“For me, I just like to stay moving,” Aaron Ross said. “I love moving. Without sports, I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d be doing right now.”
Ross is the only athlete at Northwood who plays four sports. The sophomore plays football and basketball, in addition to balancing his time on the baseball and track teams in the spring.
Ross’ teammates are impressed with the energy level he brings from season to season. Senior Jack Holeck, a teammate of Ross on the football and basketball teams, is one of those people.
“For some reason he’s never tired,” Holeck said. “He’s always going 110 percent, and he never slows down.”
Ross starts his yearly athletic journey in the fall as running back and defensive back for the varsity football team. Ross played a small part in the offensive success the team had this past season, but Northwood’s head coach Brian Harrington thinks his role can expand in the upcoming seasons if he can fix one issue.
“His confidence was low this year, so that’s why he only had 20 carries,” Harrington said. “As he gets his confidence up, his role on the team will expand.”
Harrington is an advocate for Ross playing other sports.
“I encourage all of my athletes to play multiple sports,” Harrington said. “In football, we try to develop the whole athlete. We don’t try to have the best football players, we try to have the best athletes on the field and turn them into football players.”
Once the football season is over, Ross hangs up his football cleats and hits the hardwood for the varsity basketball team. This past season was Ross’ second season on the varsity team. Ross did it all for the Chargers, averaging 12 points, seven assists and seven rebounds per game. As a result of his efforts, he has drawn praise from his teammates.
“He’s really good at what he does,” Holeck said. “He’s a really good passer, and he’s by far the most athletic person on the team. He sees things before they happen and it really helps us on the basketball court.”
And finally, when spring comes around, Ross splits his time between the baseball field and the race track. Ross starts in right field for the junior varsity baseball team and competes in high jump and the 4×100 relay for the track team. Ross finds it a little tricky to balance the two.
“I try to do it half and half,” Ross said. “But most of the time I’ll go to the whole baseball practice then go jump with track for 30 minutes.”
No matter what sport Ross is playing or what team he’s on, people love to have him as a teammate. Sophomore Deuce Powell is a teammate of Ross on the football, basketball and baseball teams.
“In basketball, he knows how to share the ball,” Powell said. “In football, he knows the plays and helps other people learn the plays. In baseball, he makes everyone happy. He brings a very funny environment. He makes everyone laugh and stay positive.”
Holeck agrees.
“He’s always finding ways to encourage his teammates and make them better,” Holeck said. “You always look for that in a leader.”
– By Jeffrey Marcin
