Austin Isley '19 Recruiting Profile

    My love for football began at a young age. I started playing flag football in 3^rd grade and moved up to the tackle football program in 5th grade where my love for the sport grew even more. It was then that I knew this would be a big part of my life and I wanted to continue playing the sport. Through the first few years of football, I not only grew as a person but as a team member, as well. I learned the importance of a team, by working together and supporting each other in all aspects of the game as well as outside the game; you become a family and are always there for each other.

    During my sophomore year is when I started playing at the varsity level and truly learned it is more than just a game. Our team reached level four of the WIAA High School Playoffs and was within the top 28 teams of the state. That was a huge moment for me and one I will never forget; we lost and the state game was just out of reach. That lose and that game created a new meaning of the sport to me. It was so much more than just a game. Just to start, it was saying good bye to our seniors who were my mentors, it was realizing who I was playing for and why I was playing the game, it was not wanting to lose the family we had become on the field, it was realizing I never want to give up no matter how hard the game may be, it was also realizing that just because the clock says the game is over it never truly is.

    Since that game, my teammates and I strive to push each other both during the football season and during the off-season. Every day we are in the weight room at least once a day and sometimes twice a day. In there, we push each other even harder to be our best and mentor the younger players to do the same, which has led to success for our team. Additionally, I have made a personal pledge to myself; I will not play for myself alone. I will play for my team, my coaches, my family, and my community. I will play for the younger players who I have had the opportunity to work with and mentor during youth football camps. For my last high school football season and hopefully beyond that, I want to be the one known for not just his skills on the field but also off the field.