The amazing Troy McAllister: Teacher and championship-winning football coach

There are many talented educators who also serve as exemplary athletic coaches. One of these is Troy McAllister. He is a teacher and football coach at Wendell Phillips Academy High School, a public school located on the southside in Chicago, Illinois.

Troy has been the coach of the Phillips Academy Wildcats since 2010. When he first took the job, only ten players were on the team. In the ten years since he assumed the helm, his teams have won two Call 4-A state championships. Currently, the Wildcats are currently ranked Number 93 in the High School Football America 100 national rankings.

But Troy does more for his players than simply teach them winning football plays. He set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to provide healthy pre-game meals for his players. “Due to the lack of funds, our school and our boys have pre-game diets that are either nonexistent or devoid of nutrition,” Troy described. “I am raising money to be able to buy food for our boys for pregame meals. It seems obvious, but having enough energy to play four quarters of football could mean the difference between making history or not. However, our kids do not always have that choice,” he explained. Through the fundraising site, the Chalkboard Champion was able to raise more than $5,300 towards his goal of $7,000.

For his work on the field, Troy garnered the 2018 Gatorade Coaching Excellence Award, a national award that recognizes the best coaches throughout the country.

To learn more about Troy, click on this link to an article about him published on USA Today.