Tyler Ward '12 Recruiting Profile

A lot of people when told by a doctor they would not play a sport again and not be able to walk for months would probably just give up and accept the facts.  I am not one of those people. 

 

I had just finished middle school.  Summer was packed with high school football practice, football conditioning, and motorcycle riding.  It is the latter that got me in trouble.  Early that July morning I was riding on my racing motorcycle.  Rounding a blind curve on a back road, I hit a pickup truck head on.  I landed in a nearby field, and that’s all I can remember until much later. I spent the next two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit.  A concussion, internal injuries, and several broken bones meant the end to football as I knew it.  After all, I was a running back.

 

Upon release from the hospital, the doctors put me on complete bed rest and told me to look forward to another football season...next year.   “In fact you still have 3 more years of high school left.   This season is definitely over.  You will be lucky to walk by the end of this one.”

 

Many people would accept those words as truth.  I considered it more of a challenge.  It was a challenge to me mentally as well as physically.  I was ready to beat the odds.

 

While confined to my home, I would sit on the couch and pick up marbles with my toes in order to strengthen my muscles and maintain fine motor coordination.  This was a daunting task and it was one that I mastered with much practice.  I also spent time researching different types of physical therapy.  I was determined and I was motivated. I guess you could say that walking was the “brick wall” that I was supposed to find my way around.  My goal was to knock down the wall instead of finding my way around it.

 

Character development and integrity are invaluable traits which are sometimes developed when you least expect it.  For me, this was during one of the most difficult times in my life.  After 13 grueling weeks of hard work and self discovery, I was running again.  In fact I played in the last two football games of the season.  I went on to make Captain of the varsity wrestling team and in 2010 I completed the Navy Seal Fitness Challenge while at a 2 week J.Rob Intensive Wrestling camp.  Last year I finished 2^nd in the NC State AAU Wrestling tournament and 7^th in the NC High School Athletic Association State Wrestling Tournament.  I was named “Most Valuable Wrestler” and “NC Scholar Athlete.”  I will graduate with honors and also as a North Carolina Honors scholar.

 

I am an extremely tough and physical wrestler.  I have experience leading a team and I am gifted with the ability to motivate others.  I will always be the first wrestler at practice and I do not stop until I have to leave.  I love a good challenge and when faced with one, I put everything I have into it.  Whether in the classroom or on the mat, I face each challenge as an opportunity to excel.  I am focused and goal oriented.

 

The problem solving aspects of the challenges are what drive me.  I want to wrestle at the collegiate level because I know at the collegiate level there is no easy match or practice.  I am open to different types of schools as I want to find out what opportunities are available both academically and athletically.
J. Tyler Ward