Students learn sports history and life lessons from classmate who lives with a physical disability

As the fall semester winds down, students in Business Professor Neil Malvone’s “Intro to Sport Management” class can list a number of aspects of the sports industry they have learned about including management, marketing, communications and strategic leadership. But for many students perhaps the most important lessons have come from being in class with their peer Patrick Falco, a sports history enthusiast who uses a powered wheelchair because of a rare genetic mutation that causes dystonia.  The condition causes muscle spasms, pain, loss of motor skills and speech issues; Falco often communicates by typing into an iPhone.  

Michael Constantini and Michael Deusch are in Falco’s small group when the class splits up for discussions. “He is great to work with. If we are struggling, he helps us with an answer. He knows his sports history,” said Constantini. “He is very intelligent … he puts forth very good ideas,” said Deusch. Jahmall Readus says he is thankful for the interactions he has had with his fellow student and that he has learned to be more patient “to wait and see what he has to say.” 

Liam Lombardi and Zach Saunders enjoy talking to Falco before class about the previous weekend’s games or the teams they picked in fantasy football. The conversations often revolve around Falco’s team, the New York Giants.   That’s “either good or bad … depending on how it went on Sunday,” Saunders said. 

Falco appreciates having Malvone as his professor, getting to know his classmates, taking part in the group discussions on sports, learning about communications and “applying real-world aspects of sport to daily life.”  

The experience has reinvigorated Malvone as a professor. “It has gotten me out of routines and made me more conscious of people that need accommodations.” He says Falco’s knowledge of sports including team history, sport trivia, games results and statistics is very impressive.  “He has such joy when talking about the business side of sport.”  

Until he was four years old Falco walked, ran and even skied.  Shortly after his fourth birthday, he started to fall and his speech became difficult to understand. By the time he was five he could no longer walk and started using the power wheelchair.   He graduated from high school in 2018 and went through multiple surgeries; then the pandemic hit, so his plans were derailed. Prior to attending Caldwell, he earned certifications in social media marketing and sports management. 

Now he is pursuing a six-course accreditation in sport management from Caldwell. Falco is interning with Morris Sussex Sports, a media company that covers high school sports, and works part time for State Farm.   

Falco’s father, Ken Falco, said their family is grateful for the welcoming atmosphere at the University and for the assistance of the Academic Success Center. The Falcos are now Cougar fans, attending Caldwell University sporting events and becoming part of the community. “In many ways, it has changed his life,” said Ken. 

Jahmall Readus, his brother Kyle and Anthony Haines are members of the sprint football team. In the fall season, they were happy to see their classmate parked near the entrance to the field when they came out for games. They were psyched when they saw him at an away game at Army. “He is a real fan,” said Kyle. 

Falco has made friendships with students outside the classroom including Juan Armas, who stopped by the Falco house over the Thanksgiving weekend. They watched the World Cup, played PlayStation and had lunch.

The students say seeing Falco ready to go at 8:30 on Monday and Wednesday mornings helps them get off to a good start. “I have more confidence to come to class myself. If he can do it, anybody can do it,” said Brandon Curry. For Kevin Manjarrez it is a great feeling to see Falco’s smile and to realize that “Whatever is going on in life, you have to follow your passion and have fun with it.”