Imagine what happens when you have a coach who genuinely cares and won’t give up on your future.
Wayne Schluchter, a 1978 Tech High School graduate, still gives back to the community that gave him so much by coaching Tech’s football team. In high school, Schluchter became a Tech football athlete who later went on to play football for North Dakota State University (NDSU) simply because he had a coach who wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“I always thought I was a basketball player,” laughs Schluchter. “It was always my dream to play college basketball. I had plenty of opportunities, but my football coach, Bill Predovich, said, ‘I’d really like you to talk to my former coach.'”
That conversation opened Schluchter’s mind to the possibility of playing football and basketball in college. Ultimately, he chose North Dakota State University where he was offered the opportunity to do both.
Although he showed up to play football and basketball, “I knew I’d never be in the NBA,” he says. “But I had a shot with football to go beyond.”
Schluchter finished his college years as a Bison football player.
“I owe athletics a lot,” he says. “It kept me in the classroom.”
Upon graduation, he signed a contract to play with the Minnesota Vikings and went straight to training camp. He trained all summer and moved to Minneapolis, but at the Friday night practice before the season opener game, he and three others were cut from the team.
“It was crushing,” remembers Schluchter. “But, you know, they said stay in shape because if we have an injury, you’re one of the first players we are going to call back.”
He didn’t give up after being told no and was later drafted into the USFL (United States Football League) signing with the Tampa Bay Bandits, but ultimately didn’t make the final cut. Falling back on his business and economics degree, he began selling cars at a Chevy dealership and then sold cars for six years in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Then one day Schluchter’s father called him and gave him an ultimatum: come home to take over his securities and investment business or the offer would go to Schluchter’s high school classmate and competitor, Marty Heine, who was selling cars locally at Miller Auto.
Schluchter moved back to St. Cloud a year later when his father retired and worked in the business for years. Eventually, he and another partner opened an independent company.
Everything Happens for A Reason
Schluchter believes there is a reason for everything and it’s one of the reasons he coaches Tech’s football team to this day.
He remembers that head football coach, Ron Kazcor, asked him to coach for Tech even if only as a part-time practice coach.
“After two weeks, I was [in] hook, line and sinker,” laughs Schluchter. “I went into my calendar and cleared everything. It’s been that way for 22 years.”
Kazcor is also the reason Schluchter eventually became a father, introducing him to out-of-state relatives who were able to facilitate the adoption process for his son.
“I share that because it is a major part of my life,” explains Schluchter, “but it’s [also] a little bit of the reason why I still coach. … Had I not played football and not had popcorn and a cup of soup one day with Ron Kazcor … I wouldn’t have started coaching at Tech. If I hadn’t started coaching at Tech, I wouldn’t have known Ron and I wouldn’t have met his brother-in-law. And then, Isaac wouldn’t have come into our life. So, I look at football and sports and the people who helped me go through that … and … I feel like I owe some things. I’m trying to pay it back, pay it forward and teach these kids some things that my coaches taught me that helped me throughout my life.”
Schluchter can’t imagine what life would be like if it wasn’t for Coach Predovich refusing to take no for an answer, or if Coach Kazcor hadn’t pushed for just a part-time commitment on his staff. But he knows that coaching is his way of showing student athletes they are safe and cared for and that giving back feels good.
Imagine that!
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