Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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18 SEPT. 23, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE O n the walk from pregame mass to Notre Dame Stadium before a game last season, then-fresh- man vyper Joshua Burnham caught something out of the corner of his eye. It was a seventh-grade kid from Tra- verse City, Mich., where Burnham grew up and went to high school. Burnham recognized him from a youth football camp at which he had volunteered, stopped walking toward the stadium and stepped over to high-five the young man and start a conversation. "He's just a seventh grader, a random kid," Doug Gle, a fellow Traverse City football parent and friend of the boy's parents, said. "The dad's like, 'It com- pletely made his kid's day.'" Gle's son's, Carter (a sophomore in high school) and Brady (an eighth grader) both worked with Burnham at Trojans football youth camps while Burnham was in high school at Traverse City Central, whose mascot is the Tro- jans. Brady Gle admires Burnham so much that he wears No. 8 because it was Burnham's high school number. Those stories might not seem like much. But those close to Burnham be- lieve showing up to any camp he had time for and following through in the community say as much about the sophomore linebacker-turned-vyper as his sack in the season opener against Navy did. "He always makes time for kids," Gle said. "You ask guys to volunteer and, as a leader, he was there," Central head coach Eric Schugars said. "He showed up and volunteered." GIVING BACK Burnham, like so many football play- ers in the United States, began his career in Pop Warner. His dad, Sean Burnham, said he made it a goal to give back to where it started. "He would help coordinate and run [Trojans football youth] camps — he wasn't putting it on, per se, but he'd always help, because he knows what started with him, because he's always wanted to be involved," Sean Burnham said. "He's always gravitated toward kids." Burnham was busy being a major col- lege prospect at linebacker (he moved to vyper early in his Notre Dame career) as well as Central's starting quarterback. But he helped out at camps whenever he could. Gle's brother has kids who also camped with Burnham. One of them, around fourth grade at the time, invited Burnham to their birthday party. Burnham, who often coached kids in that age range, showed up. He brought a friend and played sports with the at- tendees. "He was just a big kid with them, playing sports and having fun," Gle said. "He never had any hesitation to give his time to other people." "The kids have never had any qualms about reaching out and talking to him," Vicki Van Nes, another Traverse City parent, said. "He'll get right down and kneel on the ground and talk to them if he has to, because he is such a big guy." Van Nes' older son, Benjamin, has been good friends with Burnham for about 10 years. Her younger son, Nick, is a junior free safety at Central and has camped with Burnham in the past. Nick Van Nes was used to being around Burnham, because the families were close and the star linebacker and quarterback was like an older brother to him. But he saw the impact Burnham would make on those who weren't. "He was just super friendly with them and always willing to have fun with them," Nick Van Nes said. "I never saw him deny autographs or pictures. He was a super great person and always talked to the little kids." COMMUNITY LEADER One memory of Burnham sticks with his high school coach. MAKING TIME Joshua Burnham's passion for community service and working with kids has his hometown pulling for him Burnham tallied 7 tackles, including his first career sack, during the Irish's 3-0 start. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER