISH. YOU KNOW THEIR NEXT BIG GAME DAY THAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT IS GRADUATION AND MAKING SURE THEY’RE IN A POSITION TO THROW THAT CAP IN THE AIR. SO JUST FINISHING STRONG AND THEN PREPPING FOR NEXT YEAR.”
STAY TUNED TO THE BIG HORN RADIO NETWORK FOR MORE ON CODY ATHLETICS. YOU CAN LISTEN TO MY FULL INTERVIEW WITH COACH MCFADDEN HERE.
