Von Walker Gives Back to the Central Mountain Football Program
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – It’s hard to tell when all the coaches wear masks on the Central Mountain sideline during the cornavirus, but if you look carefully, you may spot among them a volunteer assistant who had spent more than a few Friday nights with great success on the Malinak Stadium turf not too long ago.
He is Von Walker, a Central Mountain grad who set a ton of school records in his four years on the Wildcat varsity and performed admirably as a four-year letterman at Penn State, where he served as captain his final two years with the Nittany Lions.
How did Walker, a 2016 Penn State graduate, come to prowl the Wildcat sideline this season? It was a trip that began in finance, his chosen field, in Hoboken, NJ earlier in the pandemic; this when the virus forced Walker and co-workers from their office to remote work from home. Since his New Jersey residential lease was up in June, and questions remained when there might be a return to normal in the workplace, Walker decided to relocate and reconnect with family and friends back in Clinton County for a spell.
He works in the financial industry with an asset management firm, Lord Abbett, his title is an advisor consultant. He said much of his work is educating financial advisors on market updates and how to allocate client’s assets.
Now able to work from home, Walker is temporarily back in Clinton County and football is again part of his life. He said he always wanted to be able to give back to the Central Mountain program after graduating from college: “I know personally how much I enjoyed my time playing high school football and I just wanted to make sure I could give that experience to the young men who are playing now.” He said that during a chance meeting with Wildcat coach Jim Renninger, he asked about helping out the team and Renninger said he loved the idea.
Coach Renninger said he is elated to have Walker contributing and the players immediately took to responding to what he tells them.
Walker recently answered a series of questions posed by therecord-online:
Q: What areas are you helping with? I really try and help out wherever I can; the team already has a great coaching staff that gets them ready throughout the week and during the offseason. I try to add the most value I can with the players and let them do their thing on the field.
Q: How do you like the experience? It has been a super rewarding experience for me. Since my last game at Penn State I’ve been wanting to get back on the field in one way or another. Just seeing the guys fly around and have fun is good enough for me.
Q: Would you consider coaching at some point in the future if the opportunity presented itself? It could definitely be a possibility for me but I think that would happen down the road someday. Right now I’m happy to be able to help out and be a part of the program as much as I can.
Q: And how is your knee holding up (after a season-ending injury in 2016)? Has it been difficult not to be on the field of play? Or are you still able to compete and if so, at what? The knee is great. The training staff at Penn State was incredible in getting me back to being healthy. I think everybody who has played in the past always wants to get back on the field secretly but i think I’ve done everything I could on the field and now I’m happy to be on the other side of things (coaching).
