Celia Gallagher ‘21 | Ella Sundstrom ‘21
Photo courtesy of Ashley Kennedy ‘22
For his teammates and coaches, Syracuse University commit Malcolm Folk ‘21 is a natural leader and strong team player on EA’s football team. Since starting football at four years old, Folk has been dedicated to the sport and working tirelessly to improve his game. The effort Folk puts into each game and practice for the past four years of high school has made him extremely valued by both his coach and teammates and is reflected in his performance.
A testament to his commitment is the fact that Folk trains for the sport year-round. He explains that he is “in the weight room lifting, running, and doing skill work on the field, just trying to get better every single day.” Folk’s teammates also recognize his dedication. Football co-captain Aiden Chavis ‘21 says that “Folk is someone who inspires through his work ethic. He’s always working, and I think his work ethic pushes me to be the best I can. I know it pushes other guys too.”
According to Chavis, not only does Folk contribute to the team by challenging his teammates, but he also “contributes to the team with his mindset. I don’t think he settles a lot, he expects the best from himself and from his teammates, so that little drive, that push that he has, that fire helps us a lot during the game.” As for Folk’s performance this season, Chavis notes, “it was tough for Malcolm because he went down in the first game, so he didn’t play the second half of the first game and he missed the second game.” Despite the injury, Chavis notes that Folk “came back for [our game against] Haverford. “ He is going to Syracuse next year so he did not necessarily even have to come back, but he made sure he got his last ride in with the guys.”
Folk is heading to Syracuse University to play football for the next four years. Regarding his recruiting process, he states that it “started when I was in ninth grade and picked up my junior year. It was a pretty cool experience.” Folk will be graduating early from Episcopal and will begin at Syracuse in January. “I will start classes and workouts in January and I am really excited about that.” However, EA will always hold a special place in his heart. He explains, “EA has been a huge part of my life. It has definitely been forcing me to balance school and athletics very well. […] it has forced me to grow as a person and also I think it has prepared me for college and beyond.” When asked about his future in football and playing professionally, Folk responded “I do want to go pro– that has always been a big dream of mine. I just have to keep working every day and stay dedicated to working.” His commitment has been honored in many awards, such as being named All-Interac Honors three times, All-Delco last year, and nominated as Sports Illustrated All American.
Todd Fairlie, Director of Athletics and Boys’ Varsity Football Head Coach, speaks to Folk’s history on the team, “Malcolm has always been athletic and talented. He’s contributed since he started here, he started [varsity] as a freshman, which is very rare for football.” Fairlie adds, “He has great ability in all phases of the game. Offensively he’s able to be a receiver, run the ball, he’s tough and physical on blocks. On defense, he covers receivers well. He also is physical and tackles.” Fairlie explains that “usually kids are pretty good at a few of those things, and he’s pretty well versed to do any of those things at any time. So his contribution to always be in position to make plays and be a contributor on all facets of the game is pretty special.”