Blues boss Kieran McKenna says it’s always a boost to have Jason Schechterle at the club, the former Arizona police officer and now motivational speaker spent the week with the players and staff.
Schechterle, 52, a member and representative of the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS), the police and fire service pension fund which owns a majority stake in the club, has been a regular visitor to the club since the 2021 takeover, an embodiment of the Blues’ Running Towards Adversity mission statement.
In March 2001, aged 28, only 14 months into his career as a police officer on the streets of Phoenix, Schechterle was on his way to an emergency call when a taxi, travelling at over 100mph, crashed into the rear of his patrol car, the driver having suffered an epileptic fit.
Schechterle’s police car burst into flames and he was trapped inside for more than 90 seconds.
Remarkably, Schechterle survived the crash but suffered fourth degree burns, drastically altering his appearance and has since undergone more than 50 surgeries. His story in full can be found on his Burning Shield website.
Schechterle has given talks to players, staff and people associated with the Blues over the years since the takeover and spoke to those who have joined the club this week.
"It’s always a boost to have Jason over,” McKenna said. "I’ve known him for a good number of years now and the people who have been here are always happy to see him come into the building and to catch up with him, and we know he supports us from afar.
"The schedule’s pretty good now and the club put a week together for him where he gets to spend time with new players and new staff to go over some of his material, some of his story, his journey that he’s done with us before, and it’s always a lovely moment because you see the impact that it has on a fresh group of people.
"As someone who knows his story really well and his message really well, it’s always inspirational to see the impact on a fresh group of players and we’ve got quite a few this year, so it was a good time, and quite a few new staff as well.
"Everyone’s enjoyed having him around, he watched training today and it’s going to be good to have him at the game on Saturday.”
Schechterle will speak to fans prior to the match from the directors’ box at around 2.45pm.