MPS Alumni is Now a UW-Platteville Football Coach
Although the transition wasn’t easy, Donavon Nathaniel successfully went from student athlete to coach. After playing both basketball and football during his time at Rufus King High School, Nathaniel headed to rural Wisconsin to spend his next four years playing football for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s football team.
Growing up, Nathaniel’s parents presented him with opportunities, which have shaped him into the man he is today. From a young age, Nathaniel has been involved with band, sports and public speaking.
Donavon Nathaniel during his time as a football player for UW-Platteville. (Picture from UW-Platteville Athletics posts)
“I was introduced to a lot of different spaces and people,” said Nathaniel. These experiences helped Nathaniel manage his new life in Platteville.
When first arriving on campus back in 2015, Nathaniel and the rest of the football players were on campus two to three weeks before the rest of the student body. He spent the first night in his dorm alone, missing home.
“I slept on my mattress with nothing on it. I couldn’t get over the fact that I was away from home permanently,” he said.
Thankfully, he found out that some guys he knew of from back home were starting their college careers at Platteville too. They weren’t close friends at first, but overtime, with their shared experiences, they helped each other get through the transition from living in the City to not having much around but land. And eventually, Nathaniel came to love Platteville.
“A place like Platteville is special,” Nathaniel said. “In some way weird way you don’t want to leave.”
He said it’s the culture of the people that really make Platteville what it is. According to Nathaniel, they welcome everyone and are very kind. Plus, he said the community treats him like a celebrity because of sports.
Now, instead of getting ready to play in the game, Nathaniel is on the sidelines coaching his team to victory.
“It’s weird throwing on a new uniform,” Nathaniel said about his new position. “All your work is done off the field.”
It was a difficult transition for Donavon Nathaniel to go from student to coach. (Picture from UW-Platteville Athletics posts)
On average, Nathaniel usually works a five-day week that starts at 7 a.m. and ends around 6:45 p.m. Nathaniel starts by preparing for his morning meetings with the team, which then leads to team lifting. Nathaniel said he spends most of his time in his office breaking down film. As a defensive coach, he watches and analyzes the plays of his team’s competitors so he can then explain to his team what to prepare for when playing that team. He also watches plays from his own team so he can inform them on what they need to improve on or to let them know when they’re doing well.
“Sometimes you watch it, then you watch it again,” he said. “It’s all about being as perfect as possible.”
Even when practice is over and the games end, Nathaniel said “the work continues at home.” But, he’s found a way to balance his life along with being a dedicated coach.
As a new coach, Nathaniel said it’s less about coaching his players to win and more about showing them that there are multiple ways to success.
“We all have that dream to play professionally, but that’s just not written in the stars for everybody,” Nathaniel said. “[It’s about] getting kids to open up their eyes to other avenues other than just ball.”
“Who’s to say that I can’t get to the NFL as a coach or something else?” Nathaniel added.
As a young Black man from the inner-city of Milwaukee, Nathaniel is showing Milwaukee youth that they are worth more than what they are told or shown.
“They don’t have to be a statistic. Whatever they dream about, all it takes is an ear and just being focused,” he said. “The reputation that a lot of kids get from the City isn’t true.”