If Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan looks calm and collected under Super Bowl-sized pressure, his Quaker upbringing likely has a lot to do with it.

The product of a Catholic family in Exton went to high school almost 30 miles away on the Schuylkill Expressway, at Philadelphia’s William Penn Charter, and embraced the Quaker way, according to a report in The New York Times by Bill Pennington.

“We did not know this beforehand, but the environment at Penn Charter helped shape Matt in permanent ways,” father Mike Ryan said. “You don’t have to be a Quaker for the Quaker practices and beliefs to make sense. It’s a good way to live.”

Among the tenets of Quakerism is 40 minutes of daily silence, as well as required participation in team-centric sports and activities.

“From time to time, we’ve talked about those Quaker meetings,” former teammate Tony McDevitt said of Ryan and the minutes of silence. “It’s amazing. You miss it and value it. It stays with you.”

Read more about the Quaker way and how it helped to shape Matt Ryan in The New York Times here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of the NFL standout here.

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Top photo credit: 55thstreet Matt Ryan via photopin (license)