The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1153250
32 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK AL BYRD Life Coach When Al Byrd was a wide receiver and defensive back at NC State from 1986-90, he established a reputation on the team for being a go-to person to talk with. Byrd was reminded of that recently by a former teammate. "He said, 'You would always invite us over to the house and be around. We could always come and talk to you,'" Byrd relayed. Since 2013, Byrd has taken his natural people-per- son gifts into the role of life coach for the NC State football team. When Dave Doeren was hired for the 2013 season, Byrd was working what he described as a "mundane, 9-to-5 job." Doeren gave Byrd an opportunity to use his tal- ents with the Wolfpack football team. "What I try to do is just be available to all the student-athletes here," Byrd said. "Because of the po- sition, Coach Doeren has allowed me to be here at every practice and have a place to meet with guys. "I do a lot of one-on-ones. I travel with the guys on the team. … My role is to be here and present and be a place or person that they can come to when they need to." Byrd also works extensively with the families of the players. "I put a lot of effort into it," he added. "If there is something going on with the kid back home, if someone is sick or someone is not doing well, anything that is affecting that kid, I am going to try to step in." "When it comes to player development, and coaching development for that matter, getting ac- cess to someone like him has been really valuable," Doeren said. "If there is a player that has to have surgery Al goes to the hospital with the family and prays. It's just nice to have that part." Byrd also does work through the Triangle Fellow- ship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and anyone who would like to help Byrd in his mission is encouraged to go to TriangleFCA.org/SupportAl. — Matt Carter/photo courtesy Ken Martin wolfpacker spotlight