1 . Discuss each sport and what you enjoy about them the most . Football , I love the personal competition it brings . Every play , no matter what your assignment is , you ’ re trying to beat the person across from you . Basketball , is the sport I feel like you get to show how hard you ’ re playing more than any other sport . Whether it ' s diving on the floor or boxing out for rebounds , those things are noticed . Baseball , it ’ s such an individual sport in a team concept . It takes so much individual work to be good .
2 . If you had only one sport you were allowed to play which one would you pick and why ? To only pick one sport to play is really hard because I ' ve played all three my whole life . I guess it would be football . That ' s what I ' m probably best at and barring the state tournaments , there is nothing like Friday Night Lights .
3 . You have had the chance to play for Nettleton and Valley View . What has each of those experiences been like for you ? Getting the opportunity to play at both Nettleton and Valley View was a blessing . I ’ ve had some amazing teammates and coaches at both schools . Very different schools so making the switch was pretty tough , but being so close , I still get to hang out with my NHS friends on weekends if I want . Both athletic programs hold very high standards so I consider myself very lucky .
4 . Obviously , that ’ s turned into a pretty solid rivalry between the two schools . You have friendships at both places . What is that experience like for you playing in the rivalry game ? Once I transferred , I had Nettleton circled on my schedule . Some of my best friends play for Nettleton so it definitely makes the rivalry mean even more to me . It ’ s personal . I know every guy on their team and they all know me , so that matchup always carries bragging rights and quite a bit of talking .
5 . You guys had a spectacular season in football this year in which you played a starting role . What was it like playing for one of the better teams in school history ? I knew that this year was going to be special . The amount of hard work , sweat , and effort we put in the summer was more than any team I ’ d ever played on . We knew that we had the guys to be really good , and no one else seemed to give us respect . I remember every preseason ranking had us no higher than second place in the conference so that definitely put a chip on our shoulder . I ’ m taking the dudes on our team up against anyone . We had so many guys that could make plays . Offensively , we had so many weapons and the defense had so much heart and toughness .
6 . The basketball team has a new coaching staff after over two decades of the same coach . What has that experience been like ? When Coach Manchester told us that he wouldn ’ t be the coach the next year it hit hard . He has been someone I ’ ve known since I was a baby . I really respect him , and I loved his coaching style . When Coach Campbell came along , we didn ’ t know what to expect but he has done a great job and has us getting better and better at the right time of the season .
7 . For boys ’ athletics at Valley View , baseball has set the gold standard with state titles . How important is it for you and your team to close things out in your senior year getting another state title ring ? We ’ re looking to get back to the title game in Conway . In baseball at Valley View , it ' s a state championship run or bust . The past two years we ’ ve competed for a state championship , and we don ’ t see this year as any different . I ’ m taking the “ Pack ” over anyone in the state and with the talent and the amount of time in the unseen hours put in is what makes our program special .