As the center on Kentridge High\u2019s football team, LeRoi Edwards thinks of himself as \u201cthe commander of the offensive line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to know everyone\u2019s job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Give this guy a chance, and he\u2019d probably take a shot at doing everyone\u2019s job \u2013 not all at once, of course, but maybe play center one game, then try guard, and then tackle.<\/p>\n
The point is this: There\u2019s no point trying to limit Edwards to just one thing when it comes to any aspect of life, including athletics. During the course of his four years at Kentridge, he evolved into a standout three-sporter \u2013 football, wrestling and track \u2013 in an era when more and more kids are taking the opposite approach and specializing in just one thing.<\/p>\n
And Edwards eagerly acknowledged he would have tried additional sports if he\u2019d had additional time. But his time as a Charger is almost up. So while he can\u2019t put any more activities on his resume\u2019, he can tack on another accolade:<\/p>\n
Edwards has been selected as the Kent-area Male Prep Athlete of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have liked to do judo. It would have been fun to go out there and try,\u201d Edwards said of KR\u2019s state-championship program in that sport. \u201cI was going to do golf before I went out for football. I guess I would try everything \u2026 swimming \u2026 and I wish I could do gymnastics \u2013 that\u2019s the one thing I would do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d just try everything because that\u2019s the way my personality is.\u201d<\/p>\n
But quantity isn\u2019t Edwards\u2019 primary motivation. He\u2019s all about quality.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Last fall in football, Edwards was named the Offensive Lineman of the Year in the South Puget Sound League North Division. He also was an All-SPSL North first-team defensive lineman, and was an all-state nominee for the second year in a row. He wound up with three letters in that sport.<\/p>\n
\u2022 During the winter on the wrestling mat, Edwards was considered a top-six prospect for state. He exceeded that conventional wisdom, advancing all the way to the 285-pound championship match at Mat Classic.<\/p>\n
\u2022 This spring, he was a solid javelin thrower and shot putter as he earned his second letter in track and field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve pretty maxed out my time here,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of things, but I\u2019m ready for someone else to take the reins.<\/p>\n
Building from Square One<\/b><\/p>\n
Unlike some athletes whose names and talented reputations precede them to high school, Edwards didn\u2019t arrive at Kentridge with a long list of accomplishments from his days at Meeker Junior High.<\/p>\n
Matter of fact, he didn\u2019t have a list at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn junior high, I didn\u2019t do anything,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cI sat on the bench for football. I played maybe half a dozen plays all year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, he\u2019s a guy who has racked up 10 letters, a 3.55 grade-point average, and has spent this school year serving as Kentridge\u2019s ASB president.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to have my fingers in all the jars and make sure everything is running smoothly,\u201d Edwards said.<\/p>\n
It was some ninth-grade struggles on the wrestling mat that helped build Edwards into the accomplished athlete that he became.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrestling my freshman year really helped. It put me through a lot of pain and adversity,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cI won two matches, and one was by forfeit. I was this freshman wrestling grown men.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom there, I figured something out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chargers football coach Marty Osborn saw that on the gridiron, where Edwards became a three-year starter at center.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe started out as a leader of the line, and ended up being a team captain,\u201d Osborn said. \u201cGlenn Dacus, our line coach, is a former center, and he\u2019s always looking for that top-notch guy to get in there. LeRoi showed a lot of promise as a young kid. This year, he did a nice job transitioning when we moved to a spread offense and he was having to shotgun-snap all year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Osborn sees plenty of good times ahead for the kid who went from doing almost nothing to doing practically everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting into college, playing just one sport, no ASB, no wrestling, no track \u2026 the sky is the limit for him,\u201d Osborn said. \u201cI can really see him bloom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Into the wild blue yonder<\/b><\/p>\n
Late last fall, Edwards also figured out where he wanted to do that blooming: in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy, where he\u2019ll play football and work toward becoming a pilot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really hadn\u2019t thought about (military) that much until I found out they were interested in me for football,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cI was totally, \u2018Whoa, I don\u2019t want to go military.\u2019 But I like it now that I\u2019m going somewhere where I\u2019m going to be getting all this discipline. Especially coming from high school, I haven\u2019t had a whole lot of adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Were it possible, Edwards probably would take a mulligan or two here and there \u2013 perhaps another shot at Decatur\u2019s Tevyn Tillman, who beat him in the Mat Classic finals, 7-0. (\u201cHe isn\u2019t that big, but he\u2019s fast and strong and has good hips,\u201d Edwards said of his friendly rival.) Or maybe another toss of the javelin and shot after falling short of a state berth in both at the West Central District meet. (\u201cDistrict was just a bad day,\u201d he said.)<\/p>\n
But mostly, Edwards will take a sense of satisfaction from a multi-faceted job well done.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty happy with all of my performances,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd even when it\u2019s not a good performance, you build off of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And if you\u2019re Le\u2019Roi Edwards, you never limit that building to just one thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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