Claiming spots on the rosters of both the football and the track teams, Todd Frickey strives to use his God-given talents to benefit both of the Charger teams he represents. Frickey comments on the demands of being a two-sport athlete at the college level.
What is college life like being a two-sport athlete?
Very, very busy, but if you’re able to manage the time well I think it’s very rewarding as well. I get a chance to do two things I love to do, which I know a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do.
How does being on two sports teams affect your school load?
It was difficult at first. I mean it still is difficult, but once I was able to recognize and section off my life it got a little bit easier. But it’s just about staying focused and using the time that you have.
What was your experience with track and football before you joined the teams here at Hillsdale?
When I was in high school I did both. Football was definitely my first love. But when I found out I had the opportunity to be in both here, I was quick to jump on it because, like I said before, not a lot of people get that opportunity. So to be able to do two sports in college I felt like I could compete and succeed well at both.
How does the mental game between track and football differ?
I would probably say football takes a little bit more mental preparation; going over plays in your head, what you need to do. With track, it’s just you get in the blocks and use the blessings God gave you to run that race.
What was the reasoning behind you not redshirting your freshman year?
We had some injuries at the corner position and they needed me to kinda step in there and take over a few times.
How has not redshirting as a football freshman affected your game?
Coming into to it I did expect to be redshirted so it was a surprise to me. But then the more I look at it, the more I see it could be a blessing in disguise and open up something else in the future but I’ve kind of come to terms with it now. It’s just about competing and doing well and helping the team now.
Because of football and track’s different seasons, how does being on one team affect your conditioning for the other team?
It affects track a little bit more than it would football. I’m not able to get out there and run the longer distance races and the longer distance sprints like some of the other guys on the track team. But at the same time I feel like having experienced football helps me more on the track than it would those other track athletes.
Does training for one sport help you with the other?
I would say yeah, definitely. You know, running track definitely makes me faster which helps me on the football field. The lifts that we do for football will definitely help me for track.
When does track season start for you?
Once football season ends, officially, I’ll take probably a week or so off, recover a little bit. And then I’ll start going to some track practices. And then I’ll do the football lifts as well.
What do you say to the thought that you’re the fastest man on campus?
I’m not sure about that. If someone says that, you know, well, thank you is about all I can say.
Do you feel you’ve done anything special to become as fast as you are?
Obviously, it’s taken a lot of work throughout my entire life to get to this point. I think a lot of it has to do with the gifts that God gave me. I felt like it would be a disservice to Him if I didn’t use them to the best of my abilities every single day. So that means I run track and I’m going to compete and do well.
Was running one of your passions? Or was it something you were good at that you wanted to keep doing?
A little bit of both. The more I got into it the more it became a passion of mine. Just being able to compete and do something and succeed– I think it definitely helped me to grow. But like I said, football was my first love– that was something that I wasn’t going to give up.
Be sure to watch Frickey and the Charger football team at their next home game as they take on Wayne State on Oct 12.
