Owen Hughes
Lake City High School
A sophomore at Lake City High School, Owen Hughes has already lettered in track and field his freshman year and has placed in three tournaments during his first two seasons of wrestling. But his lifelong dream has to do with football.
“I plan to attend a four-year college and play football there,” said Owen. “I would like to play football in the NFL because I have grown to have a very big passion for football and have played for six years.”
Owen said one of the biggest challenges he has faced in sports came last year during the wrestling season. “There was about a four-week period in which I was in a lot of pain every day and still went to practice,” said Owen, who adds that it had a little bit of an affect on his mental status as well. “But I just kept pushing through and I got through it with a lot of heart and ibuprofen.”
Owen said he enjoys wrestling because it is something that challenges him both physically and mentally.
“It's a very tough sport, and being able to do it at a varsity level is pretty cool to be able to say about myself,” said Owen.
He is grateful to his head coach, Corey Owen, who has a famous saying in the wrestling room. “He says, ‘Little things win matches,’” said Owen. “And it's taught me that doing the small things right—like getting all the reps in a drill in practice or in life just doing homework or making your bed—it’s the little things that people do that others won't is what makes them champions.”
Dietrich Kale Edwards
Coeur d’Alene High School
Photo by: Karri Delbridge
Kale Edwards is a 17-year-old junior at Coeur d’Alene High School. He has accomplished a great deal both in athletics and academics during his high school career.
“I’m a varsity football and basketball player and an honor-roll student with a 4.0 GPA,” said Kale, who would like to play football at the collegiate level and is working hard toward that goal.
His career interests are diverse with law enforcement and architecture at the top of his list. “I plan to minor in Spanish because of my awesome teacher, Ms. Bell,” Kale said.
With many athletes, injuries are always a risk, and how one overcomes those obstacles says a great deal about their character. Kale is no different.
“One of my biggest challenges happened this last summer when I broke my leg at Hoopfest; it was a compound fracture and I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to play football again with my team,” he said. “Fortunately, I was able to make it back for the last part of the season, although we lost in the state championship.”
Kale said he is thankful for his surgeon in Spokane, Soren Olson, and his Coeur d’Alene Vikings physical therapist, Justin Kane, for helping him in his recovery.
Now that he is healed, Kale is enjoying being on the basketball court with his teammates. “The thing I enjoy most about this basketball season is hanging out with my friends on the team,” he said.
Being an athlete can teach you many lessons that can be applied in other parts of one’s life. For Kale, one of those lessons is simple: “The most important thing I’ve learned is that you can only control your attitude and effort.”