Name: Ty Carlson

Sport: Football

Position: Wide Receiver

Year: Redshirt Sophomore

Hometown: Oswego

High School: Oswego East

Lily Goodfellow: When did you start playing football?

Ty Carlson: I started playing football when I was 5 years old. I think that was the age limit, so as soon as you were allowed to play football, I’ve played since then. I played in elementary school all the way until now, so for about sixteen or seventeen years now. I’ve been playing football my whole life.

LG: Why did you choose to play for COD?

TC: I chose to play for COD because it’s close to where I grew up. It’s about 35 minutes away from my home town and a couple of my best friends actually came here out of high school, too. So, when I was trying to figure out where to go, they helped me out and told me I should come play here. I got in contact with some of the coaches and I went to the tryout and ever since then, I’ve been here.

LG: What is your favorite part about playing for COD?

TC: It’s kind of cliche but I would definitely say being able to win three national championships and always be part of a championship team. It’s fun to play in the post-season and see the kind of bond guys form when they know they are about to play down the stretch for something very important.

LG: What has football taught you about testing your personal limits?

TC: That’s a good one. I think football has taught me how to be really disciplined with my life. Knowing that I need to have a schedule and there needs to be a reason behind everything I do. Kind of like coaches when they yell at us and discipline us, there is a reason behind all of that. That’s them testing our limits. I like getting yelled at by a coach because it shows that he cares. I like being able to be pushed to every limit because I want to show whoever it is that I need to impress, whether it’s a coach or a scout, that I’m here all the time and I want to be able to work through any hard times because I love this sport.

LG: What is your proudest achievement?

TC: My proudest achievement was being named an All-American this year, because of all the hard work that I put in and it was a goal that I set for myself at the beginning of this year as well. I knew that it was something I would be able to achieve if I put my mind to it and not get knocked off track. I stayed focused throughout the entire season and I was able to get that award, which made me feel really good about myself.

LG: Do you have any advice for younger people just starting out in football?

TC: When you’re a younger guy and you think what the coach is telling you sounds kind of boring or lame, you just want to laugh. I was in that position before, laughing when a coach says something serious or is trying to make a serious point. You’re joking around because you’re a kid. But, the coaches really mean what they’re saying and if you really listen to your coach at a young age and take his advice, it will take you a long way. If you have really good grades and you take care of that, coaches will give you chances to play at their schools just simply based off of your grades before even looking at your athletic talent. If you keep your head down with the athletic work and combine that with good grades, coaches will be begging you to come to their school. Just make sure you’re really focusing on all of that.

LG: The football team does a weightlifting program with people with disabilities, like me. Do you enjoy being part of that program and why?

TC: I definitely enjoy being a part of the [Western DuPage Special Recreation Association] program. Coach Rahn makes a big emphasis on how much the people with disabilities look forward to it and how important it is to them. So, we can definitely put aside some of our time to go hang out, teach social skills and how to be active. As football players, we want to be able to teach [people] how to be active, but also help with your social skills so everyone feels like they belong. 

LG: What is your idea of a perfect vacation?

TC: Definitely somewhere out of the country, somewhere like Italy or the Maldives where there is beautiful water and views. Somewhere overseas, for sure, because I want to see a different culture. It would just be really fun to see what life is like outside of our country.

LG: What is your favorite movie?

TC: My favorite movie of all time is probably “When the Game Stands Tall.” It’s maybe fifteen years old and it’s about a California school, De La Salle, that had a dominant football team and some tragedy hit them. It’s a really good story about high school football and I really like it a lot.

LG: What one word best describes you?

TC: I would say resilient. I like to think that no matter what happens to me in my life, if there’s something that keeps me up or knocks me down, I keep going and not focus on the bad things that happen and just focus on what’s next. So I think resilient describes that.

LG: Thank you, Ty!

TC: Of course, Lily.