Next level reach

Ontario Prospect Challenge follow-up profile: Nolan Putt

ontarioprospectchallenge.com

Position: Defensive Back (Cornerback)
Height/Weight: 6’1”, 160lbs
Teams: Hamilton Hurricanes, Assumption Lions (Brantford)
Commitment: N/A
Official Visits: N/A
Consideration: N/A
Class: 2015

For some athletes, living in the present can be an enormous hindrance, stopping players from transitioning to the next level. To be an elite athlete requires looking to the future, never settling for the present. You have to will yourself to constantly be taking steps forward. You have to refuse to sit still. Status quo is taboo.

Assumption Lions and Hamilton Hurricanes Defensive Back Nolan Putt says there’s only one thing that matters: the next level.

This summer’s Ontario Prospect Challenge (OPC) provided him with “a little more knowledge,” that can be brought to “the next level.”

He learned that he has to “develop a lot more” in order to become a significant player at “the next level.”

His goal, he insists, is to spend the fall football season training so that he can “get stronger” for “the next level.”

Putt makes it clear that there’s no such thing as the present. Instead, every day is about the future, constantly working towards a new goal, making it one step further.

The obvious assumption is that that next level is university football for the high school senior and while that’s certainly a goal, Putt wasn’t explicit that that was the only goal. His idea of where the next level was wasn’t clear, appearing to be left instead as a constantly moving target. Achieving one milestone isn’t enough because there’s always another to work towards.

Always humble, Putt credits coaches for helping him continue to push to be better.

For his part, Putt hopes to replicate the way coaches have helped him in how he works with other younger players. In doing so, he hopes to take on a leadership role with his high school team in the fall and carry that over to next year’s OPC.

“I want to help the younger players become better athletes and people by helping them on and off the field,” he says, going on to say that he hopes to act like a sponge with coaches not only with his two competitive teams but also with Team Ontario this summer, where he will play in the Canada Cup.