Football, Wrestling, Baseball
Favorite athlete: Chase Utley
Favorite team: Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning a state championship in Junior Legion
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Catching my coach’s dog that ran on the field mid-pitch!
Future plans: Play baseball at the University of Delaware and study mechanical engineering.
Words to live by: “Hard work” and “finish the mission”
One goal before turning 30: Finish the mission and have fun.
By Mary Jane Souder
“Hard work” and “finish the mission.”
Both are simple phrases, but for Tyler Callender, they are words to live by for they were the mottos of his father, the late Jack Callender.
Tyler – the youngest of three brothers – is a testament to his father’s life and mission.
The Council Rock North senior has signed a letter of intent to take his baseball talents to the University of Delaware. He could just as easily be wrestling or playing football at the collegiate level.
“Tyler is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete,” Rock North wrestling coach Tom Vivacqua said. “He was a tremendous football player, he was an all-state wrestler, and he’s going to go to Delaware to play baseball. That’s unheard of.
“Really, we’re going to wrap ourselves around this 10 years from now when we’ll look back and say, ‘Wow, that was pretty amazing.’ To have as much talent as he has and to be such an awesome kid as well – he’s such a special kid.”
While it’s rare these days to find an athlete who excels in three sports, it’s even more unusual to find one who does but is so completely devoid of ego. As ready and willing as Callender’s coaches are to talk about his excellence in the athletic arena, they are even more eager to talk about Callender as a person.
“He’s one of the nicest kids you will ever meet,” Rock North baseball coach Matt Schram said. “Even opposing coaches – you can’t say anything negative about him.
“He’s not the kind of player where people don’t like him. You have to love him because he’s just a super, super kid.”
“I’ve known him pretty much his whole life,” Vivacqua added. “I’ve watched him grow up to be an absolutely tremendous, not only athlete, but a great person.
“I was really good friends with his father, and he has a lot of those awesome qualities his father has given to him, like his brothers as well.”
Rock North football coach Adam Collachi echoed similar sentiments.
“He is probably one of the greatest kids I will ever be associated with in my career,” Collachi said. “His family has been great, and they’re really supportive. He’s overcome so much adversity in his life with the passing of his father.”
Jack Callender - according to those who knew him - was one very special man, and when he lost his battle with cancer during his youngest son’s freshman year, it was a tremendous loss to everyone who knew him.
“It was a very difficult time for me,” Tyler said. “I looked up to my dad for everything,
“He coached me throughout my whole entire career until high school. He taught me everything I know, and when I would get into a slump in baseball, he would know exactly how to fix it.”
Callender recalled a game his freshman season when his father – who had just undergone chemotherapy – could not be in attendance.
“I had been in a slump,” Tyler said. “He told me how to fix myself in a text ending with ‘your biggest fan.’
“That day my first at-bat, I hit a home run. It was a pretty special moment for me.”
Family has always come first for Callender.
“I look to my mom and my brothers all the time,” he said. “When my dad passed away, he left us with a lot of memories, and now my family looks to live like he did with his mottos – hard work and finish the mission.”
Callender inherited his love of baseball from his mother, Sandy, herself a standout softball player. Football also ran in the family, and wrestling entered the picture when his father and brothers got into the sport at the encouragement of former Council Rock coach C.D. Mock, who is now the head coach at the University of North Carolina.
Baseball, however, has always been at the top of Callender’s list.
“My great dream was always to play Division One baseball in college,” he said.
In an era of specialization, Callender spent his high school career focusing on each sport during its respective season and then moving on to the next.
Baseball season extended into the summer, and this past summer Callender and friends from his Northampton Legion days joined forces to compete for the Bucks County Gators.
It was during a Top 100 Showcase that Callender caught the eye of the University of Delaware coaches. Delaware had been at the top of Callender’s list since he played on the campus with his summer team three years ago.
“Ever since then, it was ‘This is pretty much a school I’d love to go to,’” Callender said. “Once that happened, it was pretty much – go on my visit and then they had me come down to a camp.
“I got offered that night and right away I committed. I’m fortunate to be able to play baseball and go to such a good school.”
Callender, who will major in mechanical engineering, made a verbal commitment to play for Delaware on August 2, and several weeks later, he was back on the field with his football team. An all-league defensive end, Callender went down in the third quarter of his team’s second game with a torn Lisfranc ligament in his foot.
It was a long road to recovery, and the senior captain watched the remainder of the season from the sidelines.
“I’m so used to playing and not being sidelined,” he said. “It was hard.”
It also was a loss to his team.
“He’s just a born leader with the kids,” Collachi said. “Everyone looks up to Tyler and takes his lead on things.
“When he missed most of the season, it really hurt – not only on the field but the emotional aspect he brings. He was there every day, showing up and helping out. He almost turned into another coach on the field. Again, he turned a negative situation into a positive. It just speaks to his integrity and character, and that’s a testament to his older brothers and his mom and what his dad instilled in them as young men.”
Callender was not cleared to compete until late January, and he was faced with the difficult decision of whether to return to the mat.
As a junior, he finished fourth at 220 in the PIAA state wrestling championships, and a state title could well have been within his grasp, but he opted to forego his final season.
“He’s been a wrestler most of his life, and his success was tremendous,” Vivacqua said. “We sat down and talked it out.
“Obviously, he was the best wrestler on our team. He was a captain of our team as a junior, and when he doesn’t come out, it certainly had an effect on the season. When I put the coach hat on, it’s ‘The team needs you,’ but at the end of the day, it’s high school wrestling. He made a grown-up decision. He really wanted to pursue baseball. I said, ‘Go do it.’”
One of Tyler’s fondest memories of wrestling is on a family video when the camera captured his brothers – Jamie and Jack - hugging everyone they could find after Tyler won a pivotal state match in overtime.
“Growing up, I always looked up to them,” Tyler said. “They’ve been pretty awesome.”
For the past two baseball seasons, Callender has been an anchor for the Indians behind home plate. The only reason he didn’t see significant varsity time as a sophomore is because he was behind a senior catcher.
“The way he plays the game now is the way he played it when he was younger – he’s very competitive,” Schram said. “Just based on his record and how far he’s gotten and his pedigree – he’s got to have something inside of him that makes him very aggressive. When he swings the bat, he’s got an edge to him. It’s a violent swing. When he throws the baseball, it’s a violent throw.
“He’s the catcher, so he’s the quarterback on the field. He’s getting beaned, he’s getting hit, he’s blocking baseballs, he’s the toughest guy out there. You take a lot for granted when you have him on the field. He just runs the whole field. He’s just so reliable and mature. I know he’s an 18-year-old kid, but he’s beyond that. He’s so good at everything he does. You’re not going to have a whole lot of kids like him in your program.”
Ask Callender what he’s enjoyed most about his high school career, and he talks about the friends he’s made along the way, but there’s no mistaking the enjoyment he receives from simply competing.
“Every game you play is just awesome,” he said. “You get a new memory every time. I couldn’t really pick one.”
A point of pride for Callender is the fact that he was named the president of Rock North’s Athletes Helping Athletes Club that was started last year by Ryan Baker.
“I got really involved, and he gave me the opportunity to be president this year,” he said. “Growing up, my brothers were involved with the special needs children, and I always thought it was cool.
“”It’s a unique experience to be able to give back and hang out with all the athletes and see the smiles on their faces when you’re spending time with them. It’s pretty awesome.”
Callender is coming down the homestretch of a remarkable career that his coaches don’t want to see end.
“On a personal note, I will sorely miss him,” Collachi said. “He’s a great one, he really is.”
“He’s just a special, special kid,” Vivacqua said. “He’s the best.”
“He’s one of the nicest kids you will ever meet,” Schram said. “I’m loving every minute with him.”
Unmistakable respect for a student-athlete who understands what it means to finish the mission.
