High school standouts take on college athletics

By Leanna Churchill, Staff Writer

 

SPRINGFIELD – Every year many high school athletics are faced with a question of whether to continue their athletic careers or not.

Lincoln Land provides a place for those athletes to continue their athletic careers in order to either just to play for a few more years or move on to another athletic program.

The LLCC athletic program has about 100 student athletes participating in 5 sports.  Those sports include both a men’s and women’s basketball teams, softball, baseball, volleyball and men’s soccer.  

A few Lincoln Land athletes shared their reasons for coming to LLCC and some thoughts on the differences they have discovered between high school athletics and now.

Jonathon Walder

Walder was a basketball and baseball player at Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School until his graduation in 2016.  He is now an outfield on the baseball team here at Lincoln Land.

Walder chose to play baseball here at Lincoln Land because it is “known to be an elite program that plays at a high level” and he wanted to be a part of program like that.

“The level of intensity that we are expected to play at and the speed of the game,” he says is the biggest difference between high school and college baseball.

Along with that he mentioned that he has had “trouble adjusting to the change in velocity on the offensive side.”

Ella Nelson

Nelson is currently a Logger basketball and softball player but also played volleyball in high school at Bismarck – Henning, where she graduated in 2016.

Nelson is a forward on the basketball team and an outfielder on the softball team.

“The environment is welcoming and friendly,” she says of why she chose to continue athletics at Lincoln Land.

She has found out that college sports are a bigger commitment and along with that comes the challenges.

“I’ve had to learn how to manage time properly,” she says of the biggest challenge she in the beginning.  

“LLCC is only a two-year school, so I only get my amazing team for two years instead of four,” Nelson says of something she misses about high school athletics.

On the flip side of that Nelson says her favorite part of athletics at Lincoln Land is, “my teams and coaches, we’re a family.”

JoColby Boston

Boston played basketball at Argenta – Oreana High School and is continuing with basketball at Lincoln Land.

Boston says he has discovered a few differences between high school and athletics now.

“Definitely the speed of the game, but also, I’ve realized that I’m nowhere near good enough to where I want to be,” he says.

Some students will choose to attend Lincoln Land because of the athletic program but Boston chose the athletic program because of the academics.

“I chose here not for the basketball, but more so academics.  I felt I would be taken care of and pushed to open my mind more.”

“Taking my books more seriously and staying focused on my goals,” Boston says, has been a challenge he has faced in the transition from high school to college.

“I love competition. I want to be in a gym with people that are going to push me and make me better,” he says of playing with a new team.

There is something about high school Boston does miss, “I miss not playing with friends.”

“The responsibly and growing up you have to do. I want to be my own man and grow up,” he says of his favorite part of college so far.

As for the future, “I’m looking forward to the good times, but also the tuff times so that I can get better and separate myself from the pack,” says Boston.

Leanna Churchill can be reached at [email protected].