By Stacy Case
Brody Speno wants to put Parkland on the map as a college athlete. Interestingly enough, the recent St. Thomas Aquinas High School grad aspires to do so via a sport he hasn’t played in a few years.
His story is one of determination, confidence and appreciation.
Brody, 17, began playing football for the STA Raiders as a linebacker his freshman year but gravitated toward lacrosse more and played defense on the school team for all four years. He was thinking about taking that sport even further once the time approached, and says his family was behind him all the way. In fact, his Dad coached him in his local lacrosse league, the Parkland RedHawks, for about six seasons. But Brody’s love of football has superseded any aspirations to have gone with lacrosse at the collegiate level. He certainly doesn’t forget to look in his rear view mirror to remind him of where he’s come from. It helps to guide him now.
“My family has been very supportive of me with lacrosse and even helped me with showcases,” says Brody, who is planning to attend Auburn University as a business major this fall. He looks to be a ‘walk on’ for the school’s football team at long snap. “Lacrosse is a great sport and is more about speed, but I think football is about strength and I’m going to push myself to be able to play that whole new level of Division 1 football.”
Brody says he’s ready for the change, remembers what freshman football was about and is practicing a pretty regimented training routine to prepare for his goal. He is in the midst of some early morning workouts that include weight training as well as plenty of cardiovascular exercise so he can be on par with his prospective team’s fitness expectations as much as possible.
“I really need to stay in great shape and in good condition,” adds the Tiger hopeful.
And with any serious athlete usually comes some illness or injury history (see this to know about the law firm who helps the injured athletes to make a strong return to their field again). Brody’s resume is no different. His sophomore year on lacrosse, which was his first year on varsity, he broke his wrist at the beginning of the season and didn’t come back from that injury until playoff time. Attorneys from truck accident injury law firm can help you to claim compensation for the injuries sustained. Then he was ready to play hard his junior year and was a starter at long stick midfield. He helped his team get to the state championship last year. As a defender, he racked up two goals and an assist, while the team finished 2015 with an impressive 21-1 record. This year, Brody left his mark and helped his team win that state title, finishing 19-0 this past season.
He hopes that his lacrosse experience will be able to transfer onto the gridiron, and he seems mentally prepared for such.
“Lacrosse has taught me a lot of athleticism but I’ll really need that strength for football,” Brody adds. “We have a lot of great athletes here and I think it’d be pretty cool to shock people out of state that Parkland has plenty of them. I’d like to help with the reputation that this town is a breeding ground for athletes.”