Competing at the next level
Nine seniors commit to playing collegiate sports
Most young athletes dream of competing at the next level. For nine seniors at Yutan High School, this dream is becoming a reality.
This decision to play collegiate sports was an expectation for senior Alyssa Husing, who will be continuing her softball career at Midland University.
“This is always been something that I expected myself to do, and there was really no other choice in my head,” Husing said. “I wanted to be one of those girls playing collegiate softball like I always watched on TV growing up.”
This choice was clear for senior Drake Trent as soon as he met with the head football coach at Concordia University and appreciated how easy it was to connect with the coaching staff.
“I chose Concordia because I felt their coaches were very sincere when talking to me, and it felt like they actually wanted me as a person to be at their school, not just me as an athlete,” Trent said.
Senior Will Peterson will be joining Trent at Concordia but for powerlifting, and he was also impressed with the head coach of the program.
“He was really excited to have me, and then every other time I’ve talked to him since he’s shown that he just really wanted me,” Peterson said.
Creating a good relationship with coaches is important, but Husing decided that the main factor when picking a college was for it to be close to home.
“I really liked that [Midland] was close to home because I was looking to stay near my family,” Husing said.
While all three seniors are excited to continue their sport at the next level, they are also experiencing some nerves.
“The biggest challenge for sports will definitely be the change in the level of competition,” Trent said.
Coming from a small-town school with a football team of 38 players, Trent is preparing for the transition of playing for a 130-player football team at Concordia.
“It’s all unknown,” Trent said. “Everyone at this level is just as good as everyone else, so I don’t know where I stand going into it.”
Besides different teammates, they will also have to adjust to different coaching styles.
“I think I’m most nervous about training under a new coach at Concordia,” Peterson said. “It will be a big transition for me.”
Despite any nerves, one thing is for sure for these student-athletes: it will take dedication in order to be successful.
“It will definitely take a lot of hard work, but I love the game so it will definitely be worth it,” Husing said.
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Maycee Hays is a senior in her fourth year of journalism. She enjoys taking pictures at school events and writing feature stories. Outside journalism,...
Shaylynn is a senior and in her third year of journalism. She enjoys taking pictures and working on the yearbook. Outside journalism, Shaylynn is involved...
