Athlete of the Month: Blake Goodman
September 17, 2015
Senior Blake Goodman, a Diamond Bar High School varsity football captain, knows exactly what he wants to do with sports in his future. As captain, Goodman strives to motivate his teammates and lead them by example so they can be as successful as possible.
Since he had been playing football for nine years before high school, Goodman knew he wanted to join the DBHS varsity team. Before attending DBHS, he had played Pop Warner football in Diamond Bar.
In his freshman year, he was named the team’s offensive rookie of the year. He then started his sophomore year as the varsity center and earned the honor of becoming a captain in his junior year. This year he’s a defensive lineman and a fullback on offense and he continues in his leadership role as a captain.
“I love the feeling I get on the field every Friday night. The greatest thing football has given me is a great work ethic. No matter how hard something gets, I can fight through it.” Goodman said.
Although his father was the one who first prompted him to play football, Goodman admires his uncle the most due to the fact that he helped him during the off-season to become a better player.
“Besides family, I do enjoy contact and being physical, so that is one of the reasons why I play football.” Goodman said.
Among his many experiences in football, Blake remembers best the first round of playoffs during his sophomore year, when the team was convinced it was going to lose to Downey High School after hearing about the other team’s skill. Instead, they defeated Downey 63-21.
Though he has played a variety of other sports before, Goodman never actually devoted himself to anything besides football due to the fact he did not enjoy other sports as much. Often going home very late because of practice, Goodman confesses that balancing school work and football tended to be a very stressful task.
After committing so much of his time to the sport, Goodman plans to continue football at a college level. Once his playing days are done, he hopes to pursue a career as a firefighter.
“I love playing football so much and can’t believe it’s my last year, but I’m looking forward to playing in college. I love my team and coach; they’re my family and are always there for me.”
