Friday Features: UWA’s Chad Toocheck overcame addiction lows to reach highs on field
By Mike Perrin
Chad Toocheck is a three-time All-Gulf South Conference wide receiver. The soon-to-graduate wide receiver was a second-team All-Super Region 2 pick by Beyond Sports Network. He made his way into the top four in all-time receptions and receiving yards at the University of
West Alabama in just three seasons.
And, he’s a recovering drug addict and alcoholic.
The Medina, Ohio, native took a roundabout journey to stardom on the football fields across the GSC. His descent into alcohol and drug abuse began in high school and by his junior year he was experimenting with LSD and painkillers. He told his hometown newspaper, The Medina Gazette, “If I could get it, I would take it.”
Despite his drinking and drug use, Toocheck was a standout on the field. As a senior in 2006, he had a team-high 15 catches for 216 yards and he was a team captain. After high school, he tried to join the Air Force but repeated failed drug tests kept him out. His behavior led his father to kick him out of his home. He moved in with his mother in Pittsburgh, but she, too, eventually asked him to leave.
Finally, on Jan. 30, 2008 – a date he will never forget – Toocheck hit rock bottom. His mother checked him into a hospital for detox. He finally realized he was going nowhere and he hasn’t had a drink or any drugs since then.
“I didn’t think about my future at all when things were at their worst,” Toocheck said. “I thought about, ‘How am I going to survive the next day, where is my next drug or drink or meal going to come from. The times I did think about my future is when I would hear from somebody that so-and-so was murdered or this person just got sentenced to life in prison. The sad thing about my thoughts were that I thought that life was appealing. I convinced myself that life was a glamorous one and to die with plenty of drugs, money and pistols was a good way to go out.”
A participant in a 12-step program, Toocheck asked his sponsor, Scott Rice, what he should do to get out of a menial job and how to get on with his life. What could he do? “He said,” Toocheck told the Gazette, “‘You’re sober now. You can do whatever you want.’”
He decided to pursue athletics again and tried out and made an Arena Football League team in Ohio, but he decided not to play and to try to earn a spot on the basketball team at Cleveland’s Cuyahoga Community College. He made it, but after only one workout he quit.
Toocheck told the Gazette that a woman he met told him that God had given him a gift to play football. So, after some tough-love encouragement from his mom, he started looking for a team. He found Santa Barbara (Calif.) City College on a Thursday – and tryouts were on the following Monday. Using his dad’s frequent flier miles, he flew west. He stayed in a hostel, a homeless shelter and, if there was no room in either, on a park bench.
The 6-foot-3 wideout with 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash won a spot on the team. He eventually worked his way onto the field, where he caught 80 passes for 900 yards, earning a spot on the California juco all-state team and offensive most valuable player honors. Again, he was named team captain. Toocheck didn’t have the money to stay in the California school and he went back home to work as a landscaper. He completed his associate’s degree and was out of football for the 2010-11 school year. Toocheck talked with acquaintance DeForest Hart, who played college football at Delta State, who suggested he get in touch with one of his old teammates – West Alabama assistant Desmond Lindsey. Based on that connection, Toocheck was off to Livingston.
The rest, as they say, is football history. Toocheck caught 116 passes for 1,805 yards and 21 touchdowns in his three seasons at UWA. After earning second-team All-Gulf South Conference honors as a sophomore, he was a first-team pick as a junior and senior – a unanimous pick in 2014. For his third different team, he was chosen as team captain.
He wants to get a shot at pro football, but if he doesn’t his plan is to go into coaching. He will continue to speak anywhere he’s given the opportunity about his escape from drugs and alcohol.
“I think God gave me a second chance at life,” the 26-year-old said, “in order to help kids in similar situations (get) out of them. I have shared my story in rehab facilities, juvenile detention centers and some jails. I do it because it’s what I love to do. I’ve acquired a knack for it, but the real reward is the rare person who hears the message and follows through with actions to change their circumstance.
“Everybody on my team knows I’m a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. I have shared with my team, in brief, about my life. Some have reached out to me in a round about way, others have talked to me about family members and, since I am older than most, some just come to me about life questions.”
Receivers coach Mike McCarty, who replaced Lindsey when coach Will Hall left for West Georgia a year ago, called Toocheck “an integral part of West Alabama football over the last few seasons. He is a tremendous competitor and has been a leader and a highly productive player for a long time. I wish we had him for three more years.
“The fact that he fought back from extremely difficult circumstances and watching his will to overcome those tough times makes his success as a student-athlete even more rewarding. He will be sorely missed,” McCarty said.
Likewise, first-year head coach Brett Gilliland said, “Chad has overcome huge hurdles in his personal life to get where he is today. We are proud he was a Tiger.”
Toocheck said it took a little work to adjust to small-town Livingston life, but “Livingston has opened their arms to me. The greatest thing about a small town is that everybody knows everybody, so if you need help it’s much easier to get it. I love the people of Livingston and God knows I wouldn’t be in a position to graduate if I was anywhere else.”
His football honors are in the books, but he doesn’t think about having a legacy. “It’s not for me to decide,” he said. “In the grand scheme of things, I’m just a grain of sand on the beach. I hope that I am remembered as someone who was always in a pleasant mood and didn’t let things stray me from my goals and ambitions. After all, that’s what I preach.”
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