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Emily Tifft

Senior DJ Wilkinson talks to his strength and conditioning coach during practice Mar. 26 on how to improve for his college football season.

The transition from high school academics to college is already difficult enough for some students and adding a sport to the mix may seem overwhelming, but according to teacher Brad Brubaker, sports actually helped him manage his school work more efficiently.

“A lot of people say their grades and school work were actually better when they were in season because that is what they were used to in high school versus having a lot of free time,” Brubaker said. “When I wasn’t in season, I found it increasingly easy to waste time, whereas, when I knew I had a practice or weight training in the morning, I had to plan my time and was a little more efficient.”

Brubaker, who played football at Gustavus Adolphus, said the hardest part about transitioning was being in a larger class size than he was used to.

“I came from a small town, there were 72 students in my graduating class. Even though Gustavus is a small school, it still has 3,000 students, which is obviously a lot bigger than I had experienced,” Brubaker said. “I used to be a big fish in a small pond, and then I was a little fish in a big lake.”

Preparation for a college sport varies between the programs and the coaching philosophy, according to Brubaker.

“I worked my tail off for the last two months of the summer, worrying if I was going to be in good enough shape, and we trained about half as hard as we did in high school,” Brubaker said.

Brubaker said over preparing for the college sport season increases confidence and shifts the focus to having a good tryout.

“You are better off walking in saying ‘wow, this was easy’ than being out of shape,” Brubaker said. “Contact the coach and make sure you know what the expectations are before you show up.”

Senior Skyler Nagorski signed to play basketball at Gustavus Adolphus next fall. She said college coaches attended her summer league games and she signed with Gustavus in January.

“I know college competition is going to make it tougher to play and I am going to have to work a lot harder,” Nagorski said. “It will be definitely more intense, and there will be crowds at our games, unlike at high school games.”

Nagorski said she just finished the basketball season and must allow her body to relax before she begins training intensely. As of now, she is training twice a week.

“I am working on running and the things I know I need to improve on for basketball,” Nagorski said. “Some of my high school coaches are helping me and my college coach is telling me what I need to work on.”

Nagorski said the hard work she has put in during the high school season is helping her achieve her goal.

“I have put in so many hours on basketball. I have said no to so many trips and friends because of basketball. Just to know that next year I will be able to play makes it all worth it,” Nagorski said.

Senior Joe Warner has been training more strenuously for next year’s football season by maintaining focus and physically preparing as he understands there will be more expected of him.

“I am going to have to learn how to manage my time properly by studying and staying on top of my grades while having football after that,” Warner said. “I know it is going to be a lot faster in college than it is in high school and I just know I am going to have to work harder than I did this year.”

Warner said he is excited to play college football next year as he has worked hard throughout high school to achieve his level of experience.

“I think hard work pays off, so I feel like it is going to pay off,” Warner said.

Senior DJ Wilkinson signed to Concordia college St. Paul to play football. Similar to Warner, Wilkinson said he has been training to advance onto college athletics.

“Physically, I have to prepare a lot, I eat better, and mentally I am getting ready to be against bigger players with a better skill level,” Wilkenson said. “I have to be more committed to my sport by working on my craft as opposed to going out on the weekends and being with friends.”

Wilkinson said playing a college sport will be different because he will be playing with players who perform at a higher skill level.

“It is a blessing to be able to play at the next level, the preparation has payed off so far. I have my school payed for and I get to go play (football) at a high level,” Wilkinson said.