Tuesday morning, former Valdosta Wildcat, Georgia Bulldog, and New England Patriot Malcolm Mitchell visited Coffee High School for a reading rally with students from throughout the school system.
Mitchell was a standout football player at every level. Though he excelled on the field, he had his own struggles he dealt with, particularly with reading. When Mitchell enrolled at the University of Georgia, he knew is reading proficiency had to improve. What happened next has been well documented and sounds almost made up – a chance encounter at an Athens Barnes & Noble bookstore led Mitchell to the Silverleaf Book Club, a club made up of 40- to 60-year-old women in a suburban Athens neighborhood.
They welcomed Mitchell into their group and he became a dedicated member, meeting with the ladies throughout the remainder of his time at Georgia. In 2016, the New England Patriots selected Mitchell in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Even though he moved on to a bigger gridiron stage, he did not leave behind the love for reading that he developed through the attention, nurturing, and love shown to him by a group of suburban mothers and grandmothers in the Silverleaf neighborhood of Athens.
With a larger and more far-reaching platform as an NFL player (and, much to the chagrin of Atlanta Falcons fans, a Super Bowl champion), Mitchell started the Read with Malcolm – Share the Magic Foundation, through which he speaks to students across the nation. He stresses the importance of education and empowerment – all through the lens of literacy.
Mitchell is also an author, having published a book titled The Magician’s Hat. At the Coffee High Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, students received a copy of his book and participated in a program that included a magician, a live read-aloud, and a question-and-answer session. Through the entire event, Mitchell was very open about his personal journey. Literacy changed his life and, believe it or not, was a big part of why he succeeded in football at the University of Georgia and with the New England Patriots. Without improving his reading skills, his football career would have ended before it ever got off the ground.
During his career at Valdosta High School, Mitchell caught 116 passes for 1,485 yards and 11 touchdowns, according to 247sports.com. At Georgia, he caught 174 passes for 2,350 yards and 16 touchdowns. After battling injuries, he finished his senior season with 58 receptions for 865 yards and five touchdowns. He was named team Comeback Player of the Year. Mitchell played one year with the Patriots, playing in 14 games and starting six. He caught 32 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns. In Super Bowl LI, Mitchell caught four passes for 70 yards as he helped New England overcome a 28-3 second half deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime.
Mitchell’s visit to Douglas would not have been possible without the help of several community partners: The Douglas Lions Club, Douglas Rotary Club, Douglas National Bank, Lasseter Tractor Company, The Community Foundation of Coffee County, and The Community Foundation of Central Georgia. These partners provided students in the Coffee County School System with an unforgettable experience and a real-world example of the power of reading.
