Wyatt Pertuset, who made history in 2018 by becoming the first openly gay college football player to score a touchdown, continues his football career as an assistant coach for a high school team in Ohio.
Pertuset returns to Elgin High School in Marion, Ohio, after a four-year career as a receiver and wide punter for Capital University in Ohio. He came out in 2017 and won acclaim in 2018 after catching a touchdown pass for what would be the first touchdown scored by a player who was publicly gay. His touchdown was featured on ESPN.
Pertuset, 22, is now a full-time assistant, but will transition to part-time when he begins graduate school at the University of Dayton in clinical mental health counseling. Her career goal is to become a clinical psychologist with her own practice.
He told me he was thrilled to be returning to Elgin, a small rural school, with his new football coach, Zack Winslow, “which made me want to really pursue a future with football in college.” . He added that “it will be nice to get back to my roots and help small town kids love and get ready for the game.” Pertuset attended Elgin before graduating from high school at North Union High School in Richwood, Ohio, about 15 miles away.
Pertuset is a rarity in the football coaching ranks in that he starts out being left out entirely as authenticity is important to him.
“It really means a lot to me to be able to coach the way I am because it allows me to really develop these kids to be the best players they can be,” he said. “I love that I can go back to a small school that’s mostly white and where they don’t have a lot of exposure to diversity.
“It will allow me to let players know that there are so many people from all walks of life who love the same sport they play and hopefully open their minds to think for themselves and create their own. own vision of life rather than what they have been asked to reflect. “
You can reach Wyatt Pertuset at instagram and Twitter.
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