Interviews

Published on May 28th, 2020 | by Percy Crawford

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New Utrecht Football Coach Wendell Fevrine Understands the Importance of Mentors

As a senior in college, Wendell Fevrine took his nephew, Jordan Paul in, and possibly saved his life.

Some of us never find our true purpose in life. It’s not always easy. However, New Utrecht football coach, Wendell Fevrine found his calling early on. After his father passed away in 1989, Wendell along with his brother became the caretakers of his mother who had medical issues. Caring for people became a calling for, Wendell who would later take in his nephew, Jordan Paul who Fevrine felt was surrounded by bad influences. Under the guidance of his uncle, Paul emerged as an All-State athlete in both football and basketball, went on to play college football and is currently in the German Football League while mentoring kids himself. Paul is one of many who’s life was impacted by the caring nature of Fevrine. Mentoring kids and seeing them pay it forward is the greatest reward, Fevrine explains. There is no better feeling than touching a young life that in turn touches other young lives.

Check out what, Coach Fevrine had to say about his football journey, the importance of positive influencers and the most rewarding part of his job.

Give us a little bit of information on your athletic background.

Wendell Fevrine: Coming up my mother didn’t let me play football. I’m the first American. My whole family is from Haiti. My mother didn’t let me play football and we didn’t really have money like that. I lived in the hood out in Brooklyn. So, she didn’t really have no money for football. She wasn’t going to let me play. My brother was like a street basketball legend in the neighborhood. We would just play ball like that and I started running track. I made Junior Olympics and all these different meets. My mother never let me go anywhere, so I would have to sneak away and tell her I’m at a cousin’s house or something, and I would be in South Carolina somewhere running a relay. Coming up, I would play street ball. They would play tackle football, the grown men on the block. All the drug dealers and those guys would just go to the park and play tackle football. I would play with them, but I was 12. I would be scoring like 5-touchdowns and breaking out.

So, one day I was playing against these high school kids. They were asking me what high school I was from. I was a 7th grader. They were like, “Oh shit!” So, they had me go to Utrecht High School, that’s where I coach now. And the day I went up there, there was a kid at the school that was getting recruited by Penn State. So, Jay Paterno, Joe Paterno’s brother was there. So, just seeing that whole vibe and seeing how recruiting went down, I was like, “Fuck this, I’m going to play ball here.” I ended up playing there. Started, did my thing. My senior year, I was getting recruited by a good 8 or 9 schools. By the third game of the year I had already had 600 yards. The fourth game of the year, right before the half, I get injured for the season. I had some wild ass fucking deep thigh bruise. I kept practicing on it and trying to play on it. I can’t remember the name [Myositis Ossificans]. They were talking about amputating my leg. I was like, “Oh shit, alright.” So, they told me to stay off of it. I had to sit out the rest of the year.

Were schools beginning to back off you?

Wendell Fevrine: Luckily, I still had 4 or 5 schools still on me. Florida was on me, Pace was on me, New Haven was on me and Rhode Island. There were a couple of schools that were still in the mix. The problem was, I was on crutches. I was walking around with a cane, so I didn’t go on none of these recruiting trips. I’m just talking to them and trying to keep them at bay because I didn’t want them to know that I could barely walk. I ended up signing with Pace all the way in August. I was only running for like 2-weeks at that point. I didn’t even know what was going on with my leg. So, I get in camp with Pace and I’m doing my thing. I still got my speed; I’m putting in work. We got into our scrimmage, I make a cut, I snap all the bones in my foot. Now, luckily, that was actually a blessing in disguise. Because my leg wasn’t even ready. I was probably only a month into running.

That’s probably why your foot shattered because it was carrying the bulk of the stress from your thigh being out of commission.

Wendell Fevrine: Exactly! That foot shattered. I was on crutches, had surgery, got a pin put in and all that good stuff. I did 2-years of rehab. On the flip side, my mother had Schizophrenia, so she was in and out of the hospital and everything. I had a lot going on at that time. I had a good friend who ended up dying, one of my best friends ended up dying. I had a lot going on at that time. Fought through all of that. Ended up doing my thing at the school, became a captain. I graduate and go to the regional combine. If you do well at the regional combine, then they invite you to Indianapolis. So, it’s not the regular combine that all the top players go to. But it’s like a supplementary draft type deal. I went to that combine, did my thing. They had 18-NFL teams there. I get connected with the CFL; the Montreal Alouettes. They had 3-running backs under contract at that time. They had Autry Denson and a couple of other dudes. They had me on some waiting list, so I’m sitting there waiting on them, and European teams at that point hit me up. And the Arena Football League hit me up. I’m really a running back and not a receiver. I couldn’t sit and play that waiting game with the CFL, so I ended up going to the Arena League.

It’s been quite the journey.

Wendell Fevrine: Yeah man! I went through that minor league football circuit. And my big thing was, if I’m not in the league and have a contract by 26 or 27, there are no real 27-year old rookies in the league. There are not a lot of real opportunities for running backs at that age. Also, I had just took my nephew in.

This was a critical part of your life. So, you have your nephew now as well.

Wendell Fevrine: Yes! That was my senior year of college. I took my nephew in because I had a lot of family members involved in some foul shit. I had family members in and out of jail and in gangs. When I would come back home, he would know all the handshakes and I was like, “No!” So, I talked to his parents and I took him in. I’m going back and forth playing Arena ball in Texas. I figured then, If I’m not signed by the NFL or CFL, I’m going to make sure he’s on point. After that year of Arena ball, I ended up getting traded. I came back home, and I started teaching. I started teaching just to make ends meet and to keep an eye on him. The Daily News did an article on us, he ended up going All-State in basketball and football. He went on a full ride to Gardner-Webb. But Gardner-Webb coach got fired. He ended up transferring to Charleston. He’s playing in Europe now. They have cancelled the GFL [German Football League] season right now because of this virus.

His name is Jordan Paul. A little direction goes a long way.

Wendell Fevrine: He’s a real good kid. Right now, he’s 27, he’s working at a youth center, working with kids, grinding. I’m real proud of him.

Senior in college, some would say the best times of your life, yet, instead of partying and living it up. You take your nephew in. What made that priority in your life at that moment?

Wendell Fevrine: The blessing was, it wasn’t just me. My mother and my brother. All three of us was holding it down. We as a team took him in. what happened is, my mother was sick. My pops died in ’89. So, me and my brother took care of my mother for a long time, so I always had that in me.

I have been a part of mentoring programs. How important is that to have mentors in place for young men and women?

Wendell Fevrine: I think it’s essential. It’s very necessary. Even with making it to the league, they don’t understand that… they treat it like it’s the lotto. So, if they don’t go to the league they think it’s nothing. If they don’t get a record deal, they think it’s nothing. They need a mentor to fill in the blanks. Use the sports to stay out of trouble, and you could be a fireman. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. Be a plumber, there ain’t nothing wrong with that. They don’t understand that they can be successful without being on TV. When they see you in that mentor role and you’re not the dude that’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and you’re successful and they see you as successful, and you were a beast and legend in whatever sport you played. It makes them realize they can be whatever it is and still have an impact on lives. They need the mentor just to fill in the blanks. There is no shame in having an honest job.

You’re coaching at the school where you gained your name. Is this the dream job for you?

Wendell Fevrine: It’s a blessing. At this point, it ain’t even about m no more. I don’t even think about my playing career. I just like working with the kids. That’s just my purpose. I’ve been around these kids so long, longer than I played there. That’s my focus. Just seeing these kids get through. One of the kids that I coached, he just turned 30. He’s from the same projects as, Stephon Marbury in Coney Island. He came from nothing. He’s gotten into teaching. He’s a paraprofessional in the schools. He just started his own youth football team. He just got an award from one of our councilmen from what he’s doing out in Coney Island with the kids from those projects. Watching him give back and do the same things, that’s what it’s all about.

Is that the most rewarding part of what you do? Seeing them aspire to keep what you have done moving forward.

Wendell Fevrine: Yes! Watching them do it for another kid. Watching them take the lesson that you taught them and seeing them pay it forward and teach it to another kid. To see them pay to forward to another kid is real. When I sit back and I see my nephew now and I see him help kids or the other kid [Allen McFarland] helping kids, that’s dope.

Keep doing your thing out there, bro. We need more people like you.

Wendell Fevrine: I definitely appreciate it, man.

 

 



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