‘Take on your challenge head-on’
>>>Interviews with senior athletes whose athletic careers were cut short by the coronavirus outbreak.
Sports: Football, track and field.
Key stats: All-league offensive lineman for the football team and a top shot putter/ discus thrower, which he’ll pursue in college; finished fifth in the shot put at the 2019 state championships.
Fall plans: Will attend Iowa.
On the season being canceled: “It sucked. Everything started clicking. I felt big things were about to be happening. I was about to hit new marks and new personal bests. For that to be taken away from me all in one second, it really made me feel down.”
On the new things he’s discovered with his free time: “I started drawing again. I’m trying to get a keyboard so I can learn how to play the piano.”
What he misses most: “Competing. It was so much fun to compete with the other throwers. It made
each of us better.”
On the protests: “I agree with the protests. I just don’t like [the] rioting.”
On his college choice: “I could have stayed in California, but I wanted to experience something new.”
Where he sees himself in 10 years: “I’m trying to study psychology and criminal justice.”
On being a two-sport athlete: “Just go for it. It’s always going to be a lot of hard work. You just have to be determined. Don’t be afraid. Take on your challenge head-on.”
On the lessons he’s learned: “We all appreciated the life we had so little and when it got taken away we never realized how much we loved it until it was gone.”
Video interviews of each athlete can be found at latimes.com/sports/ highschool.