Mark Schlereth sheds light on upcoming Semoball Awards keynote message

When Mark Schlereth answered his phone, he was on the way to the airport, where he'd soon be in the air and on his way to Tampa Bay, Florida, to help his son, Daniel, pack up his things before he -- "he" being Dad -- drove the younger Schlereth's car on a 20-hour road trip to Manchester, New Hampshire. That's where Daniel is suiting up for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

This -- more than anything he accomplished during a 12-year, Super Bowl-winning NFL career or as an ESPN personality on both radio and television or an actor or founder of a chili sauce company -- is what he relishes. He is a father, and a father of a former first-round MLB draft pick.

"It's rewarding," Schlereth said. "When everything goes well it couldn't be better. You're so proud and it's so exciting. Obviously when things don't go well you just want to love on them. You never quit being a parent.

"I think it's one of the hardest things in the world as a parent and as a former athlete, when they don't perform there's nothing you can do. Your natural inclination is to keep them out of harm's way. ... I look at him and still see 5-year-old chubby cheeks. You never quit parenting. ... You feel helpless as a parent. There's nothing you can do. That's incredible."

There's been a lot of incredible in Schlereth's life, and a lot of lessons he's learned along the way. He'll share those as the keynote speaker at the Third Annual Semoball Awards on July 9 at Southeast Missouri State's River Campus.

Schlereth said he believes his childhood in Alaska has a lot in common with life for young athletes in Southeast Missouri, out of the public eye. He dreamed of the NFL since the age of 12 and refused to give up on that dream. When only two colleges bothered to give him a chance -- Hawaii and Idaho -- he chose the latter and continued to work. When injuries forced him to retire as a college junior, he kept working and found a way back on the field. When scouts showed interest in other players and not him, he'd show up at their pro days and beg for a chance to show what he could do.

In the end, it got him drafted in the 10th round -- a round that doesn't even exist anymore -- and got him into camp with the Washington Redskins. It wasn't until then things seemed less like a dream and more like reality.

"When I get drafted in the 10th round out of Idaho, oft-injured and retired, their first draft pick was a guy by the name of Tracy Rocker, who won the Outland Trophy [in college]. Tracy was a really good football player, but we got into camp and we have 1-on-1s, full speed no pads -- that's how you played -- and I did more than hold my own. At that point, I saw guys who had been around for eight or 10 years and I said, 'Shoot, why can't I?' ... At that point I had enough confidence to say, 'Why not me?'"

He went on to win three Super Bowls -- one with Washington and two with the Denver Broncos -- and was twice a Pro Bowl selection.

Outnumbering the accolades, though, were the surgeries -- 29 to be exact. After his 15th knee operation, he realized there was no market for an aging, injured offensive lineman and decided to shift his career in another direction.

"I started kind of working on 'post career' maybe my last year or two of playing, and it wasn't so much working toward a post career, but I've always been fairly social and I've always enjoyed speaking -- whether it was junior high or high school or college or corporate events," Schlereth said. "I really enjoyed that ... and found I had kind of flair for it.

"I really became the presentation guy in college. Nobody wanted to get up in front of the class to present, and I always had this flair for being in front of a group. You always have initial butterflies, but I always found that when I got up, I was on point and could entertain and speak, and then everyone wanted me in their group. I got through college with everyone else doing the work and I just presented it."

It's a unique field for someone with dyslexia who didn't learn to read until he was 7 years old, but Schlereth moved from the field into the radio and television studio, doing work on Denver's local radio station as well as appearing on ESPN's NFL Live TV broadcast, eventually spending time on his own national ESPN Radio broadcast.

He stepped away from that a year ago, committing himself to local radio in his home city of Denver.

"I got out of the national radio because I didn't want to have to talk NBA basketball every night. I didn't want to have to talk about LeBron James every night. That was exhausting to me.

"The biggest part of me leaving the national show is I am a creature of the morning, so getting up and doing a 6 a.m. show is a layup for me. I hated missing dinner with my family and seeing my granddaughter, so it was just something from a lifestyle standpoint."

No matter where he's popped up, Schlereth has brought an old-school point of view that some have loved and some have hated, but he has always stayed true to his opinions and his preparation.

"I find that if you just tell the truth, 50 percent of the people will be happy and the other 50 percent will be pissed off," Schlereth said. "The truth is inflammatory enough."

He also has an undeniable passion for football and for the camaraderie of the team. In his playing days, he'd have card games going on for years with teammates, trainers and team staff. Now he tries to fill that void by showing up at the studio a few hours early to chat with his co-hosts and studio personnel.

He believes he's found his niche and figured out how to maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses.

"I'm looking at four or five key words and I can give you a 10-minute soliloquy on whatever it is, but if you give it to me in paragraph form I'll stumble around and look like an idiot," Schlereth said. "I kind of stay in my lane."

In July, his lane will bring him to Cape Girardeau, where he'll stay true to the things he's learned about himself and life, and offer a reminder that for all the things he's accomplished -- he's just like everyone else who works for a dream.

"I just loved the game and was passionate about it and fell in love with it from really watching the Steelers," Schlereth said. "I did an event with [Pittsburgh great] Mel Blount last year, and I think I'm like any other fan. I fall back into I'm literally 12 years old. 'Oh my God, that's Mel Blount.' He said, 'Hey Mark, how are you?' Outside, my presence, I was like, 'Hi Mel, good to meet you.' Inside, I was [singing], 'Mel Blount knows my name, Mel Blount knows my name.' I'm still fan.

"From the time I was 12 years old, it became my dream to play in the NFL. It was one of those situations I just refused to give up on that dream even when the odds seemed insurmountable."