By Taylor Gerlach
It’s 9pm at the Extreme Ice Center, and a twelfth grade athlete slips into his hockey jersey. Across town, another PDS student rips off his boxing gloves for the night and tosses them into his gym bag.
In assembly, we hear announcements about upcoming field hockey, football, and baseball games. Team captains announce the results of cross country meets, softball games, and swim meets. But every day, many PDS students train and compete off PD’s campus, away from the lights of the assembly theater. One of these students is Patrick Plott.
At 5pm each day, Patrick arrives at the UFC Gym of Ballantyne. On a typical day, he spends an hour practicing a variety of jiu jitsu, American Standard boxing, and muay tai kickboxing. In addition to functional training, Patrick’s routine also incorporates conditioning and weightlifting. In the gym, Patrick is the only high schooler. Surrounded by professional fighters in their twenties, Patrick laughs, “I do not look like I fit in there whatsoever.”
Patrick’s athletic career started when he was young, as he played soccer, golf, track, and currently plays lacrosse for PDS during the spring. He started competitive boxing about six months ago because he was looking for an enjoyable exercise activity. Since starting at the UFC gym, Patrick is all in. His parents on the other hand, are supportive but not so sure about the risks involved. “They absolutely hate it. My dad is more okay with it, but it freaks my mom out worrying about concussions,” Patrick shares, explaining his parents’ take on boxing.
While he's too young to compete in sanctioned amateur fights as a sixteen year old, he looks forward to competing in a couple years. In the meantime, Patrick has enjoyed viewing fights of his coaches and peers and learning from his more seasoned training partners.
Patrick’s athletic career started when he was young, as he played soccer, golf, track, and currently plays lacrosse for PDS during the spring. He started competitive boxing about six months ago because he was looking for an enjoyable exercise activity. Since starting at the UFC gym, Patrick is all in. His parents on the other hand, are supportive but not so sure about the risks involved. “They absolutely hate it. My dad is more okay with it, but it freaks my mom out worrying about concussions,” Patrick shares, explaining his parents’ take on boxing.
While he's too young to compete in sanctioned amateur fights as a sixteen year old, he looks forward to competing in a couple years. In the meantime, Patrick has enjoyed viewing fights of his coaches and peers and learning from his more seasoned training partners.
"I do not look like I fit in there whatsoever"
American Standard Boxing, Patrick’s favorite fighting style, was created in the late 19th century as a less dangerous, more moral alternative to prizefighting. Competitions are held in three three minute rounds, and fighters can win with a submission, causing their opponent to tap out, a knockout, or by a judge decision.
Looking to the future, Patrick isn't sure if he'll continue boxing in college. While most universities having club boxing teams, Patrick plans to just keep training and see if he still enjoys it by the time college rolls around.
Patrick plans to just keep training and see if he still enjoys it by the time college rolls around.
Growing up in Ohio, Jefferson constantly watched ice hockey games and played pick-up games on the street. “Down here, high school football is very popular, but up North it's all hockey,” Jefferson explains the extent of ice hockey’s popularity in the North. Even when he moved south, the sport still fascinated him, so Jefferson joined a team. Now, he plays as a center, a position comparable to a midfielder in soccer. He moves around the entire rink and handles the rubber puck on both offense and defense.
A 30 minute drive from Patrick’s gym in Ballantyne, Jefferson Patrell laces his skates to head out on the ice at Indian Trail’s Extreme Ice Center. The 19 members of Jefferson’s team, the Charlotte Junior Checkers, have just finished strength training and a team meeting. Now, they'll practice skills and run through plays on the ice to prepare for their upcoming tournament this weekend.
Ice hockey games are played with six person teams. Players are allowed substitutions at any time during the three 20 minute play periods, and due to the speed of the game, players are typically only on the ice for about 90 seconds at a time. Coupled with this intense speed, the frequent physical contact has earned ice hockey popularity in Canada, Russia, Northern Europe, and the Northern United States.
"Down here, high school football is very popular, but up North it's all hockey"
As a high school senior, Jefferson thinks he might play hockey in college on a club team but isn't basing any school decisions on the ice hockey team offerings. He explains, “I'm looking at schools in the North that would have a hockey culture, but it's not something that is going to be a deal breaker.” Jefferson also notes that in the South, it's difficult to get recruited to play at the collegiate level. This is because most scouts focus on players in the North where the game is more popular and they're more likely to find star players.
As Jefferson's practice on the ice comes to a close, Patrick leaves the boxing ring at his gym across town as well. They both head home for the night as PDS students and athletes.
In assembly, we hear announcements about upcoming field hockey, football, and baseball games. Team captains announce the results of cross country meets, softball games, and swim meets. But every day, many PDS students train and compete off PD’s campus, away from the lights of the assembly theater. One of these students is Patrick Plott.
At 5pm each day, Patrick arrives at the UFC Gym of Ballantyne. On a typical day, he spends an hour practicing a variety of jiu jitsu, American Standard Boxing, and Muay Thai kickboxing. In addition to functional training, his routine also incorporates conditioning and weightlifting. At Ballantyne UFC, Patrick is the only high schooler in a gym filled with professional fighters in their twenties. He laughs, “I do not look like I fit in there whatsoever.”
Patrick’s athletic career started
when he was young, as he played
soccer, golf, track, and currently
plays lacrosse for PDS during the
spring. He started competitive
boxing about six months ago
because he was looking for an
enjoyable exercise activity. Since
starting at the UFC gym, Patrick
has been all in. His parents on
the other hand, are supportive
but not so sure about the risks
involved. “They absolutely hate
it. My dad is more okay with it,
but it freaks my mom out worry-
ing about concussions,” Patrick
shares, explaining his parents’ take on boxing.
While he's too young to compete in sanctioned amateur fights as a sixteen year old, he looks forward to competing in a couple years. In the meantime, Patrick has enjoyed viewing fights of his coaches and peers as well as learning from his more seasoned training partners.
Boxing, Patrick’s favorite fighting style, was created in the late 19th century as a less dangerous, more moral alternative to prizefighting. Competitions are held in three three minute rounds, and fighters can win with a submission, causing their opponent to tap out, a knockout, or by a judge decision.
Looking to the future, Patrick isn't sure if he'll continue boxing in college. While most universities having club boxing teams, Patrick isn’t sure if he’ll compete in college or not; he plans to keep training and reevaluate when college rolls around.
It’s 9pm at the Extreme Ice Center, and a twelfth grade athlete slips into his hockey jersey. Across town, another PDS student rips off his boxing gloves for the night and tosses them into his gym bag where they land on top of a red PD t-shirt.
30 minute drive from Patrick’s gym in
Ballantyne, Jefferson Patrell laces his skates to head out onto the ice at Indian Trail’s Extreme Ice Center. The 19 members of Jefferson’s team, the Charlotte Junior Checkers, have just finished strength training and a team meeting. Now, they'll practice skills and run through plays on the ice to prepare for their upcoming tournament this weekend.
Ice hockey games are played with six person teams. Players are allowed to substitute in at any time during the three 20 minute play periods, and due to the speed of the game, players are typically only on the ice for about 90 seconds at a time. This intense speed and frequent physical contact has earned ice hockey popularity in Canada, Russia, Northern Europe, and the Northern United States.
Growing up in Ohio, Jefferson
constantly watched ice hockey games
and played pick-up games on the
street. Jefferson comments on the
extent of ice hockey’s popularity in
the North, as he explains, “down here,
high school football is very popular,
but up North it's all hockey.” Even
when he moved south, the sport still
fascinated him, so Jefferson joined a
team. Now, he plays as a center, a
position comparable to a midfielder
in soccer. He moves around the entire
rink and handles the rubber puck on
both offense and defense.
As a high school senior, Jefferson thinks he might play hockey in college on a club team but isn't basing any school decisions on the ice hockey team offerings. He explains, “I'm looking at schools in the North that would have a hockey culture, but it's not something that is going to be a deal breaker.” Jefferson also notes that in the South, it's difficult to get recruited to play at the collegiate level. This is because most scouts focus on players in the North where the game is more popular and they're more likely to find star players.
As Jefferson's practice on the ice comes to a close, Patrick leaves the boxing ring across town. Leaving their respective gyms, teammates, and coaches behind, both PD student-athletes head home for the night.
A
Rink and Ring:
PD students
compete off-campus
By Taylor Gerlach
COMMUNITY
At Ballantyne UFC, Patrick is the only
high schooler in a gym filled with professional fighters in their twenties.
While he's too
young to compete in sanctioned amateur fights as a sixteen year old, he looks forward to competing in a couple years.
“ . . .down here, high school football is very popular, but up North it's all hockey.”
“I'm looking at
schools in the North that would have a hockey culture, but it's not something that is going to be a deal breaker.”
The Charger, November 2016
Back to Table of Contents