Will Burnham gritted his way on to the Florida State University football team as a walk-on back in 2011. Will was part of the 29-game program winning streak, 2013 Orange Bowl victory, and the 2014 BCS National Championship.
Will started his career path coaching college football after receiving his undergraduate and master's degree at FSU. Will is now in Blacksburg, Virginia as a Graduate Assistant for Virginia Tech's football program.
Sports Industry Journey:
Education
Bachelor's Degree | Marketing | Florida State University
Master's Degree | Sport Management
Career
Football Recruiting Intern | Florida State University
Student Assistant - Running Backs & Special Teams | Florida State University
Tight Ends Coach | UT Martin
RB/TE Coach Co-Special Teams Coordinator | Glenville State College
Defensive Backs Graduate Assistant | Marshall University
Special Teams Graduate Assistant | Virginia Tech
Twitter: @CoachBurnhamVT
LinkedIn: Will Burnham
This quote from Will stood out to me when we spoke, so I thought I'd share it before getting into the interview:
"You will stand out when you take on things others don’t want to do, and you strive to do them well."
Walking on to Florida State's football team.
It’s a little bit underwhelming. I was an average high school football player and I gritted my way to walk on to the team. I wanted to add value and I knew I was probably never going to be a game day contributor.
So that came in practice. I was the scout team running back every week and I took an obscene amount of pride in that. I would study the other teams running backs we were playing, and try to literally mirror them exactly as they were. Whenever I got a rep, I wanted to prove my position coach right [with his decision to put me in].
On not intending on becoming a football coach.
I never considered it because I thought it was out of reach and had no idea where to start. I was good at hosting recruits on visits and a lot of them started committing to the program (Florida State). So by the end of my senior year during finals week, coaches were on the road and my position coach called me and said “Have you ever thought about going into college coaching? I think you’d be really good at it. When I get back on campus let’s talk about how this could work.”
I always figured I’d go into business and then coach high school football down the road.
Don’t be afraid to start voicing what you really want.
While in one of the classes for my Master's program, my professor did an exercise where he asked us what our dream job was. We went around the room and you had people say they wanted to be commissioner of the NFL, someone wanted to own a Fortune 500 company, etc. Based on the apparent uncomfortability in the room, I realized that many people have rarely voiced their dreams to themselves, let alone to a group of people. I was guilty of that also, and it forced me to really iron out my professional goals.
[After doing that] I realized that you should not be afraid to start to voice what you really want. Don’t be afraid to dream as big as possible. Make it real with 5-10-15 year goals/plans. They say that God laughs at your plans so just be prepared to make edits along the way. Regardless, solid goal setting in the beginning will help motivate and focus you in the short term.
What is the book (or books you’ve given most as a gift) and why or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
I do a lot more reading now than I ever did in college. I try to rotate between a few subjects; personal, spiritual, sports and business. Whenever I suggest a book there are 3 that come to mind:
Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace - This book has really helped me define my faith.
Legacy by James Kerr - The all blacks rugby team in New Zealand have historically been one of the best rugby team in the world. It goes through the rules of their organization, how they practice, how they train and how their values shape their culture.
Good to Great by Jim Collins - This book is a deep dive into how companies make
the transition from good performance to greatness.
What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?
For me it would be the $15 per month I pay for Audible (audio books for Amazon). When I was at UT Martin recruiting, and after hours of listening to radio top 40 hits and calling family I decided to start listening to audio books.
The books I’ve read in the years since, have really sparked my growth to help shape my beliefs on culture and leadership. I make sure to take notes and referencing them from time to time helps keep that information fresh in my mind.
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours?
After two years of coaching tight ends at UT Martin, I took a job at a Division II school. I was there for five weeks and then one of my mentors offered me an Offensive QC position at Texas A&M. I packed up my stuff and moved to Texas. Unfortunately the position fell through.
At the time I was disappointed, but shortly after this fell through, I got a call from a guy I used to work with and he invited me to interview for a GA job at Marshall. I went there and it turned out to be a really great step in my career. One really cool thing about that [opportunity], was it allowed me to work with the defensive backs. I had always been an offensive coach so getting the opportunity to coach on the other side of the ball really grew my
knowledge of the game.
If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere in the world with anything on it – and you could get a message out to millions or billions – what would it say and why?
I would want it to say “Be better than yesterday”. As a world, if we can all say that we are a little bit better at the end of each day, then we will be able to accomplish a lot and live fully. Setting out to better yourself every day is crucial to being driven, persistent through struggle, and ultimately succeeding. I hope to impart this to the players I coach.
What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made? (Could be an investment of money, time, energy, etc.)
It’s hard to pinpoint one. Something my grandparents taught me is to invest in people. Buy into someone instead of something. Whether you're investing time, money or effort, invest in the people you believe in.
Is there an idea, belief, or trend in the sports industry (or your specific field) that you feel strongly about, that others may not agree with and think you're crazy for thinking/saying it?
I think that less can be more. There is a lot of evidence behind the fact that we can get more done in less time if we are focused.
In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
Taking notes. I amaze myself with how much I can’t remember without writing it down. That has significantly changed my production and my recall.
Once you get into a work environment and things get thrown at you during the day, the key to being considered dependable and trustworthy is writing things down and crossing them off. Most people in the world do not intentionally blow off responsibilities or obligations. They just forget. Writing things down
helps me organize and complete anything that is tossed my way.
What advice would you give to a smart, driven football student-athlete who is looking to start a career in coaching? What advice should they ignore?
My advice is to use your principles and your unique passion to motivate you instead of the pursuit of money. Many people are drawn to a career in sports because of the pay days they see on TV, when in reality most people never see that kind of money, or at least not for a long time.
Take some time to figure out why you are pursuing your particular career. What is your definition of success? What about leadership? What are the personal qualities you want to live up to every day? Why do you feel called to this profession? I suggest you spend time creating your own answers to those questions, type them up, and put them in a place where you see them every day. This exercise will help you as you start out and may not be making much money.
What are bad recommendations you hear in athletics or in your area of expertise?
I think it would revolve around resistance to change. In life, everything we have was new at some point. I think you’ve got to be open to adapting and growing with the times when it is appropriate.
What are some tips you have for building and maintaining relationships in the sports industry? (It could be with a recruit, mentor, co-worker, etc.)
The number one thing is you need to be yourself. It's common to spend too much time trying to emulate the people we admire instead of being authentic. When you decide to be yourself and play to your strengths, they’ll appreciate you more.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your 20-something year old self?
“Every expert was once a beginner”. There is comfort in that. Ask
questions, be open to learn, take on difficult tasks, grow through failure, and keep moving forward. We all have to start somewhere.
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