Newspapers / Elizabeth City State University … / May 5, 1989, edition 1 / Page 12
Part of Elizabeth City State University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
The Compass Friday, May 5,1989 The Ultimate Walk-On Story Wilde waiting for chance in NFL By Chad Allen hat do you want to be when you grow up? Most of us have for gotten our answers to such childhood questims but not Bill Wilde. His dreams of being a profes sional football player still linger. Wilde,acriminal justice majorwho will graduate in May, hopes that some National Football League team will give him a shot. “All I want is a chance,” he says. “If things don’t work out, I’ll sur vive.” The Rutherford, New Jersey na tive who grew up in the shadows of Giants Stadium did not expect to be drafted. Instead, he Hxed his sights on being invited to a mini-camp. A good showing at a mini-camp could earn him a trip to training camp and from there a possible place on an NFL ros ter. Wilde will be gettng his NFL chance May 11 when he has a try-out with the New York Giants. WUde, a 6’3" 210 lbs. pure dropback quarterback says, “I think I can play at another level. I am await ing the upcoming NFL draft with hopeful anticipation.” “He’s a top notch field general,” say:, former ECSU Coach Thurlis Little. "Wilde has progressed over the last four years in many areas. First, there was the adjustment from high school to college. On the field the players were bigger and faster. Off the field, being away from home at a predominantly black school took con siderable adjusting." “I felt like I was on an island. I ran upaphonebillexceedingonehundred fifty dollars my first month here,” said Wilde. “My first year I tried to learn all I could, on the field and in the class room.” He began his freshman year as the seventh string quarterback and was entertaining the thoughts of leav ing but after listing the pros and cons decided to stay. Wilde is quick to admit that ECSU's new head football coach Johnnie Walton played a big part in his decision to stay. Walton, a former NFL quarterback, made a strong impression on Wilde. “I remember one day during prac tice a quarterback needed a hands-on demonstration of how a particular pass should be thrown,” said Wilde. "With out warming up, Walton said let me show how it’s done, then proceeded to throw what Wilde described as a missile to a downfield receiver. That impressed me, I knew right then this guy could help me.” After the first year Wilde seemed to have a new direction and purpose. He worked hard in the off season and Photo by Chad Aten Even when resting at home, Viking quarterback Bill Wilde, twiddles around with the old ‘pigskin’. was determined to make it By the start of his sophomore season he was the starting quarter-back. For the next three seasons he held that position, being named All-CIAA northern di vision. His junior year saw him throw for 1,829 yards along with 14 touch downs. He finished the year second in the conference for passing yardage. As the 1989 season began Wilde and Coach Little had hopes of a 2,000 yard season but a nagging toe injury all but drained these hopes. Wilde, as well as Walton, admits that the last four years have been filled with ups and downs. If anyone is qualifi^ to predict the possibilities of Wilde making the NFL, it is certainly Walton. “I enjoyed working with Bill dur ing his first two years. He is a very talented football player who possesses considerable knowledge of the game. If given the opportunity, I think he will do well,” stated Walton. When asked about his last four years Wilde tells of everything from being showered with oranges, hav ing an opponent attempt to bite off his thumb, and being the target of some very creative racial slurs. Wilde is quick to point out, however, that ra cism was never a concern of his on the field. "I was brought up in a house where there wasn’t any prejudice,” said Wilde. “Color is inside out. To me, it’s what is inside that counts.” After coming from a very success ful high school program he naturally wishes the Vikings had taken more trips to the win column but he believes the experiences he’s been exposed to have only helped him as a player and person. One day he hopes to co-author a book about his four years at ECSU. Even though Wilde is optimistic about his chances of playing in the NFL he is also capable of dealing with the idea of hanging up his cleats. Once heralded as the ultimate walk- on story by Coach Little, Wilde has dealt with adversity as well. Bill lost his father when he was in the eighth grade. His dad’s unexpected death at the age of thirty-four gave him a new perspective on life. “It made things such as being a white quarterback in a predominantly black school seem minute in compari son,” he said. “My father wanted me to be the best that I could be. I remem ber him taking me to Jet’s games at Shea Stadium. My dad was a big fan of Joe Namath and I was a big fan of my dad. My mother has also been one of my most important motivational forces. She is the toughest woman I know and at the same time my best friend.” The ultimate walk-on story contin ues May 11. Hopefully it will involve a chapter which speaks of a quarter back named Bill Wilde joining other ECSU alumnus such as Reggie Lang- home and Tim Cofield in that football fraternity we refer to as the NFL. iPH \ Photo by Pedro Hol^ As former football coach Thurlis J. Little looks on, Viking quarterback Bill Wilde practices ‘the snap’ befo the Fish Bowl. MS III cadets Doing more by 7 a.m. than most people do in a day By Miracle Perry ECSU’s MS III cadets who par ticipate in the Army Reserve Offi cers’ Training corps do more by 7 a.m. than most people do all day. From August through May, the MS III cadets undergo vigorous training everyday and seldom have any week ends free. They train in various train ing spots training on the five evalu ated areas needed to successfully complete Advance Camp. The five evaluated areas are land navigation, basic rifle marks-manship (BRM), tactics,physical training (PT), and job performance. Land navigation is using a com pass, map, and protractor to go from one point to another. BRM is teaching the four basic fundamentals of marks manship, which enables the cadet to become expert shooters. Military tac tics are the maneuvers used in peace and wartime military practices. PT consists of exercising and de veloping the body so that it will with stand any of the rough training; and job perfonnance is the rating of the cadets job performance in any of the leadership positions. The training stations are in North Carolina and Virginia. At Ft. Bragg the cadets are trained in day and night land navigation. At Forty Story, Vir ginia the cadets are trained in land navigation and tactics. At Ft. Eustis cadets are trained in land navigation, repelling, BRM, and tactics. A.P. Hill is where the cadets conduct BRM training. Ft. Pickett serves as the fi nale of a long years work, so the cadets train in all five evaluated areas for 2 1/2 weeks before Ad-vance Camp. Students receive local training at ECSU and Norfolk State Univers-ity, which offers seminars through-out the year for the cadets. Many of the cadets say that the training takes a lot of time, but in the end it is rewarding. “1 am always with the cadets and cadre of the ROTC program, so I never have time for my girlfriend ,” said one MS III cadet. “So I made ROTC my girlfriend.” All of the training is not necessary, because “Even at training you can do nothing, but what you do depends totally upon you,” said Patrick Sulli van, a MS 111 cadet. A typical day on a weekend train ing exercise would be very hectic because at 5 a.m.-5:l5 am first call (morning wake-up call) comes, 5:15- 6:00 is personal hygiene, 6:00-6:45 is barracks maintenance, 6:45-7:00 is travel to the dining hall, and breakfast is from 7:15-8:00. The rest of the day is spent in such diverse areas as weapons training, tactics, tests, and reviews. Basketball star Galvin Walker killed in automobile accident By Mark Morris ECSU basketball star Galvin Walker died instantly Wednesday, March 29, after his car hit a mud puddle in a curve and skidded into a field. The accident occured in Cur- rittuck County, less than a mile from his home. As the shock wears off from the death of Walker, what remains is concern fn- those he left behind. While many are still asking “Why Galvin?,” others are already won dering how Walkers’ absence will affect the play of the ECSU basket ball team for the 1989-90 season. “This is something I think we have to deal with. As a coach, I will help them work through it,” said Claude Mackey, ECSU bas ketball coach. In the 1988-89 season, Walker, who was a starting guard for the Vikings, registered 215 points, 74 rebounds, 47 assists, and 38 steals. Walker was fourth on the team in scoring during the CIAA tourna ment, averaging 10 points in the Vikings’ three game effort. Aside from Walkers’ contribu tions on the court, the loss of Galvin, known as “G” to his peers, will have an impact off the court as well as on the court, Mackey said. “Very seldom, on a ball club, do you have one person who every body has a special feeling for,” said Mackey. “Galvin was that kind of player.” “You really can’t say anything but nice things about him,” said Andre Smith, News and Sports Information Director for WRVS. “He was a perfect gentleman, very well-mannered. He was always willing to give a friendly greeting.” Viking point guard and floor general James feifon will dedicate next season to the memory of Walker. “I’m going to do more than I did last season,” said Eaton. Mackey said he will hold a “death and dying session” to help team members deal with Walkers’ death. Still, it seems, that the key to everyone dealing with the death of Mr. Galvin K. Walker is time Photo by Leamon Pearce Despite this busy schedule, soi® selected cadets also have night i such as Command Quarters duty (CQ and Fire Guard duty, Fire guard dut) runs on a rotating shift for 1 hour, from 11:00 until 5:00. CQ duty njns from 11:00 until 5:00 for 2 to 2 1/1 hours long. “It’s rough and it takes a lot time, plus you never have enougl time for your other studies, therefort you have to make time,” said Danyt Brown a MS III cadet. “But thq (ROTC Officials) don’t seem to real ize that.” Is the training valuable? “Yes”, commented Stephanie Boulding, a MS HI cadet, “because as a black female you must know yoiu job better than everyone else, there fore the training is valuable becauseii Uains you to do just that.” “It’s a lot of work and we (women) need the extfa work,” said Linda Foster, a MS III cadet. “If it is whal you want, go for it.” “The training is equal, but we (females) don’t benefit from it be cause wo can’t go into certain fieliis such as Infantry, said Karen Pickilt,* MS III cadet. “Therefore that is itie whole problem. We train equal-ly, bui! don’t qualify equally.” MS III cadets say they reap many rewards from the training. “I fol ROTC has brought out qualities in roe I never realized I possessed,” saiii Shawn Everett, a MS III cadet. “Al though the training is vigorous and time consuming, it will pay off in tlK end when it’s time to for me to be come a female officer in a males Army,” added Everett. “It was fun my first two years, bul the MS III year should be constructed a litUe bit different to give us (cadets) a chance with our social lives as Jun iors in college.” “It is too demanding and serious minded,” commented one MS B cadet. “ROTC did not give me leader ship, but it did enhance my leadership abilities through all of this training," said Tony Dawson, a MS III cadet. “It’s a real good program,” said Kevin Brown, a MS III cadet, “they prepare you for life, but the bar on your shoulder doesn’t make you 2 good leader. A good leader a good follower and some of us still ^n’t that, even with all of this train ing.” These MS HI cadets have not only good military backgrounds, but gooi academic backgrounds as well. “The time is limited, hours arelonS and hard, but the payoff in the end is high,” said one cadeL
Elizabeth City State University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 5, 1989, edition 1
12
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75