Bishop Chatard graduate hosts inaugural football camp
Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Ryan Baker, No. 90, runs out on the football field before a 2009 game. A 2004 graduate of Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis, he will return to his alma mater on June 26 to lead the inaugural Ryan Baker Football Camp. (Photo courtesy the Miami Dolphins)
By John Shaughnessy
The memory of playing in his first National Football League game is a powerful one for Ryan Baker, but there’s another time that draws an even more emotional response from him.
It happened when he was 10 and his older brother, Stephen, was a senior on the varsity football team at Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis.
“When my brother practiced on that field, I’d go out there and grab a football and run around or hit a [blocking] sled,” Baker says. “My brother was eight years older than me, and I was looking up to him and his teammates more than they ever knew. I watched every single move of those football players. They were my role models.”
Fifteen years later, the defensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins will return to the Bishop Chatard football field on June 26 to lead the inaugural Ryan Baker Football Camp. Nearly 250 fifth- to eighth-grade students are scheduled to take part in the camp—which is already closed to registration—and Baker has no doubt that their youthful eyes will be focused on him.
“Now, those kids will be looking up to me,” he said in a phone call from his home in Florida where he is preparing for his second season with the Dolphins. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to show them the way to be successful, and to live their dream—for whatever they want to do in life.”
Baker shared those thoughts during a recent interview with The Criterion. Here is an edited version of that conversation with Baker, a 2000 graduate of St. Pius X School in Indianapolis, a 2004 graduate of Bishop Chatard High School and a 2009 graduate of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
Q. What led you to have a football camp for grade school players?
A. “During rookie orientation last year, they handed us these big binders. There was a flyer about how the NFL provides a small grant for football camps. I thought, ‘Wow! How cool would that be?! I would love to do that!’ But you have to be an NFL player to do the camps. I was on the practice squad. The camp was something I wanted to do, but I wasn’t on the team roster. I kept fighting and fighting to get on the team. Once I did, one of the first things I said was, ‘Hey, I can do the camp now.’ I wanted to give something back.”
Q. What will it be like for you to have the camp on the same field where you played football games for St. Pius School, and where you practiced for Bishop Chatard High School?
A. “I’ve been playing on that field ever since I was a little boy. Some days, there would be massive puddles of water on the field. Then it would be blazing hot with clouds of dust from the toughest dirt I’ve ever played on. That field has always provided me with a fun place to play football. It’s got character. That field has built a lot of character in me. So have the people at Chatard.”
Q. What stands out to you from your four years of playing football at Bishop Chatard?
A. “It would have to be a couple of things. One, the amount of work we put in—lifting, conditioning, watching film. We worked harder than anyone else. That’s the foundation that I live my life on now. You have to outwork anyone and everyone to get to where you want to be.
“The second thing would be the people there. Great coaches and teachers who care about you. Everyone there is like family. You don’t get that at all schools. At Chatard, you do. That’s another reason I’m coming back to do the camp at Chatard. It’s my family, and that’s what you do for your family.”
Q. What do you hope the campers learn during the camp?
A. “First, I want them to have fun. It’s a free camp for these kids. Times are tough right now. People are struggling, and you have to watch your money. I want to make sure every kid has the opportunity to play football on that field. They’re going to get a T-shirt. They’re going to get fed, and there will be some awesome prizes. There will be other NFL players there as well so they can get autographs.
“There’s going to be about 14 drills. Each kid is going to learn each position on the field. A huge offensive lineman will learn a quarterback’s three-step drop. And a quarterback will have to learn to drive-block. It’s the importance of learning every position. I started playing at Purdue [University] as a tight end, and now I’m playing defensive line for the Dolphins.”
Q. When you talk to the campers, what will you stress?
A. “I live my life by hard work and leadership. I have a blue-collar approach, that mentality—respecting your coaches and teammates and everyone in the organization. Teamwork, hard work and leadership are huge.”
Q. What stands out to you from your first year in the NFL?
A. “When I got here with the Dolphins, I had to work harder and harder every day. I’ve never worked so hard. When I finally made the team, we played against Buffalo that week. I remember running out on the field. I got a sack, and I played well. Working so hard and seeing it come true was just awesome. I still have that feeling playing every day.”
Q. How did your faith help you through the ups and downs of your first pro season?
A. “It’s kind of difficult to talk about my faith. It’s real personal. But I can tell you one thing: It’s the absolute foundation of my life.”
Q. Is there anything else you want to mention about the camp?
A. “My fiancé Susanah [Acheson of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis] doesn’t like to be recognized, but she has put in hours and hours with this camp. She and I have done everything ourselves for this camp—from making the registration form to getting the coaches, from designing the camp to getting the sponsors, who I want to thank. This camp would not have happened if it wasn’t for her. If you could mention her, it would be great.” †