Gabe Eck comes out firing. (John Fisken photo)
“I enjoy every minute of football from the blowout games to the nail-biting last play. Every minute of it is great.”
Listen to Gabe Eck for even a moment and you can hear his love of football spill out.
While the Coupeville High School freshman has already played numerous sports, it’s the gridiron that calls the strongest to Gabe and twin brother Ty.
After carving up foes at the middle school and youth league level, the duo will be making their high school debut tonight when CHS travels to Langley to face off with Island arch-rival South Whidbey.
For Gabe, it’s the first step in what he hopes will be a long football journey.
“My goals for this season are to help the team as best as I can and to make it to playoffs,” Eck said. “And in the future to get a college scholarship and play college football and go on to the NFL.”
Already a 10-year veteran, having played since his dad signed him up at age five, Eck is bouncing between quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back for the Wolves.
Wherever he gets the most plays, he’ll look to make same kind of impact he did at previous levels.
“I’m every smart with the game; over the years of being coached by so many coaches, I know so many different things about the game of football,” Eck said. “I have good quickness as a wide receiver, but I’d like to work on my speed.”
Away from the field, he’s an admitted shoe-fiend who enjoys history class and hails Top Gun and Pirates of the Caribbean as his favorite flicks.
Along with football, he’s played lacrosse, soccer and basketball and also wrestled and ran track.
His plan is to be a three-sport athlete for the Wolves, playing hoops in the winter and running the soccer pitch in the spring.
As he does so, he’ll try to emulate great players he’s come into contact with, from former Wolf stars to current professional players.
“Brett Arnold is like a role model to me,” Eck said. “And I went to a football camp and #17 for the Seahawks, Kevin Smith, was a great inspiration and a role model.”
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