Brian Evans is a sophomore at South Hills High School and is currently a player on the varsity football team. From a young age, Brian knew that his destiny would be football.
“I have a football family, my cousins played in the NFL, and my dad played football, in a way I just feel like I was born to play the game,” Evans said.
Oftentimes many athletes have idols or someone they look up to, and Brian is no different. His dad inspires him the most and is always there for him if he needs any help.
“My dad taught me almost everything I know about football and was always willing to help me out. He inspires me the most.”
Making varsity requires a lot of training and discipline. It requires long hours of practice and nonstop training. Brian knows this. During freshman year he noticed lots of guys on the team who were bigger than he was. Seeing this, he used it as motivation to work even harder.
“During middle school, I was only around 5’5, I wasn’t big at all. I knew I had to work harder, and coming into freshman year I grew a lot which helped a lot.”
Brian takes his training very seriously and every day makes sure to get a good workout in. “Every day I usually get up at around 5:00 to 5:30 and make sure to get a lift in, after I finish with school and practice, I come back home and do rehab so I can be fresh for the next day.”
Weights and conditioning are essential aspects of an athlete’s life, especially in a high-intensity sport like football. Putting in that extra effort is very important and oftentimes separates athletes from one another. Diet can even play a huge part in overall performance on the field. The amount of calories you get can dictate the amount of energy you have for practice, a game, or just life in general. Whether it’s on the field or in the weight room, Brian works his hardest to improve daily.
“Weight room and getting the right amount of calories are both things that are going to contribute to how much strength and energy you are going to have when you’re on the field.”
Although Brian works hard as an athlete. He is always battling to keep his spot. Like many athletes, there is always a battle for playing time, and once someone is better than you, you’ll get less and less of it.
“I’ve gotta keep working hard because in order for me to play at a higher level, I gotta keep pushing myself to a level that I know I can achieve.”
Making varsity is a very impressive thing no matter what school you go to and requires hard work and dedication.
“Take it seriously,” Evans said. “If you wanna play football or any other high-level sport, you got to take every practice seriously.”
