"It blew me away": Minnesota governor Tim Walz shares his feelings about son Gus Walz taking up high school volleyball following viral DNC moment

Before entering politics, former Democratic vice-presidential nominee and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was a high school football coach and defensive coordinator at Mankato West High School (Minnesota). His son Gus is the captain of Central High School's volleyball team, per NCSA Sports.

He is neurodivergent and deals with ADHD, anxiety and a nonverbal learning disorder. But it is 'not a setback' but his 'secret power,' as the Walz's say, and he found his calling in volleyball.

On Monday, in an interview with CBS Mornings, Walz spoke about his son taking up volleyball as a sport.

(4:08) "It blew me away when he said, 'I'm going to become good at volleyball.'" Tim Walz said. "And he did it. We become a volleyball family because Gus just decided he was going to become good at it."

They are proud of their son's achievements and how he has cemented his position as a solid volleyball player.

(6:00) "We're just so happy for him," he added. "He's got an undefeated volleyball team. He's central to the team. He's helped build that around here in a way that's, I mean, impressive."

Gus Walz came into the public spotlight at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last year, when Tim Walz gave his speech after accepting the Democratic vice presidential nomination. At the end of the speech, he gave a shout-out to his family. The camera panned to the stands, and a teary-eyed Gus entered the frame, cheerfully pointing to his father.

"That's my dad!"

In that moment, he won millions of hearts and became a viral sensation.

Tim Walz's HS coaching stint led Mankato West to its first state championship

Tim Walz coached Mankato High's football team from 1996 to 2006 and served as the faculty advisor, representing his school's Gay-Straight Alliance. Before Walz joined, the school's football team had been struggling for a while and had lost its last 27 games.

"The program was really struggling," Rick Sutton said in a video on Walz's Facebook account. "We went through some very, very lean years. One of the big things that really helped us get better along the way through the transitional period was Tim's ability to build relationships with students."

His entry became a turning point for the Scarlets, leading to their first state championship. Mankato won the championship 35-28 against Cambridge-Isanti High School.