Logan Hall ’14
THE ROUNDUP
When students walk into the Robson Gymnasium, they see walls plastered with numerous state championship banners in a variety of sports.
Brophy teams have racked up a total of 64 state championships over the years because its athletes strive to be the best of the best in everything they do.
Brophy brings in athletes every year who play sports competitively. Most of the Brophy athletes on varsity teams are not just playing the sport for fun, but to win.
Many student athletes play sports just for fun or for the experience. But elite athletes want to be the best at what they love.
What separates Brophy’s athletics from other high schools is that many athletes at Brophy will not settle for being the 99 percent when it comes to athletics. Competitive athletes at Brophy work hard and train hard every day to be the one percent, the one percent being the best athletes, and not having to do with economics.
And in this case instead of students wanting to close that gap, they work to expand it.
“We are focused on doing the little things right and being fundamentally sound,” said Conor Triplett ’14. “We are not worried about being individuals, we are just more worried about the team and team success.”
Triplett is a varsity basketball player who intends to play college basketball for UCLA, Stanford or Georgetown. He also plays for a club team, The Arizona Magic, which is a top 25 team in the nation.
Triplett said his motivation is winning.
“I’m really competitive and I like winning,” Triplett said. “I hate losing and I think a lot of the guys in the program feel the same way, and our ultimate goal is winning a state championship.”
Triplett said his every day work out consists of about two and a half hours of actual basketball, and two days a week in the weight room.
Baseball player Isaiah Deutsch ’14 made the varsity baseball team as a freshman.
Deutsch was recruited by Pepperdine and plans to play baseball for them on a full ride scholarship. But college baseball will not be the end for him if everything goes as planned.
“I would love to play in the Major Leagues, that is my dream and what I am working towards,” Deutsch said.
Although making varsity as a freshman was an honor, Deutsch said his biggest accomplishment as a baseball player was off campus.
“I think that my biggest accomplishment was making the U.S. National Team,” he said.
The U.S. National team got the chance to play in Nicaragua where they got third place, falling to Venezuela.
“It was really cool, and overall a great experience,” Deutsch said.
The workouts that Deutsch endures show that playing his caliber of baseball takes dedication and hard work. Several hours a day are put into making Deutsch and many other Brophy baseball players better at what they love to do.
“I start with my seventh period workout for Brophy, then I go to a personal workout with David Graybill ’12 and Connor Messman ’13 at Pro Advantage, then some throwing and hitting,” Deutsch said.
Pro Advantage, where Deutsch, Graybill and Messman work out has a specific High School Athlete Training Program that is geared towards enhancing every aspect of athletic performance. They design work outs for athlete’s based upon that athletes specific individual needs.
“I think that Brophy has a good pull on bringing in the best athletes,” Deutsch said. “Brophy likes to succeed and we have a good reputation, and kids putting on the Brophy uniform know what they’re here for and strive to be the best because they want the state championship.”
Wrestler Max Ashton ’14 has a similar opinion to Deutsch. Ashton is a Junior Varsity wrestler with hopes of wrestling for a good college.
“Brophy athletes will do whatever they can to succeed,” Ashton said. “If I am good enough, I would love to wrestle at a collegiate level.”
But Ashton is not just your average Brophy wrestler. He is visually impaired and has only very little peripheral vision.
Ashton has been wrestling since the seventh grade, and it is one of the only sports that he can play. He said that being a blind wrestler has its challenges, but overall it does not hinder his ability to compete.
Ashton being a blind wrestler is yet another reason why Brophy is the one percent in sports because not every high school has a visually impaired student who strives to be the best and wrestle in college.
Athletes at Brophy all strive to win a state championship, however there is more that motivates the best of the best.
To the top athletes, sports are more than just a state championship, they are a way of life. There is always more that they can do in the sport they play, and it is hard work and determination that will give them the strength and courage to take their game to next level, be it college or professional.
Andrew MacMillan ’14 is a varsity golfer who believes that athletics at Brophy are much more than a state title.
“Brophy athletes play for something more than themselves,” he said. “They realize that the school has given them a great opportunity to show who they are on and off the field, and every day we strive to be the very best we can in all aspects of life.”
