After five years of mastering his soccer skills, sophomore Garrett Chandler decided to take up football instead. As most people know, football embodies many different aspects than soccer, so the transition was surprising to many.

Chandler was a skilled goalkeeper for bulldog soccer, and was forecasted to be a vital player on the varsity team this year. However, Chandler was eager to change things up and try something new, which was the main reason he made the decision to quit soccer and begin playing football.

His athleticism and speed made the transition natural and easy, earning him a starting spot on varsity his first year out. Thanks to his years of experience kicking a soccer ball, Chandler is the starting kicker and punter for the varsity team, occasionally playing other positions as well.

“Every team has to have a kicker,” varsity football coach George Yarno said. “It’s a hard thing to do, so having a kid that played soccer, and that’s used to kicking helps a lot.”

As he was making the tough decision, Chandler was influenced by many people. Some encouraged him to continue with soccer, while others encouraged him to try football.

“I think the people who influenced my decision the most were Jaxon Pettit and his family,” Chandler said. “They gave me a lot of support and understanding of what would be best for me.”

Although the transition was relatively smooth, Chandler did have some adapting to do when it came to the coaching and team dynamic.

He is enjoying meeting new people and getting to know the players and coaches.

“The teams are very different… the football team is much more aggressive and rowdy, while the soccer team was more chill but less tight-knit,” Chandler said. “Football has been like a brotherhood, while soccer was like a group of good friends.”

For the most part, people have reacted well to Chandler’s choice to join football.

He still keeps in touch with coaches and many friends from the soccer community. Aside from the fact that they miss Chandler’s contribution on the soccer field, people have been supportive and understanding of the choice.

“I feel like I’ve been extremely lucky to have a group of people surrounding me that completely respect and support the decision,” Chandler said.

Chandler plans to continue playing football throughout high school and is looking forward to continuing to learn and build new connections with people throughout the program.