End of Fleet's ACU career marks beginning of new journey

TURLOCK, Calif. – When Tyler Fleet's final throw in the discus competition fell to the ground Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships, he clapped his hands together in disgust, stepped out of the ring and stared at the ground.

Just like that, his competitive athletic career was over.

About 30 yards behind him, his dad, former ACU football letterman Gary Fleet, struggled to keep his emotions in check. After all, Gary was reflecting on a lifetime of ballgames, track meets and athletic success shared with his son. And just like with Tyler, for Gary, it was all over when that final throw hit the ground.

"When you look back on something that you've done together since your son was a young boy, it's bittersweet," Gary said. "But we've been blessed beyond comprehension. You're upset for about five minutes, but then you remember the fun you've had and the relationship that's been built. And then you think about what he's about to do with his life, and that makes it all worth it."

Tyler Fleet will never set the football or track and field worlds on fire like he grew up thinking he would do as a young boy in Tyler. Instead, next Saturday he embarks on a greater calling when he joins five ACU friends for 15 months working with high school boys and girls in Nairobi, Kenya.

It's part of a project loosely based on the Young LIfe concept that Tyler grew to be such a part of while in Abilene. It's also something he never saw himself doing when he arrived in Abilene as a confident freshman in 2006.

"My priorities coming into ACU were track and field and football," Tyler said. "I had enjoyed some success in high school, and that was my identity. I liked being glorified for what I did on athletic fields. But the Lord has really been working on me during my time at ACU, and I've come to realize that it's not about me being glorified, but Him."

And so Tyler will leave Texas and his family and friends behind in a few days to embark on a journey in a foreign land where he knows virtually no one, hoping to do something he says he's wanted to do for a long time.

"I've always known I wanted to do something like this, but over the Thanksgiving break last November I really began to listen to what God was telling me to do," Fleet said. "I really started to think about whether I wanted to go to graduate school and do one more year of track, or if I wanted do what I felt like I was being led to do, and that was putting my focus on the Lord and serving Him."

Tyler will join ACU friends Jason Boone, Stephen Powell, Andrew Conway and Daley Niederhofer in Kenya where they will work at a Christian summer camp for the next couple of months.

"I'm really excited about the camp," Tyler said. "Andrew is from Nairobi and he's told us that non-Christians will send their kids to the camp because it's the only one available to them. That camp will be a great opportunity to share Christ with people, some of whom might never have heard His name."

During the school year, Tyler will work as a coach and a substitute teacher at a local high school in Nairobi, "building relationships with kids through athletics. Hopefully Christ will shine through me in everything that we're going to be doing over there."

In his speech to ACU students at the final Chapel service of the 2010-11 school year, ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert challenged students to do "something out of their comfort zone." Without even knowing that Dr. Schubert had challenged students with those words because, as Tyler said sheepishly, he wasn't there that day (sorry, Dr. Schubert), he's putting himself right in the middle of that challenge.

"I'm excited about doing something that not a lot of people take the opportunity to do, and do something outside my comfort zone," Tyler said. "I know what ministry in Texas looks like and it's easy to get complacent and think that's all we should be doing. But I'm looking forward to taking on this challenge and seeing how God can use us in Kenyta."

The miles between Tyler and Nairboi likely means that Tyler won't see his dad, Gary, or his mother, Brenda, for those 15 months. But until they see one another again, they'll all get by on the memories they've shared during the first phase of his life.

"When I look back on the things I've been able to share with my dad because of athletics and I think about how many hours we've been able to spend together as a family, I can't be upset, even though that part of my life is over," Tyler said. "We've grown as a family so much, and I couldn't be more proud to be doing something like this."

And it's that 180-degree turn in his life goals that has made Gary more proud of his son than if he'd won five national championships.

"During his time at ACU, we've seen his focus go to serving others, and I think that's what ACU is all about," Gary said. "When you send your child to ACU and that happens to them, then the school has done its job. I hope people continue to support the school and the athletics department and understand that this is what can happen when your kids are surrounded by the kind of people that lead our children at ACU."

Print Friendly Version