Many people have been playing sports for their whole lives. From a young age, they’ve been joining teams, attending practices and playing games. Very few can say they haven’t missed a single practice or game in their young career.
Bainbridge senior Chris Johnson can.
Since he was 8-years-old, Johnson has tried almost every sport. He even gave tennis a shot in his elementary school days. Football wasn’t too appealing to him. When one of his favorite teachers began coaching a team, he changed his mind.
He was an offensive guard his first season. Soon he fell in love with defense. Johnson played both sides of the ball as a Bearcat, blocking for quarterback Preston Norris as a tackle and making sacks as a defensive end.
“I like defense because there are less rules,” Johnson said. “But there’s still a lot of physicality to it.”
Now that the football season is over, Johnson is searching for other ways to compete.
He is on the Bainbridge track and field team, practicing hard for the 2014 season.
“My favorite events are shot put and discus in track and field,” he said.
Everyday after track and field practice, he has an hour before heading to soccer practice.
This is his first season playing the sport, but he’s having less trouble than he thought getting the hang of it.
“There’s a lot more running because you have a lot more space than a football field,” Johnson said. “You have to cover a lot more. When I’m playing right wing, I have to play both offense and defense. I’m constantly running up and down the field.”
When he isn’t constantly running from sport to sport, Johnson enjoys being a regular teenager. He plays videogames, listens to Drake and Lil Wayne and cheers for the Georgia Bulldogs on football Saturdays.
The effort he puts forth in sports is also matched by the work he puts into his studies. Johnson has a 3.4 GPA and pushes himself in the classroom like he would on the soccer or football field.
His father, Roger, has been particularly supportive on Johnson’s athletic journey, the importance of making it to every game and practice. Even he tries to make it to watch his son play every day.
“Since I’ve started driving, he’s missed a lot more practices,” Johnson said. “But he’s missed very few practices and games over the years.”