By: Isaac Evans Often when discussing high school athletes, and their commitments to college sports people tend to overlook the work it takes to play at a college level. In many ways people seem to focus on athletes with “raw talent” or “great genetics,” and think that is the very reason they’re playing at higher levels. But it may be surprising just how many highschool athletes have to seemingly start from scratch. This is not to say that athletes with so-called “raw talent” haven't put in a lot of work to play at higher levels. It just goes to show that not all athletes start out being particularly skilled in any given sport. For instance, Bear River softball just last season has had great success, with a win loss record of 27- 6. Putting them at top 3 in the state of Utah as of 2021. This being a result in part of amazing players, but as stated before, not all athlete’s skills in the sport come naturally. A good example of this would be the team’s catcher, Haylee Farnsworth, who is currently committed to the Southern Idaho university softball team. But the journey to playing at a college level did not necessarily come easy. Haylee has been training for 6 years all together, determined to compete in college, by playing on multiple teams along with playing on her highschool team up to this point. She has been working very hard “playing every weekend of every summer and practicing twice a week plus lessons, and playing every fall, and spring only taking off the month of december.” While this is a big part of being able to play in college, it isn't everything. The support she had from her parents driving her to all her games and practices and helping to get coaches for her definitely held a role in the process as well. This being said, Haylee also has things to work for when actually playing at southern Idaho that includes, “getting playing time as a freshman and simply improving in every game”. This alone is a great example of having to work very hard to play in college. But a few other girls on the team plan to play in college as well, Mccall Maxfield, a senior that plans to play softball for Snow college. Kynlei Nelson is another senior planning to play for USU eastern. With all this in consideration, it shows that not all college athletes are naturally talented, and can play in college without much training. It takes a lot of work and time to play at higher levels and these girls are great examples of that. If you would like to support these players, their next game will be on Tuesday, March 29, at home against Mountain Crest. Photo credit: Lexi Capener
0 Comments
Written by: Isaac Evans Photo taken by: Chad Hurst For many students at Bear River High School, breaking records of any kind isn't often within their reach. But for a select few BRHS track runners, breaking records is more attainable. For instance, Joshua Fowler (a senior) holds the indoor 60 meter school record. Ammon Hunter and Kenneth Pingle (both seniors) hold the 4 x 800 meter school record. But among these athletes one stands out: Braxton Hurst, (a senior) who currently holds the outdoor and indoor open 400 record, the indoor and outdoor 4 x 4 record, and another school record in the outdoor 4 x 2, which adds up to five school records.
This alone is impressive, but Hurst not only does well on the track, he can also carry his own weight in a classroom with a 4.0 GPA this year. While he does make it look somewhat easy, not all of his accomplishments come without setbacks and challenges. Throughout high school Hurst suffered a broken clavicle twice, once as a freshman and again as a senior, in addition to minor ankle problems. He also suffers from a lingering injury involving a tendon in his hip that does not stay in place while running, which causes discomfort. Needless to say Hurst is no stranger to injury and yet he still manages to excel in his events. Hurst's expectations for his final track season are“I’m shooting for the state title [open 400 meter and 4 x 4).” These are his “crazy goals”. Not only does he already hold one state record, he still plans on getting two more state records. So despite his prior setbacks he still has great plans for his senior track season. That being said, it may raise the question of how the track program is responsible for such successful runners, or does it simply come down to a unique group of athletes at the right time? As for the real answer, time will tell for younger athletes in the program as they mature in the sport. But for the most part the team’s “track record” for past seasons has looked great. Which goes to show that Bear River track is capable of making truly record breaking Bears. If you want to come and cheer on our Bear track team, the first meet of the season will be held at Mountain Crest Highschool on the 16th of march. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2024
Categories |