Trevor Thompson (12) leans back in his chair with his arms loosely crossed across his chest. He lets a smile appear on his face as he jokes around with his friends during lunch. Sitting under the tree just outside of Manzanita, it’s hard to miss the roar of laughter coming from Trevor’s table every few minutes. Jared Anderson (12), a close friend of Trevor’s, has seen Trevor’s humor and mellow mood grow throughout high school.

“In eighth grade and freshman year, we were all pretty hyper,” Jared said. “I especially like hanging out with Trevor because he’s pretty chill and funny. Trevor’s the type of guy that just wants to go to Santa Cruz and chill now. He’s just a really down to earth guy.”

Trevor’s “chill” characteristic stems from his sense of humor.

“I love making joking around and making people laugh,” Trevor said. “On the basketball team, even when things are serious I like to joke around. I just think it makes things less awkward and fills the gaps.”

Trevor and his two sisters, have all been playing basketball since a young age. While first inspired by his dad, who also played since he was young, Trevor’s competitive nature and love of the sport was what drove him to not only continue playing throughout high school but also start football his senior year.

If asked at the beginning of his freshman year if he thought he would ever play for the varsity football team, the easy answer for Trevor would have been no. But nevertheless, the spring of his junior year, Trevor began spring training for his first season as a football player.

“I never thought I would play football,” Trevor said. “I think a lot of it came down to the commitment I already had for summer basketball and baseball, and adding football practices to that was too much. Also, in previous years the football season overlapped with the beginning of basketball season.”

Despite the commitment that joining this new sport required, Trevor decided to join anyways.

“The first thing that motivated me to join was the fact that a lot of my friends were already on the team, so I had that connection,” Trevor said. “I thought it would be a good experience because it’s one of the tougher sports, so I wanted to try.”

Although Trevor came into his senior season as a new player, he had an impactful season and enjoyed being a part of a brotherhood that was different from what he had experienced before.

“I was the rookie on the team, and I came into a really big spot in defense, but I ended up leading the team in sacs and I was 4th in tackles” Trevor said. “I was pretty proud of my performance for the season especially since I was new to the sport.”

In addition to learning how to play football, Trevor also learned the importance of hard work through playing this past season.

“I definitely learned that hard work pays off,” Trevor said. “It might sound cheesy, but it actually does. If you never take your foot off the gas pedal, you can accomplish whatever you want. Even last year when I wasn’t playing football, I was in the weight room working out. I honestly feel like there’s always something that can be done, and more work to be put in.”