Day 1 - Once #FAMILY Always #FAMILY
It's Homecoming week and we are getting ready for the big game and festivities set for this Friday. There is a lot going on during this big MAC Red showdown between the Eisenhower Eagles and our Titans. We are excited to be having a White Out and we will also be recognizing some of our outstanding teachers for our Teacher Appreciation theme.
Homecoming gives us an opportunity to reconnect with our alums. It is an exciting time, for all, to see friends from yesteryear. In celebration of homecoming, the Titan Touchdown Club reached out to some alumni football players to see how things have been going since graduation. We want all our Stevenson players, current and former, to understand when you play football you are always part of the Titan football family! We welcome you back anytime and hope to see you this Friday!
Each day this week, we will highlight, some of our Stevenson football alums in our Once #FAMILY Always #FAMILY segment. Check back each day to see who we are featuring and GO TITANS!! BEAT IKE!! So, let's get at it and welcome a Stevenson football alum we all can be proud of!
Once #FAMILY Always #FAMILY
Today is a great day as the Titan Touchdown Club is happy to highlight one of the members of our #FAMILY, Joe Prout!
Joe Prout is a Stevenson Alumni who graduated in 1990 and had the pleasure to play under Coach Rick Bye from '88 - '89. You may remember Joe. He wore number 11 and was selected as a Dream Team All-State Wide Receiver his senior year.
Joe won many awards during his playing tenure at Stevenson. He was on the Detroit News Dream Team All-State, Detroit Free Press 1st Team All-State, and the AP & UPI First Team All-State. That is a lot of distinguished awards! But when Joe was asked about his favorite award, he mentioned: Winning the Macomb County Team of the Year over Eisenhower! GO TITANS!! BEAT IKE!!
Joe recalls that his favorite memory while playing for Stevenson was the Friday night games and running out on the field in the festive atmosphere of Titan Nation. The biggest impact that carried over into Joe's adult life is how Coach Bye instilled into him the desire to become better, "He pushed us to be better players and people." That same drive, he learned from Coach Bye, he now instills in his own players when he coaches soccer at Grand Haven High School.
After his playing days at Stevenson, Joe headed out to the west side of Michigan where he attended Grand Valley State University. Joe received a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and played football all four years. Joe was coached by another coaching legend, current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, for three of his four playing years.
There is a lot to be proud about when you hear about Joe! What is Joe doing these days? Well let's find out!
Joe currently works as a Bench Warrant Investigator for the Ottawa County Friend of the Court. Prior to his current job he was a Deputy with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office for 22 years. Joe also serves as the Vice President of the Ottawa County Deputy Sheriff's Association and the President of the Deputy David Steenwyk Memorial Scholarship.
Joe has been happily married for 23 years to Kathy and is proud father of Alexandria who recently graduated after attending both Bowling Green State University and Davenport University on a soccer scholarship.
To wrap things up, we asked Joe, if he was in the 2019 Stevenson Titans huddle and had to give the team advice what would he say, "I would tell them to enjoy the ride! There is nothing like the friendships and bonds you make with your teammates. It'll be over before you know it!"
Thanks, Joe, for being a great example of what it means to be a Stevenson Titan! Never forget Joe, that Once #FAMILY Always #FAMILY!
We would love to see you this Friday at 7:00 PM as the Titans take on the Eagles of Eisenhower at our homecoming game!
Hey Titan Nation, check back tomorrow for another feature on another Stevenson Titan football alum. Our next alum played back in the days of big hair, no internet, land lines, and played on a team that made it to the Pontiac Silverdome!
Guess who? Our lips are sealed so check back tomorrow!
Head on back to our website to see all the great things the Titan Touchdown Club does for our Stevenson Titans: www.stevensontitansfootball.com