Alexandria Hazard has a hero.

He plays football for Iowa State and calls her every chance he gets.

Her hero is Austin Flynn.

“I like Austin because he loves me and I love him,” said eight-year-old Alexandria.

“He’s really nice and would never do anything mean. He protects me.”

THE PICTURES

Alexandria is the daughter of Vern Hazard, Flynn’s high school coach and teacher. She doesn’t get to see Flynn often, but the time they spend together is priceless for both of them.

“Sometimes we get to see him when he’s in town, we go to his parent’s house,” Alexandria said. “When we get together we talk a lot and we tell each other what’s been happening.”

The two talk whenever they get a chance, usually about once a week.

“When [Vern] calls me he has a speaker on his phone and I can always hear her in the background talking to me,” Flynn said.

The Hazards also call on game day, giving Flynn a final message before he takes the field.

“Whenever he does a football game, we call him and leave him a message and tell him good luck,” Alexandria said.

A constant reminder of Alexandria are the pictures in his room.

Flynn has drawings Alexandria sent him hanging at his house, constant reminders of someone who is thinking of him and looking up to him.

“It’s simple but it’s amazing,” Flynn said.

“It’s something that reminds me of her and something that I know I’ll be a part of her life no matter what happens.”

THE GODFATHER

Hazard asked Flynn and his mother Rita to be the godparents of his daughter, Alexandria.

The request is something Flynn takes extremely seriously.

“It’s an amazing feeling to have someone like that, someone that if something happens to them, you’re there for them,” Flynn said.

“It’s an amazing feeling and something that a lot of people don’t have.”

MEETING COACH

Flynn first met Vern Hazard when he was a freshman at Deer Park High School in Deer Park, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

The young Flynn took a class called Teen Leadership from Hazard, beginning a relationship that would change both of their lives.

In class students learned how to speak in front of others, a skill that helped transform Flynn.

“He was a pretty shy kid,” Hazard said.

“An unbelievable kid, but shy. Not really sure of himself.

“I still remember him giving his first presentation, he was real shy at the podium. By the end of the class he could speak to thousands and it wouldn’t bother him.”

The class taught Flynn the basic principles of leadership, skills he quickly translated onto the football field.

“You don’t think that being able to talk in front of people would help you be a better leader,” Flynn said. “But you have to be able to talk.

“You have to be able to get up in front of a group and speak your mind without looking like you are nervous or looking like you don’t have any confidence. No one is going to listen to you or follow you then.”

Both Flynn and Hazard could easily see the young quarterback’s maturation.

“By the end of the class, I was to the point where I could talk in front of anybody and tell them my deepest secrets, the deepest part of my life,” Flynn said.

Hazard was a coach at Deer Park, coaching freshman football and varsity baseball. He never had Flynn in football, as he worked with the freshman B-team, but did have Flynn on his varsity baseball team as a sophomore.

Hazard got to watch Flynn interact with teammates on the field and with his classmates in school.

Watching Flynn as he encountered different types of people impressed Hazard even more.

“He helped other people, it wasn’t just athletes,” Hazard said. “He helped all people. He spoke with all kids and helped all kids. At that age that doesn’t happen very often. You could see him grow and grow. But not only did he grow, he helped the people around him to grow.”

A GROWING FRIENDSHIP

The more Hazard saw of Flynn the more impressed the teacher and coach became.

The feeling was mutual.

“Coach Hazard helped me tremendously,” Flynn said. “He was the best teacher I’ve ever had in my entire life. A lot of the leadership skills I have now on the football field came from him. He’s someone I look up to and always ask for advice. He’s an unbelievable person, and to be associated with him is unbelievable, to tell you the truth.”

As Austin’s high school career drew to a close and colleges recruited the all-district star, Hazard continued to watch his development as a person.

What he saw steered him to make a decision that would ensure Flynn’s place in the Hazard family forever.

“I saw that transformation from day one to the end,” Hazard said. “It’s difficult, at that age especially, to do the right things in front of your peers and you saw him doing that more and more.

“As I saw him grow and how much I respected his mom and dad and how much I respected him, that’s when I began to think, what better role model for my daughter than Austin Flynn?”

A TOUGH CHOICE

Vern Hazard’s relationship with Flynn has also grown. The two talk regularly, and Flynn goes to him with his problems and concerns.

“He’s the type of guy that I call if I need something,” Flynn said. “I’m always the one calling him and saying I have a problem with this, what do you think? He’s one of the most unselfish people I’ve ever met in my life.”

After spending his first two season with the Cyclones as a quarterback, Flynn was faced with a choice. He could sit on the sidelines as a backup to Bret Meyer, or he could switch positions.

It was a tough choice for Flynn, and something he talked at length about with Hazard.

“He was a major influence in that,” Flynn said. “A lot was made up that I was going to transfer, and I went through the mindset that it was a possibility.

“He was the second or third person I went to – after my parents. He was a major influence on that decision. Whenever I have big decisions, he’s always someone I go to.”

The choice has paid off, as Flynn has found his niche as a receiver.

He has 36 receptions on the season, and is second on the team in receiving yards per game with 45. He also caught a touchdown pass against Iowa and Army.

Even though he is succeeding on the field, Flynn knows his path may not always be on the gridiron. Having a friend like Alexandria helps.

“There’s a lot more things out there than football,” Flynn said. “Football is very important to my life but you have to keep things in perspective.”

No one knows better then Vern Hazard how much Flynn’s presence and dedication mean to his daughter.

“I know how important a roll model is in a young girls’ life,” he said. “To have a strong kid who walks the walk and calls Alex and is proud of her and says he loves her; my daughter’s face lights up every time she speaks to him or we talk about him.

“That relationship is not just now, it’s going to be that way for the rest of her life.”

Austin has a lot on his plate. He is starting receiver on the football team, leading the Cyclones in receptions, and a student with an active social life.

But to one girls, he is much more.