The race he won in the 1999 state championship may have been what inspired Tim Walz to enter politics. It may be because of that race that Walz is on the verge of achieving a career-defining accomplishment, as he has been named Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic ticket.
Walz is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who was elected to his current position as Governor of Minnesota in 2019.
But long before that, Walz was a teacher and high school football coach, both in his native Nebraska and his adopted home of Minnesota.
Walz was a teacher and football coach at Alliance High School in Nebraska, where he met his wife before eventually moving to Minnesota.
In 1996 he accepted a job as a geography teacher at Mankato West High School, where he also served as defensive coordinator for the school’s football team.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate
Walz is a veteran and former teacher, as well as a former high school football coach.
“I was a defensive coordinator,” Walz told Pod Save America. “We ran a 4-4 formation where we read the guards at the time. I had good athletes and good linebackers.
‘Back in the day when I was coaching, it was rare to see a 2,500- to 3,000-yard thrower on the other side. But it was starting to happen.’
Walz’s defense helped propel Mankato West to a state title in 1999, winning its first state title.
Now, Mankato West is one of the most dominant programs in the state, having won four Minnesota state championship titles since Walz helped deliver them their first title.
“I was in the military for 24 years. I taught and then I started running for Congress. I’m absolutely convinced, and people have told me, that it was because you won that state championship,” Walz added.
‘We were 0-27. When I took the job, they said we were going through some tough times… But I’ve worked with other coaches who were great guys and we said this is nonsense. We’re going to turn this around.’
“Three years later, they were state champions. Now, they’re a state power.”
In addition to his teaching and football duties, Walz agreed to serve as the faculty advisor for Mankato West’s first gay-straight alliance club.
After volunteering for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, Walz became more involved in politics and ran for Congress in 2006, winning the seat against a Republican incumbent.
Walz is an avid sports fan, as seen here throwing out the first pitch at a Twins game in 2019.
He remained in Congress until 2019, when he assumed office as governor of Minnesota.
Walz still has ties to his home state of Nebraska through his fandom of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.
However, due to his work as governor of Minnesota, he has been seen supporting the state’s sports teams at the professional and collegiate level.
In 2019, just months after taking office, Walz, a former National Guard enlistee, threw out the first pitch at a Minnesota Twins game in honor of Armed Forces Appreciation Day.
Just this year, he joined an NBA Twitter meme by simply tweeting the name of Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid.
And earlier this week, Walz took a trip to the Minnesota Vikings’ facility to visit training camp.
He has been seen at state fairs several times wearing University of Minnesota Golden Gophers gear.