Trevor Carroll
Freshman year of high school is never an easy task. It is a completely new atmosphere, filled with different people and much more demanding classes. For most, it’s a transition that could take close to an entire ten week quarter, sometimes more. Ryan Carroll’s introduction to high school will not be the same as everyone else's, not even close. Having to balance schoolwork with three sports, two of them being at the varsity level, will be a whole new challenge.
The typical freshman athlete will play one sport his freshman year, two at max. These sports are played at the Freshman or JV level, with far less demand than Varsity. The coaches of both Freshman and JV very well know of the struggles of a first year high school student, and give room for error. The Varsity level comes with the expectation of a high standard both on and off the field. Carroll will be jumping right into his first sport the first week of school, Golf. Right after that, he goes right to the ice for tryouts for the school’s hockey team. “I feel like every rising freshman is definitely a little nervous about high school, it’s a whole different scenario,” Carroll said, “I feel good about my chances(of making both teams), but if I get cut from either it won’t be the worst thing in the world.” But Carroll later explained how his work ethic and competitive nature will help him be at top performance come tryout time.Getting cut or not making the team is a worst case scenario situation. Given both the hockey and golf teams current situation, Carroll could be an instant contributor. Head golf coach Ben Smith explains “We lost a lot of guys this year, we had a ton of seniors. We’re searching for kids to come right in and contribute to the team, I’ll be working with Ry during the summer to improve his game and hopefully make him one of those kids.” As for the hockey situation, the team lost 13 seniors this year, the biggest Senior class the team has seen in years. Not only was the class large, they were also extremely productive. With four of the five starters being Seniors, the opportunity for new skaters to contribute is high as well. “Hockey is a tradition in our family,” Carroll’s mother Michele said, “ We really believe that Ryan has a great chance to get solid playing time this year. It’s a shame he didn’t get the chance to play with his brother(Trevor, a Senior who graduated this year) but he will no doubt get tips from him along the way.”
Sports are important, but the priority for Carroll is too accel in the classroom. Playing a sport all three seasons will without a doubt be a huge challenge. WIth homework being an inevitability in every class, time will be hard to come by. “It’ll absolutely be a challenge but I think I’m ready,” said Carroll “Getting home late from practice will be tough and I'll most likely have to stay up really late to finish it all.” He later said “it’s just something I’ll have to get used to.” Athletes having to juggle between schoolwork and sports has been a widely known problem for awhile now, with students coming up with all kinds of different ways to cope with the problem. During free periods of the day, immediately before practice, or in certain cases, as soon its assigned in class.
Whatever happens, Carroll is ready for the challenge. Either way, he knows that time is most certainly on his side. “ I'm only a freshman, I have a ton of time left to get better
and improve my game.”
