Living the Dream

On the outside Owen Zechman appears as a man among boys; a giant who bench presses mountains, but on the inside he is merely just a teenager who wants to play high school football his senior year. Owen attends Midd-West High School whose football program risked being discontinued last year when the Juniata County School District decided to end the 16-year co-op football program with Midd-West. This decision would force over 100 disappointed students to cease playing the sport they loved, but it mattered the most to their star player and captain Owen Zechman. After a marvelous junior season last year, the coaches honored him by selecting him to the Tri-Valley League All-Star 2nd team as both a tight end and defensive end. Not only did Owen receive this grand award, but he also earned a scholarship to play football for the Division 1 college, the University of Delaware. Disappointment coursed through Owen's veins when the thought of not playing football engulfed his mind, but who could blame him? Football is Owen's addiction and all he wanted in life was a chance to play it.

Owen stares gallantly before the game

I've never seen such a prominent display of joy than on March 8, 2018 when the glorious news dropped stating the NFL chose Midd-West as one of the selected high schools by the NFL's Kick Start Program. Hugs, high-fives, chest bumps, and ear-to-ear grins filled up the football players like water in a fish bowl. Once the news of getting a football team escaped, it spread like a wildfire. "Did you hear that we are getting a football team?" was being exclaimed more than the ever-famous "Kiki, do you love me?" Drake line. The NFL uses the Kick Start Program to help selected high schools commence their football programs. The NFL will pay coaches, provide uniforms from Nike, and supply equipment such as Riddell helmets, all for three years. When Owen found out the news he was as ecstatic as a kid in a candy store and raved about the exciting news, "It was like a dream come true and I couldn't believe it. Wow, just wow!" Instead of wondering if Midd-West would have a football team, Owen could finally think about the team itself and the upcoming season, "I'm so excited and so ready to go," Zechman shares. For someone who wants to continue their playing career after high school, this placed Owen in a literal heaven and he gratefully confesses, "I started playing football as a Midd-West Mustang and being able to end it as one is pretty amazing. God is truly good." Owen's excitement meter brimmed when Midd-West finally had a team, but what he found out later made the meter overflow. 

Owen sprints up the field with the ball after making a catch

All of the seniors at the Steelers train

As part of the NFL's Kick Start Program, the Midd-West football program received the chance to meet their sponsor team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers invited the team to the NFL team's training camp. The Midd-West players not only watched their idols train, but they also listened to speeches and meet their idols too. Owen especially wanted to meet wide receivers, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown, who led the team through a cheer at the end of the visit. "It was an amazing experience because I'm a die-hard Steelers fan." Owen explains ensuing the breathtaking visit. A question arose concerning motivation after the Steelers visit for Owen and he reports enthusiastically that his motivation has grown exponentially, "Yeah for sure, one part that stuck out to me was a speech about Hines Ward that made me think, I need to be better then good, I need to be great!" Seeing all of the dedication, time, and hard work the players put in made Owen want to succeed, but as Owen reveals later, having motivation doesn't automatically make you great, but the hard work and endless training you put in does.

When talking about hard work with Owen, he emphasizes the general perception of hard work by acknowledging it does suck, but that it is necessary if you want to reach greatness. Owen has played football for his entire life and can recall many late nights of practice and the countless hours spent in the weight-room. He hasn't gained his body-builder, 245lbs of muscle physique by eating chips and watching television all day. Owen praises watching game film and accredits his advanced football techniques to it. Aside from game film, he spends much of his time at the weight room, or what he likes to call his second home, "Watching game film improved my technique, but a lot of the magic occurred in the weight room just getting stronger." If you could put a bed and a refrigerator in the weight room, I'm 100% positive Owen could make living there work. Talking with Owen, you get a sense that only the beginning of his illustrious football career has begun. The fact that dedication flows through him like water in a stream at this young of age, rockets him on a b-line towards greatness. Oh, and did I mention he's already a whopping six foot, four inches!!! If you compare Owen's size to a pro defensive end's of six feet, four inches and 250lbs, you can see he already matches with an NFL player's size. Excellence and Owen go to together like peanut butter and jelly and I can't wait to see what his life has in store.

The Mustangs stampede into their first home game ever!

Football has helped mold Owen into the person he is today and it will continue to mold him even after high school. Owen, a senior in high school, plans on playing Division 1 football at the University of Delaware after he graduates, but does not completely know yet. Other colleges on Owen's list include Liberty University and Temple University, who both have a Division 1 football program. Although Owen does not yet have a college decided, he attends on majoring in lower education. In life, not only does Owen want to succeed, but he wants to help those around him succeed as well, which sparked his inspiration of becoming a teacher. I have personally known Owen for many years and can say without a doubt, he would make a great teacher because he is a great person. If Midd-West High School did not receive help from the NFL through the Kick Start Program, they would not have a football team and no football team would have limited Owen's chance of living his dream.