Jaedon Burkhart prepares for first soccer season without his dad’s voice

By Jason Guarente — Senior correspondent for MikeDragoSports.com.

The memory that hit Jaedon Burkhart first, the one that made a smile sneak across his face, went back to the days he played on small, oval nets with no goalkeepers.

That’s when he heard his dad’s voice. It rose above the rest.

“He would always be the loud parent yelling,” Burkhart said. “He’d be the one trying to coach me. He would tell me what I did wrong. He was really into it.”

Mike Burkhart was always there. From youth games through high school. No matter what.

Five months have passed since Jaedon lost his dad to cancer. He was 49. Wilson’s junior midfielder is able to focus on the good times now. The stories that will carry him through the rest of his life. Many of them center on soccer.

Mike was a basketball guy. That was his first love. He played at Reading High during the Donyell Marshall era. When his younger kids, Jaedon and sister Kaya, took up soccer, Mike began to educate himself.

The Burkharts spent weekend mornings watching Premier League games and Jaedon was told to focus on the midfielders and wings. 

“My dad started to learn,” Jaedon said. “He started to know what he was talking about.”

Burkhart was one of the best players when the little kids were running around those little fields. He was faster than almost everyone else and could score goals easily. When he reached Wilson, he played varsity minutes as a freshman.

The first game of that season was at Pittsburgh, part of the annual East-West Classic. That’s a long trip for parents and many are unable to make it. Mike Burkhart was there. He was always there.

“I turn around and he’s the first one in the stands,” Wilson coach Moss Grande said. “Just waiting. His son’s not even a starter and he’s there watching and cheering. He was a great man.”

Wilson’s red warmup shirts said “Burkhart Strong” last season. Some were still being worn when the Bulldogs gathered for their first official practice earlier this month.

Jaedon initially thought the warmup was just for him. That every player had a shirt with his own last name stamped on the back. He soon realized all of his teammates were wearing one to honor his dad.

“We wanted to let Jaedon know you’re never alone,” Grande said. “You’re never fighting alone at Wilson or any school across the county. We wanted to put something small that wouldn’t draw too much attention. At least he knew if he was having a bad day or things weren’t going right.”

Burkhart scored his first varsity goal against Gov. Mifflin in October and added another later in the season. He doesn’t remember much about those goals or those games. It was all a blur. Those were difficult times.

The junior’s high school career has been filled with obstacles. He had a concussion as a freshman and coped with his dad’s illness as a sophomore. He underwent surgery on his right leg a few months ago and had to rest for about 10 weeks. He’s getting back to full strength now.

Despite all of the challenges, and being undersized, Burkhart hopes to contribute to the Bulldogs as they rebuild for another county championship run. They need to find offense as they reconfigure their roster.

“We’re still looking for that goal scorer,” Grande said. “He’s a very dynamic player. He’s just coming off a little surgery. We’ve got to see how much we’ll get out of him early. Hopefully he’ll fill some minutes for us.”

Mike Burkhart was still in the stands last fall despite cancer and COVID-19 restrictions. When tickets were limited for road games, one was given to him.

“Every time he wouldn’t be feeling good one day, my mom would say, ‘Just stay home,’” Jaedon said. “He was going. He was determined. He really wanted to go to these games.”

Mike Burkhart and wife Bennita walked Jaedon onto the field for Senior Night even though he was only a sophomore. The hope was they’d get to do that for two more years. The hardest part of this season for Jaedon will be not hearing his dad’s voice.

Burkhart said he has a little extra motivation to succeed. He wants to apply all that instruction he received on car rides home over the years.

“I just feel like I’ve got to play hard for him,” Burkhart said. “I just want to make him proud.”