Lancers in the Community: Two Students Empower Yankton Youth Through Football Coaching

At Mount Marty University, Lancers are all about community and service, and Clayton Byer '25 and Tyrell Klein '25 have found a way to share their time and talents with children from the Yankton community by assisting in coaching a junior football team.

This opportunity all started with a call from the Junior Football Head Coach, Zachary Hoover, to the Mount Marty Football Head Coach, John Michaletti, where Hoover asked for volunteers to help coach a team of fifth and sixth grade boys. "I thought it would be a great opportunity to try my hand at coaching for the first time as it is something I want to pursue in the future," said Klein. Byer was excited to work with the kids as he helped assist with coaching the previous year. "It's a lot of fun. In my opinion, this age all the way through high school is the purest form of football," said Byer. "There's no politics. There's nothing else involved. It's just going out and playing. So, it's a lot of fun to see in games and practices." The pair attend practices with the team on Tuesdays and Thursdays and football games on Sundays while navigating their own Mount Marty practices and night classes to make the obligation.

There is plenty of entertainment with these junior players. Byer said that in every practice, something goofy would come up, but sharing knowledge with these players also elicits some empowering moments. "There was this one play in practice where I got to help a player with his stance and how to really explode right out of it through the blocker," said Klein. "I loved seeing how well he took to the coaching and applied it right away on the next play."

Byer gets his coaching style from his dad. He added that the best coaches he's had were the ones that emphasized coaching how to be a good man later in life. Klein said during his time at Mount Marty, the core value of lifelong learning has always resonated with him and is something he hopes to take into coaching currently and in the future. "It reminds me that there really is something new to be learned every day, no matter how small. It also reminds me that knowledge is constantly being expanded upon and that having a closed mind will only ever limit you."

This Lancer duo is overjoyed to make an impact and give back to the community after all the resounding support they and the football team receive. "Getting involved in the community gives me a sense of connection to it," said Klein. "I get to see how I'm affecting it firsthand and just how many familiar faces I get to see just from taking another step into the community." Byer added, "It's awesome to see the support we [the Mount Marty football team] get. So, it's nice to give a little bit back."

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ABOUT MOUNT MARTY UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1936 by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, Mount Marty University is South Dakota's only Catholic institution of higher education. Located along the bluffs of the Missouri River in Yankton, with additional locations in Watertown and Sioux Falls, Mount Marty offers undergraduate and graduate degrees focusing on student and alumni success in high-demand fields such as health sciences, education, criminal justice, business, accounting, and more. A community of learners in the Benedictine tradition, Mount Marty emphasizes academic excellence and develops well-rounded students with intellectual competence, professional and personal skills and moral, spiritual and social values. To learn more, visit mountmarty.edu.