Student athletes scramble for college scholarship opportunity due to fall season cancellation amid COVID-19

MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. - So many school extra-curricular activities in Washington are on hold this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Student-athletes who were depending on the upcoming season for scholarships are now scrambling to achieve that goal.

Jake Trost is a senior at Tahoma High School in Maple Valley. The student athlete plays running back, full back and linebacker for the Tahoma Bears. This was supposed to be his year to leave it all on the field.

“When you get a taste of those Friday night lights it’s kind of hard to get off it. And once you have it one time you’re like, god, I got to get back out there,” said Trost.

Just like many senior student-athletes, Trost was depending on this final season to earn a college scholarship.

“I was very excited too because I was coming back from an injury as welcvl and wanted to prove myself once again. And it was a gut punch when COVID came in and started to jeopardize our season,” said Trost.

Though a future season is uncertain, Trost said he hasn’t lost sight of the goal. He and friends from other schools meet twice a week to run drills and scrimmage.

“We all kind of came together and said hey, we can’t think like that. We got to prepare for the possibility that it might not happen, but at the same time you got to prepare that it will happen and keep training,” said Trost.

“He works really hard, he doesn’t give up,” said his mother, Amy Trost. “He works really hard, he doesn’t give up, he hustles, he’s a team player, he’s encouraging.”

Trost’s can-do attitude is fueled by his family and support team. His mother said it’s a team effort to keep him encouraged about football and school.

“We want them to keep on top of their work. He has a job, keep busy, try to keep positive. There’s a lot of things going on in the world where it would be easy to get down. We’re trying to stay positive,” said his mother.

Another positive outlet and helping Trost gain some exposure has been on social media.

“Go through Twitter. Twitter is the lifeblood of recruiting, especially for football,” said Trost. “Just getting your name out there, emailing coaches, sending them your film, having good grades is obviously a big deal so showing that you’re a good student.”

The family is encouraging other student-athletes to keep working hard – get connected with coaches, teammates and trainers. They also said it’s a good idea to train with students from other sports to help find new ways to sharpen skills.