- November 25, 2024
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When I was attending Flagler Palm Coast High School, my life was consumed by school and soccer. When I wasn’t playing for the Bulldogs, I was commuting to Deltona three or four days per week for my club team. It was a year-round commitment, including summer, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Sure, there were other sports I wanted to play at FPC, including football, cross country, track and tennis. But let’s be honest, I would have gotten destroyed in football. In either case, I always wanted to be a multi-sport athlete, but I was too involved in soccer.
But in covering the high schools for the past year, I’ve grown accustomed to covering the same crop of athletes across the three seasons.
Why do they play sports year-round? Flagler County high schools have a variety of such athletes. But despite barely having any downtime to play video games or chat on Facebook, each multisport athlete loves the never-ending lifestyle.
Matanzas junior Shawn White is a bulldozer as a running back on the football team. When he takes his shoulder pads off, though, he’s stroking jump shots on the hardwood for the Pirates’ basketball team. And when he’s done hooping, he’s hurling hundreds of pounds on the weightlifting team.
“Playing sports all year around is fun, but very taxing to your body,” White said. “When I first moved to Palm Coast, playing a lot of sports is what helped me meet a lot of people.”
A few miles south, Flagler Palm Coast senior Derron Green is on the go, too. Green plays running back on the football team, wrestles, and lifts on the weightlifting team. He, like White, said it’s grueling on the body, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.
“It’s amazing,” Green said. “If I could do it for the rest of my life, I would.”
Matanzas senior Victoria Ecker plays soccer, flag football and runs on the track team.Her experience shows staying active keeps her in better shape.
“I find that the only times I have the risk of getting hurt is when I take a long break,” she said.
Danica Leili, a sophomore at Matanzas, runs track and cross country, is a cheerleader, plays soccer and also plays lacrosse. She said playing so many sports makes high school more enjoyable.
When asked if there’s a time when she just wants to go home and relax, she said: “Yes, usually days after games, I want to rest, but once I get to practice, I get over it.”
Multi-sport athletes are the epitome of hard workers and dedicated student-athletes. Some play for the competitive edge, others play for the social benefits, but all of them play to live an active and healthy lifestyle.
Contact Andrew O’Brien at [email protected].
