There's plenty of little things to Cal running back Patrick Laird. He has a 9 PM bedtime. He wakes up at 5:45. He makes beats in his spare time. He's a double major. He walked on at Cal after a 3000 yard season at Mission Prep in San Luis Obispo. He earned a scholarship before the 2017 season. He rose to the starting job after two games into 2017. He became Cal's 16th player to record a 1000 yard season. But above all else, Patrick Laird loves to read, to the point where it became a defining characteristic leading to a memorable touchdown celebration.
"I used to live with Chad Hansen," Laird said last September, "and so he used to do all those cool touchdown celebrations and we’d give him some input, and then we started going around the room, saying who would do what, and then someone said, ‘hey what would Pat do?’ Someone, and I forget who it was, was like ‘he’d probably, like, read a book’ so right then I was like ‘alright, I’m gonna do that.’”
That he did, scoring on a 59 yard reception against North Carolina in week one of 2017, then opening a book. He did it in week two, pulling the Bears out of a malaise with 191 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns, and three book reading celebrations.
Reading is built in with Laird's character, and as Laird's star has risen with the Bears, he's gotten the opportunity to use his position to promote a love of reading in the next generation.
That's where the Patrick Laird Summer Reading Challenge comes in. This was Laird's idea, as he looks to combat Summer Learning Loss. From his website, walkonthenrun.com, Laird laid out his goals
" My goal with starting this challenge is to help inspire more kids to read and bring light to the detrimental effects of Summer Learning Loss," Laird said, "The decline in reading proficiency over the summer months can have a profoundly negative effect on a student's success down the line, especially affecting lower-income students."
For completing the reading challenge, Laird and Cal Football have partnered up to give away tickets to Cal's 2018 opener against North Carolina, with the goals laid out as follows.
1st and 2nd Grade – Read at least 4 books this summer and receive 4 tickets* to Cal's opening game against University of North Carolina on September 1st.
3rd through 6th Grade – Read at least 6 books this summer and receive 4 tickets* to Cal's opening game against University of North Carolina on September 1st.
Walk-On Mentality Club – Since a walk-on is about going above and beyond, we would like to award those who complete the challenge and read two additional books. Walk-On Mentality Club members will be invited to an on-the-field meet and greet after the September 1st game.
Sign-ups for the program can be found here, and in the release from Cal Football, Laird is set to visit local elementary and middle schools to promote the challenge throughout the spring.
