Homewood-Flossmoor High School senior Jalen Allred-Coleman is the recipient of the Chick Evans Scholarship covering four years of his college expenses.
Allred-Coleman was one of 74 high school seniors selected for the honor after going through a selection process. To be eligible, caddies must meet four criteria: a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character.
The scholarship is valued at $125,000 over four years and is given as a grant covering housing and tuition. The scholarship is underwritten by the Western Golf Association. It is the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies. There are currently 1,130 caddies enrolled at 24 universities as Evans Scholars.
Allred-Coleman of Flossmoor has applied and been accepted at the University of Illinois-Chicago and Michigan State University and his waiting to hear from Howard University. He plans to major in kinesiology with an emphasis on sports physiology.
For the past three summers, he has been a caddie at Olympia Fields Country Club. His mom encouraged him to become a caddie and she would drive him to the country club so he would be on the course around 7 a.m. to get the early morning round.
His very first time on the course, he caddied for former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. Since his retirement after 15 seasons in the NFL, Strahan has been a contributor to “Good Morning America!” and a TV sports analyst.
“It felt unreal, but he was a real cool down-to-earth person. That was definitely a memory I made as a caddie,” he said.
Allred-Coleman said he had hoped to be named an Evans Scholar. He saved most of the money he earned. This summer his tip money helped him purchase a car.
“I would recommend caddying. I say start sooner rather than later. It never hurts to have more loops (rounds) than needed,” he said.
At H-F, he is a member of the boys varsity soccer team, the National Honor Society and the Black Student Union.
He is the son of Shannon Allred and Anthony Coleman.