June 3, 2025 • 17 mins
Three extraordinary student-athletes share their journeys of balancing high-level competitive sports with academic excellence. Sophie Rambo (track), Caleb Neal (wrestling), and Jaden Dabbs (football) discuss what it takes to succeed in both arenas while maintaining focus and determination.
• Sophie Rambo from Grassfield High has won nine state titles in track and placed second at New Balance Nationals, with goals to compete in the 2028 Olympics
• Caleb Neal rom Great Bridge High is a four-time state wrestling champion who ranks 11th nationally and placed fourth at senior nationals
• Jaden Dabbs from Oscar Smith High, has won multiple state championships in football and was nationally ranked in track, now headed to Army West Point
All three emphasize the importance of time management, overcoming setbacks, and provide valuable advice for parents and students! Listen today and join us again next season for more inspiring stories from Chesapeake Public Schools!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Amplify the Chesapeake Public Schools
podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Chesapeake Public Schools is located in the
Hampton Roads region ofsoutheastern Virginia.
We proudly serve over 40,000students in 45 schools and three
centers.
Join us as we share the storiesbehind our story by celebrating
the people and programs thatmake us one of the premier
school districts in Virginia.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Hey, amplifiers, this is Matt Graham here with Chris
Vail, and welcome to the finalepisode for season two of
Amplified, the Chesapeake PublicSchools podcast.
We're closing things out strongwith an inspiring and energetic
conversation.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
That's right, matt.
Today we're spotlighting threeincredible student athletes who
are excelling both on the fieldand in the classroom.
These students balance trainingschedules with academic
excellence, and they're doing itat the highest level.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
That's right.
We spoke with Junior SophieRambo, a standout in track and
field from Grassfield High,senior Caleb Neal, a dominant
force on the wrestling mat atGreat Bridge High, and senior
Jaden Dabbs, who made majormoves this season on the
football field at Oscar SmithHigh School.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Their dedication, discipline and drive will leave
you inspired.
So, whether you're a student, aparent, a coach or just love a
good success story, thisepisode's for you.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yep.
So join us in celebrating ourhigh achieving athletes and
wrapping up this school yearwith a whole lot of CPS pride.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Hey, my name is Jaden Dabbs.
I'm a senior at Oscar Smith andI'm active in football.
Dabs, I'm a senior at OscarSmith and I'm active in football
.
I'm going to Army West Pointand my goal is just prepare for
that and try to get on theroster.
Do everything good on and offthe field.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Hey, I'm Caleb Neal.
I'm from Great Bridge HighSchool and I'm on the wrestling
team.
I'm going to Southern IllinoisUniversity, edwardsville next
year and my goal is to be anNCAA All-American and hopefully
crack the lineup either nextyear or the year after that.
Speaker 5 (02:06):
I'm Sophie Rambon from Grasswood High School and
I'm a junior and I do track thisfall.
My goal is to commit to thecollege that feels like home to
me and then after that I want towin NCAA titles, team titles.
I want to go to the Olympics in2028.
So that's a big goal I have formyself.
I want to be a world champion,so really just everything.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
And all three of you are excelling in the classroom
and excelling in your respectivesports, and so we're happy that
you're here today to talk withus.
And let's start with you, caleb.
Tell me what first got youinterested in your sport.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
My dad got me interested in wrestling when I
was in about sixth grade.
He had wrestled in high schoolso he thought it would be good
for me, because I was reallysmall in middle school and I
always wanted to play football.
But 90 pounds wasn't reallycutting it, so I had to switch
it up.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
All right, hey, sophie, rumor has it you were a
heck of a softball player, butthen somehow got into track, so
you want to tell us how thathappened.
Speaker 5 (03:07):
Yeah, I played a lot of sports growing up, but then I
started playing softball, Ithink when I was 10.
And then I started playingtravel softball after a few
years of playing rec, and then Istarted to get pretty good at
it.
So I kept doing it.
And then in eighth grade Iwanted to do a spring sport for
the school and I was eithergoing to pick volleyball or
track and I decided to picktrack.
(03:28):
So I'm glad I did, because I'mhere like excelling now and how
did you get into track?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Was it friends?
Was it family?
Speaker 5 (03:37):
No, I was just always faster on the bases, so I just
decided to do it and see whereit would take me.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Awesome.
How about you?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Jaden.
My mom put me in Little Leaguefootball when I was five, so
I've always been playingfootball.
And then my football coach toldmy mom that they should put me
in track.
So when I was seven I startedrunning track.
And then I've been running andplaying football all the way
through high school.
And then my junior year Icommitted to Army West Point.
So I decided to Army West Point.
(04:04):
So I decided to focus onfootball.
So I've been doing footballsenior year All right.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
So what position in football do you play?
Jen, I'm safety, safety andSophie, what events do you run
in track?
Speaker 5 (04:16):
I'm a sprinter but sometimes I go up and I run the
800 just a little bit.
I ran the 1000 one time, andindoor just to get some work in.
But yeah, I'm mainly a sprinter.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
All right, and then Caleb, your background in
wrestling this year.
What weight class were you in?
And maybe the previous years?
Speaker 4 (04:34):
One hundred seventy five pounds this year, Then
junior year I was a one hundredfifty seven pounder, Sophomore
year I was a one thirty eight,and freshman year I was a one
twenty six.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
All right, so we went from 90 pounds to 175.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
I would say you grew, Caleb yeah a lot, so now let's
take a moment.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I want to hear.
Our listeners want to hear someof your major accomplishments.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Uh, jaden, let's start with you All right
Football freshman year we wonStates and then my senior year
just passed we won States andfor track Um I went to States
all four years and freshman andsophomore year passed.
We won states and for track umI went to states all four years
and freshman and sophomore yearI was number one in country and
junior year I was number three.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Wow, wow, so that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yep.
So, jenny, you have two ringsright then this outdoor I'm
hoping to have three again, so Ithink I'm at nine.
(05:41):
I'm at nine state titles rightnow.
Well, it gets hard to countwhen you get that high.
But I also hear at the nationallevel too.
What type of things have youdone at the national level in
placing in events?
Speaker 5 (05:53):
This indoor.
I placed second at New BalanceNationals and that was a really
big moment for me because everyyear before that I hadn't done
so well at Nationals because ofsome training stuff.
But we figured that part outand now I'm doing good.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So second in the country at Nationals?
That is amazing.
All right, Caleb, how about you?
Speaker 4 (06:13):
I'm a four time state champ.
I've won it every year sincefreshman year and then senior
year.
This year I broke into thenational rankings at number 11.
And then this spring I placedfourth at senior nationals.
What weight did you wrestle forthat one?
Oh?
Speaker 2 (06:28):
170 pounds, 170 pounds.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
And then I've heard that in the state of Virginia
there's, you were the 37thstudent to win four state titles
in wrestling, so that's quitethe accomplishment there, thank
you and I will tell you, justsitting here, like y'all are so
humble, with all these accolades, with all those things that you
(06:52):
have mentioned, what was one ofyour most memorable moments
things that you have mentioned.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
What was one of your most memorable moments?
I think for me it would be lastoutdoor.
I was at states and usually Irun the 200 and 400, but I ran
the 100 at states and I wasn'texpecting to win.
Uh, I went, I was last goinginto finals, so I was in, I was
coming out of lane one and I was.
I raced in finals and then Iended up winning.
So that was a really unexpectedmoment and I was just proud of
(07:20):
how I did.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
How about you, jaden?
For track, I think it wasfreshman year.
My stepdad woke me up.
I was asleep, taking a nap andhe just showed me his phone and
I was the number one time in thecountry.
That was real exciting.
And then, for football, it wastime in the country that was
real exciting.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
And then, for football, those winning states
this past year all the guys, allfour years been with them and
finally and I heard, that gamewas pretty amazing it came down
to the, the final seconds 21 to20.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Yeah, that's, that's awesome I would say a freshman
year winning states.
I was a big underdog going tothat match and no one really
thought I was going to win it,so that was really big for me
breaking through and winning thefirst one.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
What has been the biggest motivation for you guys
to excel and get to where youare today?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Other than my parents , of course, but also all my
people around me, like we're allathletes.
I hang around, all athletes andwe're all doing good.
My brother goes to VTech D1,all my friends, a lot of offers.
So we're all doing good andwe're all pushing each other
every day.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
So you surround yourself with like-minded people
is huge, and I think that's bigfor students, right Finding
those people staying away fromthose negative influences.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
I would just say keeping the teammates around me
close and just hanging out withthem a bunch and keep pushing me
along the right path and havingthe right coaches in my corner
definitely helps me out a lot.
I'm really blessed to have thecoach that I have.
They have like a lot of goodexperience and are really good
to have in my corner.
Speaker 5 (08:49):
I feel like everyone around me is pretty motivational
to me and they all help mesucceed in every way possible
and, most importantly, god.
He definitely keeps me focusedand humble and all of the things
.
So without him I definitelywouldn't be doing as well as I
am right now.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
All right.
So we talked about motivation.
So how about the trainingregiment?
Because it just doesn't happen.
You just can't walk in or justgo to your team practices.
So for those students that wantto follow in your three
footsteps, what do they have todo?
Speaker 5 (09:19):
Really just work hard , and if you want to achieve
something and you have a goal inmind, then you really have to
work hard for it, or else it'snot going to happen, because you
can dream all you want, butwithout the hard work you won't
get there.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
I would say having the right diet and just your
focus always on becoming thebest version of yourself, making
sure you're getting those extraworkouts, going on the extra
runs, getting an extra list andjust trying to work with coaches
as much as possible and justgetting the best you can yeah,
bouncing off what caleb said,like just going to practice
isn't really enough, like yougot to do the extra stuff
(09:53):
outside.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Even if you can't get with personal trainers, you can
go by yourself outside work outin the mornings after practice.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Well, with all that extra that you guys have to put
in, we call you student athletes.
How do you make it happen?
How do you balance that?
Speaker 5 (10:09):
I balance it by having a schedule.
I feel like a schedule isreally important for being a
student athlete Like you have tohave time set aside for certain
stuff.
Just balancing it out andmanaging your time is really
helpful.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Yeah, she said, just make sure you got everything
scheduled out.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Yeah, I would just go along with them, just sending
out that time each day to knockout that schoolwork.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
What happens if you have some adversity or
experience a setback.
Do you mind sharing?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yeah, my setbacks personally was injury, but
especially for my sport,football I think that's the best
time, like you can still workon like mental aspect of the
game.
You know it's not always justphysical.
So just working on that andthen schoolwork to focus on that
until you're able to get backinto it.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
I would say, just keeping a short memory.
You can only worry about thepresent.
It doesn't really matter whatyou did in the past.
So just keeping a short mindand thinking about giving your
best effort each day.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
I say, like for me sometimes it's losing races that
I should have probably won.
Like he said, short term memory, like right after, right after
I ran at New Balance Nationalslast outdoor.
I ran the 400 and I got ninthand I was not expecting that at
all and it just really Waspretty hard on me and then I
(11:22):
still had another race afterthat, so I had to refocus my
mind and get focused on the nextrace.
So, yeah, pretty pretty much ashort-term memory and just keep
moving forward and focusing onwhat's next on the list.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, be like a goldfish.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, let's talk about maybe the most difficult
moment you've had to get whereyou are today.
What's something that you hadto overcome, and how did you
overcome it?
Speaker 5 (11:46):
I think the most difficult moment for me was
picking track over softball.
I had played softball my wholelife and that was just a really
hard decision to make.
I wanted to do both, but I knewthat in order to be really good
at one I had to pick one.
So just picking track it wasthe best decision for me, but it
was a really hard decision tomake.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
I think my most difficult.
It wasn't an event, but like atime period.
Like I said, all the peoplearound me are pretty good at
what they do, excelling, so,like all my friends getting
offers before me and all that,so I just had to stay down and
keep working and I got 10 plusoffers in one month.
So just keep working and don'tworry about what other people
(12:25):
have.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
I would say, early on freshman year and in middle
school I was losing a lot morewrestling matches, so it's just
really hard to keep your head upwhen you're losing.
But I would say just stayingmotivated even through the
losses was the hardest part forme.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
What has your sport taught you about yourself?
Speaker 5 (12:42):
I feel like it's taught me a lot of lessons, but
mainly that I'm a hard workerand that I'm very determined,
and it's just been greatevolving in the sport.
I've learned so much from mycoaches and my teammates.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
My sports taught me you can't do it alone.
You got to rely on your peoplenext to you, in front of you,
behind you.
Oh, I have one common goal Igot work to do.
You can't do it by yourself.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
I'd say you just have to put the maximum effort in
every day, even when you're notfeeling good or even if your
day's not going very well.
You just need to keep goingforward and keep putting in your
best effort.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
There's no doubt that y'all are leaders on your team.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
So what sort of things that you do to help
motivate your teammates on yourpractices or your meets?
So I play free safety, so I'mreally the quarterback of the
defense, so I see everything.
So if I see someone doing thisor slacking or messing up or
something needs to be different,I can kind of coach them up.
Or if I see somebody doing good, I can tell them good job,
because I really see everything.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
Yeah, at practice I'm usually paying attention to
what everybody else is doing,making sure they're doing the
right things with the righttechnique and form, and
everything like that.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Jaden, you're a senior.
Caleb, you're a senior thisyear and graduation is coming up
.
Are you excited?
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Yeah, super excited, yeah, you ready.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
What advice would you give to your upcoming senior
class?
It doesn't have to be sportrelated.
Just what advice would you giveto your upcoming senior class?
Doesn't have to be sportrelated.
Just what advice would you give?
Speaker 3 (14:10):
um, don't get lazy, you're almost there.
Just do your work, that's all.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Do your work I would say the same thing the
senioritis is real.
I mean, you just gotta keepdoing the work and stay there
and not miss too many days.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Where are you all going to miss the most?
Probably about high school.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Probably my friends.
We all go in different places.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
I would say my friends and teachers, for sure.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
You've given some great advice about your
experiences, how you've gottenhere, even advice to students.
What advice would you givemaybe even parents of student
athletes that think, all right,my kid's really interested into
the sport.
How can I support?
Speaker 4 (14:48):
them, I would say just don't put too much pressure
on them, just make sure they'rehaving fun, and that's really
what matters.
They'll get better as long asthey're having fun and just keep
the right things around, keepthe right foods for them to eat,
and just help them witheverything they want to
accomplish.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, I would say what he said, like support them.
You know anything you can dotake them to camps or make them
watch the game, listen topodcasts, whatever it is, just
whatever the parent can do.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yeah, they can listen to this one right.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
I think really, whatever the sport is, if the
parent doesn't know much aboutit or wants to learn more about
it, just really like learningeverything they can about it in
order to help their kids succeedin it.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
While we close out here any shout outs that you
want to give anyone that hashelped you along your journey.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
I can shout out my track coach, coach Stan.
That was my coach since I wasseven until now.
So football coaches, all ofthem coached their good as him
and been with me since freshmanyear.
You know college coaches all ofthem from Army helped me too.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
I want to shout out my wrestling coaches, steve and
Wayne Martin, and I want toshout out my Young Life leader,
steve Rawls.
He's really kept me on trackspiritually throughout high
school and reminded me that Godloves me and died for me, no
matter how I wrestle.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
I want to thank Coach Harper.
He's gotten to me where I amtoday.
I don't think I wouldaccomplish any of this stuff
without him coaching me andleading me and like giving me
the basis of everything, becauseI came into the sport not
really knowing anything.
So he's really gotten me towhere I am.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Well, I want to thank y'all for coming in today and
talking with us and sharing withus what it's like to be a
student athlete, and a studentathlete that is just doing so
well in your respective sport.
Not just in the sport, though,also in the classroom.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
You guys are definitely modeling the way for
not only Chesapeake PublicSchool students, but for
students across our state onwhat they need to do to be
successful.
So thank you for everythingyou're doing each and every day.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
We hope you enjoyed the stories behind our story on
this episode of Amplify theChesapeake Public Schools
podcast.
Feel free to visit us atcpschoolscom.
Forward slash amplified for anyquestions or comments and make
sure to follow us wherever youget your podcasts.
Welcome to Amplify the Chesapeake Public Schools
podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Chesapeake Public Schools is located in the
Hampton Roads region ofsoutheastern Virginia.
We proudly serve over 40,000students in 45 schools and three
centers.
Join us as we share the storiesbehind our story by celebrating
the people and programs thatmake us one of the premier
school districts in Virginia.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Hey, amplifiers, this is Matt Graham here with Chris
Vail, and welcome to the finalepisode for season two of
Amplified, the Chesapeake PublicSchools podcast.
We're closing things out strongwith an inspiring and energetic
conversation.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
That's right, matt.
Today we're spotlighting threeincredible student athletes who
are excelling both on the fieldand in the classroom.
These students balance trainingschedules with academic
excellence, and they're doing itat the highest level.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
That's right.
We spoke with Junior SophieRambo, a standout in track and
field from Grassfield High,senior Caleb Neal, a dominant
force on the wrestling mat atGreat Bridge High, and senior
Jaden Dabbs, who made majormoves this season on the
football field at Oscar SmithHigh School.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Their dedication, discipline and drive will leave
you inspired.
So, whether you're a student, aparent, a coach or just love a
good success story, thisepisode's for you.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yep.
So join us in celebrating ourhigh achieving athletes and
wrapping up this school yearwith a whole lot of CPS pride.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Hey, my name is Jaden Dabbs.
I'm a senior at Oscar Smith andI'm active in football.
Dabs, I'm a senior at OscarSmith and I'm active in football
.
I'm going to Army West Pointand my goal is just prepare for
that and try to get on theroster.
Do everything good on and offthe field.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Hey, I'm Caleb Neal.
I'm from Great Bridge HighSchool and I'm on the wrestling
team.
I'm going to Southern IllinoisUniversity, edwardsville next
year and my goal is to be anNCAA All-American and hopefully
crack the lineup either nextyear or the year after that.
Speaker 5 (02:06):
I'm Sophie Rambon from Grasswood High School and
I'm a junior and I do track thisfall.
My goal is to commit to thecollege that feels like home to
me and then after that I want towin NCAA titles, team titles.
I want to go to the Olympics in2028.
So that's a big goal I have formyself.
I want to be a world champion,so really just everything.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
And all three of you are excelling in the classroom
and excelling in your respectivesports, and so we're happy that
you're here today to talk withus.
And let's start with you, caleb.
Tell me what first got youinterested in your sport.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
My dad got me interested in wrestling when I
was in about sixth grade.
He had wrestled in high schoolso he thought it would be good
for me, because I was reallysmall in middle school and I
always wanted to play football.
But 90 pounds wasn't reallycutting it, so I had to switch
it up.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
All right, hey, sophie, rumor has it you were a
heck of a softball player, butthen somehow got into track, so
you want to tell us how thathappened.
Speaker 5 (03:07):
Yeah, I played a lot of sports growing up, but then I
started playing softball, Ithink when I was 10.
And then I started playingtravel softball after a few
years of playing rec, and then Istarted to get pretty good at
it.
So I kept doing it.
And then in eighth grade Iwanted to do a spring sport for
the school and I was eithergoing to pick volleyball or
track and I decided to picktrack.
(03:28):
So I'm glad I did, because I'mhere like excelling now and how
did you get into track?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Was it friends?
Was it family?
Speaker 5 (03:37):
No, I was just always faster on the bases, so I just
decided to do it and see whereit would take me.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Awesome.
How about you?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Jaden.
My mom put me in Little Leaguefootball when I was five, so
I've always been playingfootball.
And then my football coach toldmy mom that they should put me
in track.
So when I was seven I startedrunning track.
And then I've been running andplaying football all the way
through high school.
And then my junior year Icommitted to Army West Point.
So I decided to Army West Point.
(04:04):
So I decided to focus onfootball.
So I've been doing footballsenior year All right.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
So what position in football do you play?
Jen, I'm safety, safety andSophie, what events do you run
in track?
Speaker 5 (04:16):
I'm a sprinter but sometimes I go up and I run the
800 just a little bit.
I ran the 1000 one time, andindoor just to get some work in.
But yeah, I'm mainly a sprinter.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
All right, and then Caleb, your background in
wrestling this year.
What weight class were you in?
And maybe the previous years?
Speaker 4 (04:34):
One hundred seventy five pounds this year, Then
junior year I was a one hundredfifty seven pounder, Sophomore
year I was a one thirty eight,and freshman year I was a one
twenty six.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
All right, so we went from 90 pounds to 175.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
I would say you grew, Caleb yeah a lot, so now let's
take a moment.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I want to hear.
Our listeners want to hear someof your major accomplishments.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Uh, jaden, let's start with you All right
Football freshman year we wonStates and then my senior year
just passed we won States andfor track Um I went to States
all four years and freshman andsophomore year passed.
We won states and for track umI went to states all four years
and freshman and sophomore yearI was number one in country and
junior year I was number three.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Wow, wow, so that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yep.
So, jenny, you have two ringsright then this outdoor I'm
hoping to have three again, so Ithink I'm at nine.
(05:41):
I'm at nine state titles rightnow.
Well, it gets hard to countwhen you get that high.
But I also hear at the nationallevel too.
What type of things have youdone at the national level in
placing in events?
Speaker 5 (05:53):
This indoor.
I placed second at New BalanceNationals and that was a really
big moment for me because everyyear before that I hadn't done
so well at Nationals because ofsome training stuff.
But we figured that part outand now I'm doing good.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So second in the country at Nationals?
That is amazing.
All right, Caleb, how about you?
Speaker 4 (06:13):
I'm a four time state champ.
I've won it every year sincefreshman year and then senior
year.
This year I broke into thenational rankings at number 11.
And then this spring I placedfourth at senior nationals.
What weight did you wrestle forthat one?
Oh?
Speaker 2 (06:28):
170 pounds, 170 pounds.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
And then I've heard that in the state of Virginia
there's, you were the 37thstudent to win four state titles
in wrestling, so that's quitethe accomplishment there, thank
you and I will tell you, justsitting here, like y'all are so
humble, with all these accolades, with all those things that you
(06:52):
have mentioned, what was one ofyour most memorable moments
things that you have mentioned.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
What was one of your most memorable moments?
I think for me it would be lastoutdoor.
I was at states and usually Irun the 200 and 400, but I ran
the 100 at states and I wasn'texpecting to win.
Uh, I went, I was last goinginto finals, so I was in, I was
coming out of lane one and I was.
I raced in finals and then Iended up winning.
So that was a really unexpectedmoment and I was just proud of
(07:20):
how I did.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
How about you, jaden?
For track, I think it wasfreshman year.
My stepdad woke me up.
I was asleep, taking a nap andhe just showed me his phone and
I was the number one time in thecountry.
That was real exciting.
And then, for football, it wastime in the country that was
real exciting.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
And then, for football, those winning states
this past year all the guys, allfour years been with them and
finally and I heard, that gamewas pretty amazing it came down
to the, the final seconds 21 to20.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Yeah, that's, that's awesome I would say a freshman
year winning states.
I was a big underdog going tothat match and no one really
thought I was going to win it,so that was really big for me
breaking through and winning thefirst one.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
What has been the biggest motivation for you guys
to excel and get to where youare today?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Other than my parents , of course, but also all my
people around me, like we're allathletes.
I hang around, all athletes andwe're all doing good.
My brother goes to VTech D1,all my friends, a lot of offers.
So we're all doing good andwe're all pushing each other
every day.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
So you surround yourself with like-minded people
is huge, and I think that's bigfor students, right Finding
those people staying away fromthose negative influences.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
I would just say keeping the teammates around me
close and just hanging out withthem a bunch and keep pushing me
along the right path and havingthe right coaches in my corner
definitely helps me out a lot.
I'm really blessed to have thecoach that I have.
They have like a lot of goodexperience and are really good
to have in my corner.
Speaker 5 (08:49):
I feel like everyone around me is pretty motivational
to me and they all help mesucceed in every way possible
and, most importantly, god.
He definitely keeps me focusedand humble and all of the things
.
So without him I definitelywouldn't be doing as well as I
am right now.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
All right.
So we talked about motivation.
So how about the trainingregiment?
Because it just doesn't happen.
You just can't walk in or justgo to your team practices.
So for those students that wantto follow in your three
footsteps, what do they have todo?
Speaker 5 (09:19):
Really just work hard , and if you want to achieve
something and you have a goal inmind, then you really have to
work hard for it, or else it'snot going to happen, because you
can dream all you want, butwithout the hard work you won't
get there.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
I would say having the right diet and just your
focus always on becoming thebest version of yourself, making
sure you're getting those extraworkouts, going on the extra
runs, getting an extra list andjust trying to work with coaches
as much as possible and justgetting the best you can yeah,
bouncing off what caleb said,like just going to practice
isn't really enough, like yougot to do the extra stuff
(09:53):
outside.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Even if you can't get with personal trainers, you can
go by yourself outside work outin the mornings after practice.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Well, with all that extra that you guys have to put
in, we call you student athletes.
How do you make it happen?
How do you balance that?
Speaker 5 (10:09):
I balance it by having a schedule.
I feel like a schedule isreally important for being a
student athlete Like you have tohave time set aside for certain
stuff.
Just balancing it out andmanaging your time is really
helpful.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Yeah, she said, just make sure you got everything
scheduled out.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Yeah, I would just go along with them, just sending
out that time each day to knockout that schoolwork.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
What happens if you have some adversity or
experience a setback.
Do you mind sharing?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yeah, my setbacks personally was injury, but
especially for my sport,football I think that's the best
time, like you can still workon like mental aspect of the
game.
You know it's not always justphysical.
So just working on that andthen schoolwork to focus on that
until you're able to get backinto it.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
I would say, just keeping a short memory.
You can only worry about thepresent.
It doesn't really matter whatyou did in the past.
So just keeping a short mindand thinking about giving your
best effort each day.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
I say, like for me sometimes it's losing races that
I should have probably won.
Like he said, short term memory, like right after, right after
I ran at New Balance Nationalslast outdoor.
I ran the 400 and I got ninthand I was not expecting that at
all and it just really Waspretty hard on me and then I
(11:22):
still had another race afterthat, so I had to refocus my
mind and get focused on the nextrace.
So, yeah, pretty pretty much ashort-term memory and just keep
moving forward and focusing onwhat's next on the list.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, be like a goldfish.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, let's talk about maybe the most difficult
moment you've had to get whereyou are today.
What's something that you hadto overcome, and how did you
overcome it?
Speaker 5 (11:46):
I think the most difficult moment for me was
picking track over softball.
I had played softball my wholelife and that was just a really
hard decision to make.
I wanted to do both, but I knewthat in order to be really good
at one I had to pick one.
So just picking track it wasthe best decision for me, but it
was a really hard decision tomake.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
I think my most difficult.
It wasn't an event, but like atime period.
Like I said, all the peoplearound me are pretty good at
what they do, excelling, so,like all my friends getting
offers before me and all that,so I just had to stay down and
keep working and I got 10 plusoffers in one month.
So just keep working and don'tworry about what other people
(12:25):
have.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
I would say, early on freshman year and in middle
school I was losing a lot morewrestling matches, so it's just
really hard to keep your head upwhen you're losing.
But I would say just stayingmotivated even through the
losses was the hardest part forme.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
What has your sport taught you about yourself?
Speaker 5 (12:42):
I feel like it's taught me a lot of lessons, but
mainly that I'm a hard workerand that I'm very determined,
and it's just been greatevolving in the sport.
I've learned so much from mycoaches and my teammates.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
My sports taught me you can't do it alone.
You got to rely on your peoplenext to you, in front of you,
behind you.
Oh, I have one common goal Igot work to do.
You can't do it by yourself.
Speaker 4 (13:08):
I'd say you just have to put the maximum effort in
every day, even when you're notfeeling good or even if your
day's not going very well.
You just need to keep goingforward and keep putting in your
best effort.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
There's no doubt that y'all are leaders on your team.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
So what sort of things that you do to help
motivate your teammates on yourpractices or your meets?
So I play free safety, so I'mreally the quarterback of the
defense, so I see everything.
So if I see someone doing thisor slacking or messing up or
something needs to be different,I can kind of coach them up.
Or if I see somebody doing good, I can tell them good job,
because I really see everything.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
Yeah, at practice I'm usually paying attention to
what everybody else is doing,making sure they're doing the
right things with the righttechnique and form, and
everything like that.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Jaden, you're a senior.
Caleb, you're a senior thisyear and graduation is coming up
.
Are you excited?
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Yeah, super excited, yeah, you ready.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
What advice would you give to your upcoming senior
class?
It doesn't have to be sportrelated.
Just what advice would you giveto your upcoming senior class?
Doesn't have to be sportrelated.
Just what advice would you give?
Speaker 3 (14:10):
um, don't get lazy, you're almost there.
Just do your work, that's all.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Do your work I would say the same thing the
senioritis is real.
I mean, you just gotta keepdoing the work and stay there
and not miss too many days.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Where are you all going to miss the most?
Probably about high school.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Probably my friends.
We all go in different places.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
I would say my friends and teachers, for sure.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
You've given some great advice about your
experiences, how you've gottenhere, even advice to students.
What advice would you givemaybe even parents of student
athletes that think, all right,my kid's really interested into
the sport.
How can I support?
Speaker 4 (14:48):
them, I would say just don't put too much pressure
on them, just make sure they'rehaving fun, and that's really
what matters.
They'll get better as long asthey're having fun and just keep
the right things around, keepthe right foods for them to eat,
and just help them witheverything they want to
accomplish.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah, I would say what he said, like support them.
You know anything you can dotake them to camps or make them
watch the game, listen topodcasts, whatever it is, just
whatever the parent can do.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yeah, they can listen to this one right.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
I think really, whatever the sport is, if the
parent doesn't know much aboutit or wants to learn more about
it, just really like learningeverything they can about it in
order to help their kids succeedin it.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
While we close out here any shout outs that you
want to give anyone that hashelped you along your journey.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
I can shout out my track coach, coach Stan.
That was my coach since I wasseven until now.
So football coaches, all ofthem coached their good as him
and been with me since freshmanyear.
You know college coaches all ofthem from Army helped me too.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
I want to shout out my wrestling coaches, steve and
Wayne Martin, and I want toshout out my Young Life leader,
steve Rawls.
He's really kept me on trackspiritually throughout high
school and reminded me that Godloves me and died for me, no
matter how I wrestle.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
I want to thank Coach Harper.
He's gotten to me where I amtoday.
I don't think I wouldaccomplish any of this stuff
without him coaching me andleading me and like giving me
the basis of everything, becauseI came into the sport not
really knowing anything.
So he's really gotten me towhere I am.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Well, I want to thank y'all for coming in today and
talking with us and sharing withus what it's like to be a
student athlete, and a studentathlete that is just doing so
well in your respective sport.
Not just in the sport, though,also in the classroom.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
You guys are definitely modeling the way for
not only Chesapeake PublicSchool students, but for
students across our state onwhat they need to do to be
successful.
So thank you for everythingyou're doing each and every day.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
We hope you enjoyed the stories behind our story on
this episode of Amplify theChesapeake Public Schools
podcast.
Feel free to visit us atcpschoolscom.
Forward slash amplified for anyquestions or comments and make
sure to follow us wherever youget your podcasts.
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