In the world of club sports, most kids, by the time they have entered high school, are single-sport athletes focusing on their chosen sport while the others fall to the wayside. They travel for tournaments around the state and end up playing that one single sport year-round. Few kids continue to give time and devotion to multiple sports, that is, unless you are Cole Thurn. Throughout high school, Thurn has continued to focus on multiple sports and is one of the only kids at Mount Vernon High School to play four sports each of the four years of high school. Thurn, a senior, has played and excelled in football, basketball, track, and baseball.
Like most of us, Thurn played multiple sports as a kid but unlike most of us, he has continued to play as many sports as he can. He plays four sports because he enjoys the competitive nature of the games and meets, but the main reason he likes to play all these sports is to hang out with his teammates. Thurn said that he made many friends through sports and has become close with people he would not even thought he would have ever talked to.
Thurn’s favorite memory from his four years playing four sports is from this year’s football season when he caught a touchdown against Algona to tie the game up after they started the game down. Thurn also said another one of his favorite memories was when the football team celebrated in the locker room after beating Algona. Thurn said this game is something he believes he will never forget.
Although all of Thurn’s favorite memories come from football, his favorite sport is baseball. Thurn said he has made the closest and longest-lasting friendships through baseball. He thinks it’s because it’s during the summer, so the practices are even longer, and he spends more time with them. Thurn’s young brother Drew, said that he looks up to his brother, and it has been very special for him to get to play on the same teams as his brother. Drew said that he has learned so much from his brother and has learned skills like being a leader from him. Thurn has been such an inspiration to Drew.
Many of his teammates say Thurn has been a leader in all his sports since middle school. Kaleb Coon a fellow senior who has run track with Thurn said, “Throughout all the sports I have played with Thurn I have always noticed he leads with his actions. He always finds a way to get the team hyped or get the energy up.”
Another one of Cole’s mates and close friend Colin Bentley, said, “Thurn has always been the type of teammate to keep your head up after a bad game and remind you one bad game is nothing to keep your head down for too long. Having Thurn on his team keeps the team in a positive mood and keeps the energy up even after tough losses,” Bentley said. “Thurn will always be the first guy to come up to you after a loss to give you a hug or give you a hand up.”
Thurn said being a leader and keeping people’s heads up is just something he has always done since he started playing sports. Thurn said he knows it is really important to be that guy on the team because every team needs one. He has been on teams with a guy to pick people up and they don’t win many games because the energy is always so low, so he takes pride in being a good teammate.
Thurn said playing multiple sports has taught him so much. However, each sport has taught him different lessons. Football taught him how important teammates are and how to be a good teammate. Basketball taught him patience, waiting for his opportunity to play on the varsity. Track has taught him how to dig deeper and push himself harder than he thought he could. And his favorite sport, baseball, has taught him how to push past pain.
In the end, Thurn takes great pride in being one of the very few who play four different varsity sports and one who also excels in each and every one.
