Beyond football: MKE Ducks gives young athletes structure, sense of belonging

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - In Milwaukee, one youth football program is growing quickly and its impact stretches far beyond the field.

The MKE Ducks are building more than athletes. They’re shaping discipline, confidence and a sense of belonging for kids across the community.

On any given afternoon, players are focused at practice. But coaches say the real work starts with structure.

“Football helps kids build structure and discipline,” Organization Advisor of the MKE Ducks Diamante Walker said, “That’s a big thing about us right now. How we do our push-ups on count, one count, one sound I feel like that’s discipline right there.”

Quarterback Kameron Dye said that structure carries over into everyday life.

“Structure makes them better so they won’t be playing around and they’ll know what to do,” he said.

Walker said accountability starts in the classroom.

“Academics first,” he said. “If you can’t do right in school, we won’t touch the field. We’ll touch the sideline and we’ll be the waterboy for the game. If we can’t make big plays in the classroom, we won’t make big plays outside the classroom.”

For Walker, those lessons are personal. He said football helped shape who he is today.

“I’ve been playing football in Milwaukee since I was 8 years old,” he said. “I felt like it built my confidence. I feel like I could step on a big stage and not second-guess myself. Football made me a leader and made me confident.”

Now, he’s working to pass that on creating a space where players feel supported both on and off the field.

“We try to give the kids something to bond and grow behind,” Walker said, “something that they can always look back at and probably have long-lasting relationships with other kids and coaches.”

Wide receiver Cartier Harland said that support makes a difference.

“It means that you have somebody that loves and somebody that cares about you and somebody that wants to see you go forward in life,” he said.

He said the team feels like family.

“It’s like having brothers,” Harland said. “It’s like having family here that’s why I like it.”

That sense of belonging extends to every player including those who’ve had to fight for a chance to play.

Wide receiver Seraiji Pruitt said she fell in love with football in fifth grade, inspired by her brother. But she said many teams turned her away.

“I’m very lucky to be on the team because most teams that I tried said they didn’t accept girls,” she said.

Pruitt said she pushed past the rejection.

“I was nervous, but then I was like gender doesn’t matter,” she said. “It’s about how you play and control yourself.”

With the Ducks, she said she’s treated no differently than her teammates.

“As a girl, personally, it’s very kind, because they’re going to treat you just like the boys,” Pruitt said. “They’re not going to treat you differently because you’re a girl. You wanted to play football, so you have to come out here and play football.”

Walker said that mindset is intentional.

“We have a girl on our team,” he said. “She’s treated no differently than the other kids. I tell my boys she has more heart than my boys.”

Pruitt said that support means everything.

“It means a lot because sometimes you need that extra support,” she said.

After being told “no,” she said she has a message for other girls.

“Keep trying, keep going and you’re going to find one one day when you least expect it,” she said.

The program itself is expanding rapidly. Walker said the Ducks have grown to more than 100 players in just two years.

But that growth brings challenges. He said the team is in need of more equipment to properly train.

“We have low practice equipment,” Walker said. “It’s hard to be the best program in the city with little to no practice gear.”'

Still, the Ducks are aiming high. Walker said their 12U team has national ambitions but needs funding to compete.

“We couldn’t make the five-star trip last year because of funding,” he said. “That’s one of the things that is our goal for this year trying to get these boys to nationals.”

No matter the obstacles, Walker said the mission remains the same: bringing kids together and building something bigger than football.

“That’s my biggest thing with having a football team,” he said. “Having all kids from all different views and just bringing them together and seeing that we can make something great here in Wisconsin.”