Aiden Russell, a junior at Struthers High School, recently started track for the Wildcats. He has also been playing football for 12 years at Struthers.
Football is a big part of Russell’s life; it is something that he looks forward to when the fall season starts. Working in the off time prepares someone tremendously for the regular season.
So far, Russell has been staying in the gym, working on himself to be the best he can be for his senior year.
“I wanted to get in shape and get faster for the football season in the fall,” says the new track runner.
Starting a new sport out at a later time than others can be hard because it may take a longer time to really master the sport. Some think that track is just running, but there is more to it than just running.
Russell has a goal to use track as a helping tool for his football skills and advancing his distance in running.
“It would be something I can easily adapt to because I already have an idea of what track is. I did it one year in 8th grade, but at that time I wasn’t ready for that and was more focused on football. I now think I am capable of doing both and feel very confident in it,” says Russell.
Being comfortable with the teammates on a team can make or break your teamwork that is performed on track. You do a lot of teamwork in this sport, so it does really make the experience way better if you are close with your teammates.
The new runner has the upper hand in being closer with the team than he thought.
“I am friends with most of them because of football, and I have always been around them since we played Little Hardhats in elementary school. I have a deep bond with some of them,” says Russell.
