The nature was calming, the trail crunching beneath his feet as he walked his trail. He had a decision to make, go to his football game and be there for his team, or go to soccer practice. Being a multi-athlete, a jack of all trades if you will, meant making sacrifices. Whether it be sacrificing the rest of his free time, or picking one sport over the other, sacrifices were to be made.
Talan DeFoor, a junior at Heritage High School, had been in this situation before. Playing both football and soccer, although in different months, was tricky. “It’s really time-consuming stuff,” DeFoor said. “I have football during the summer/fall, and soccer during January. I don’t really have a lot of time to myself.” Despite this, DeFoor wouldn’t quit his sports for anything. Because of his mother’s past in soccer, and his personal enjoyment in football, sports play a big role in his life. DeFoor’s favorite out of the two though? It has to be soccer, because it’s the one he’s the best at. “In my opinion, I feel like he has speed and he has height on people,” Landon Crews said, a close friend of DeFoor.
Soccer played a big part in DeFoor’s life, even bigger than football. His mother played it when she was younger, and the good-playing genes passed over to him when he was born on June 5, 2008. He plays striker, or sometimes central middle defense (CMD), and he enjoys the position he plays, even though sometimes he’s not the person everyone has their attention on. His soccer season starts in early January, and he plays for our local Heritage team. You may have seen him on the field, or maybe around the school, but nonetheless, he’s a valuable player to the team.
Whenever DeFoor isn’t playing or practicing sports, though, he’s hiking a trail. The scenery of the pine trees helps to destress after a busy sports week. DeFoor lives near a previous tree farm, which makes for an interesting trail to trek. DeFoor also owns two dogs and a bunch of other chickens. This helps expand on his love of animals, helping him get hands-on experience for the future.
DeFoor’s love for the outdoors paired with the fact that he plays sports, means that he’s outside almost constantly. When he isn’t playing sports or outside, though, he’s catching up on his favorite shows. He enjoys watching comedies, more particularly the movie “Waterboy,” which is ironic considering the fact that he plays Football. He also enjoys Harry Potter, contradictingly. “I really liked Harry potter, but I didn’t become, like, a Potterhead,” DeFoor explained. “It was in middle school, but I was very positive about the series.”
Let’s not forget some of his other abilities. DeFoor took ASL, and although he isn’t quite fluent, he knows some of the phrases by mind. He also takes journalism at Heritage High School, and is excelling in the class. He loves the photography aspect of the class, but also enjoys writing articles as well, which heavily contradicts his personality overall. This is his first year in journalism, and it’s safe to say that he’s getting along with his new peers greatly. “I think he’s cool, he’s pretty funny, and he’s tall, which I’m pretty jealous about,” Landon Cruz said when asked about his close friend. “He’s athletic, he’s bold, and he’s friend-sy,” Joshua Nestor said, another friend of DeFoor.
Talan DeFoor is definitely one of those people you’d want to befriend if it’s your first year at Heritage as a junior. He describes himself as a person who gets along with everyone, despite their differences. He is smart, cool, kind, funny, and there’s no doubt that he’ll do great things during his last 2 years here at Heritage.
