Senior Theodore Sparks takes on the tasks of being a tri-athlete by taking on the sports of football, wrestling and track during the school year. 

Sparks is often described by teammates and coaches as bringing a positive and rigorous attitude to all the sports he plays. Playing the roles of defensive and offensive line for football, competing in the 285-pound weight group for wrestling, and being a thrower for the boys’ track team has allowed Sparks to become a well-rounded athlete. 

Joshua Haynes, Sparks’ throwing coach, shares how he brings his skills to all his sports to become a better athlete. 

“Obviously with football and wrestling he’s a varsity starter and you look to him to carry the burden to what’s going on in a moment; to apply pressure to a situation and he performs at a very high level,” Haynes said. “With track he’s relatively new to it, but he did allow a third place (win) in shot put, mixing it up with Adonis Rodgers. You need that competition. He’s someone that will kind of shake things up a little bit to keep pushing people in the right direction.”

Sparks often is referred to as being loving and charismatic. Sparks believes that mindset can often make or break the love of the game he plays. 

“Mentality, trying to keep your head up at practice, (and) keep everybody else’s head up,” Sparks said. “If you have a good mood, the whole practice it’s going to be a good practice regardless no matter what happens.”

Sparks is in the middle of an outstanding wrestling season, winning the title at the recent Lake County Championships, along with the DAC championship.

Adonis Rodgers, a junior that plays alongside Sparks in football and track, said Sparks pushes him to be his best beside Sparks. Embracing the love and perseverance that have ultimately made them a better team when it comes to playing together.

“Theo is a great player,” Rodgers said. “His work ethic is outstanding. When Theo is having a bad day, he’s going to try to find a way to make his practice and day way better. Theo is very hard-working and an outgoing player in my eyes.”

Sparks gives a glimpse into what the time management is like being a tri-athlete often going to school then having practice immediately. 

“You just have to have good time management, ” he said, “knowing what needs to be done and when it needs to be done just staying on top of things and not pushing anything back trying to get things done when they need to be done.”

Sparks does plan on continuing to play sports even in his college years. He plays to possibly just focus on one sport instead of three and does have a favorite sport despite trying his best in all three.

“My favorite sport would have to be football just because that was the one I started with and had a really good connection with,” he said. “I do plan on pursuing football in college because I think I can take it far.”