CHENEY, Wash. — The life of a student-athlete is a constant balancing act between responsibilities, both on the field and in the classroom. The balancing act becomes even more complicated when you add community service to the list of responsibilities. Redshirt junior defensive end
Ben Voigtlaender is not only up to the challenge but also embraces the idea of giving back to the community.
"We all, to a certain extent, receive benefits and are products of our environment. There are people that came before you that put their time and effort in that we benefited from," Voightlaender explains. "I try to pay that forward with community service. It's important to be a good steward and put some goodness back into the world and community service is a great way for that to be accomplished."
Voigtlaender puts his time into several different charitable causes around Spokane County.
"I try to get involved with any causes I come across. I was a part of Alex's Lemonade Stand which helped raise funds for cancer research and awareness. My mom is a preschool teacher on the south hill of Spokane, so I've gone in and read with the kids, along with talking with them about being a student-athlete. I'm also pretty active with youth sports groups here in the region and work with the Pro Vision Academy."
Pro Vision provides football coaching and training for kids grades 5-12, along with coaching for other sports as well.
Traveling through Spokane for community service projects, Voigtlaender understands the impact that the Eagle logo has in the county.
"I fully agree with our director of athletics Tim Collins that we're Spokane County's team. I was born and raised here, so I've seen the logo my entire life. I had coaches that played at Eastern and a bunch of my teachers in high school are Eastern grads. I have always been around the Eagles, and I think it's important that you rep the brand and have a high level of respect for the logo."
The 2025 season will be Voigtlaender's fourth with the Eagles as he looks to become more of an impact player and leader on the defensive line.
"I want to understand my assignments better and execute them at a high level. I want to play with more physicality and speed."
For his career, Voigtlaender has appeared in 25 games and earned Big Sky All-Academic honors twice in his career. He is now one of the veterans of the defensive line unit and will factor into Coach Jaylen Johnson's rotations
"Between the leadership Brock [Harrison] brought and Matt [Brown] being one of the best players I've ever played with, it's difficult to replace those types of players. But I feel confident with the guys we have in the room. They were all here last year and have the added experience of playing. Some of the guys got elevated to bigger roles like Isaiah Perez. He played a lot snaps last season and I have no doubt with that experience; he's going to have a big season on the line."
Early in the spring practice, Voigtlaender already sees an improvement for himself and the unit as a whole
"With the new defense and position, I feel like I have an improved understanding of the plays, the system and methodology behind them. We are way ahead this spring than where we were even at the end of this past season. There's been some pretty serious improvement."
The improvements are visible and Voigtlaender credits Johnson with helping to change the mentality of the players,
"I love the guy. [Johnson] is the perfect coach for me. He knows football and played at a high level, which is the level he coaches at as well. He teaches the perfect balance of knowing your job, while going out and making plays. He is a "player's" coach and cares a lot about his players. He goes out on the line for us and fights for all of us individually. He coaches us hard, knowing he backs us up in everything."
This was Johnson's first full offseason with the Eagles, after joining the staff in the spring of 2024 and Voigtlaender noticed the difference,
"During the offseason, [Johnson] expected a lot out of us. He gave us film projects every week and some highly encouraged extra workouts individually. He helped facilitate the best offseason I've had at Eastern. He's very dialed into the job."
Participating in community service projects and focusing on improving on the field takes up a lot of time for Voigtlaender, but he still finds time for a work-life balance. He makes sure to spend time with his teammates off the field and maintains being a good husband too to his wife, Rachel.
"I enjoy the outdoor aspect of Cheney and north Spokane. You're 20 minutes away from any lake and 40 minutes from the mountains for skiing. We get the best of both worlds."
"My teammates and I hang out a lot outside. Cheney is a fun spot, and all the guys go out to hunt, shoot, and hang out. I'm married too so a lot of my down time goes towards my wife. That's how I get to rest and relax, is hang out with her." The two have been married for nearly three years.
Voigtlaender added how his mentality about building relationships with his teammates outside of football has changed,
"I think it's important that teammates know you have their back. I've started to hang out more and grow closer with the guys the longer I've been here. I think our team camaraderie has gotten better throughout the years. I think it's important to spend time outside of football together."
Creating the bonds off the field is key to helping the Eagles find success on the field in the fall. Going into the 2025 season, Voigtlaender sees a clear goal for the Eastern,
"As a team, the big success is to punch our names to the playoffs. We want to be one of the 16 teams that are still playing through Thanksgiving and into Christmas break. I think earning a spot in the national playoffs is the goal for this team. For me, personally, I always want to be on one of the all-Big Sky teams. The more guys we have playing at an all-conference caliber makes our whole team better. I know if I get the most out of myself, that's the best I can do for the team and give everything I have to win."
Season ticket renewals and deposits for the 2025 football season are now open! The deadline to renew season tickets and tailgate packages is April 18th. For questions, contact the EWU Ticket Office at 509-359-6059 or tickets@ewu.edu.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access, and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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