Its tough enough to be a student athlete in high school, balancing sports and schoolwork can be very stressful and time consuming but that doesn’t stop this young man. The Sophomore, Braeden Totton doesn’t just start for Hamilton Southeastern’s Varsity basketball team, he also is the football team’s punter, and a utility guy on the Royals baseball team, as he plays outfield and catcher. Yes, Totton plays 3 high school sports, which means he does not have an offseason. For instance, last November when the Royals football team lost a heartbreaking battle in the semi-state game against Fort Wayne Carroll, the 2-hour bus ride would bring the Royals back to Fishers at around 1 AM. This did not stop Totton from waking up the next morning at 7:30 AM to go to the Varsity basketball team’s practice. I asked him about it, as I was so invested in this kid’s work ethic, he responded with, “Yes I was still super sad about our season coming to an end one game before a chance at a state championship, but that is life and the next thing on my mind was basketball season. Which we had practice so why would I not go? Yes, I was exhausted but that was not going to prevent me from missing practice.” This shows how tough Totton is, and his mentality is incredible. Football season is a long grueling process that starts in June and took the Royals all the way to late November, but then for Totton it is basketball season, which is November to March. But then, we are not done yet, baseball season is March to June. Totton goes June to June balancing these 3 sports and not to mention still must perform in the classroom. Which he does, as he has a GPA of above 4.0. People do not understand how difficult it is to balance work and school, but Totton does it to perfection.

The craziest time of year for Totton is the summer. Usually, summer is supposed to be a nice long relaxing break filled with pool time, sleep, and nice cold lemonade. Not for Totton, as I asked him what his summer looks like and here is what he had to say, “Summer is the craziest 3 months, it is nonstop, but I love it, I always have something to do.” He told me this about a day he had in June this past summer, “There was one day this past summer where I had a baseball game at 8 AM in Westfield, then our football team (HSE) had practice from 12-3. Then after that, I went to basketball practice from 6-8:30. I was exhausted, but I enjoyed every second of it”. Totton told me that there were several days in the summer where he plays all 3 sports, which is nothing short of insane.

Overall, Totton is one of the busiest athletes there is, and he enjoys every second of it, with the right mentality and hard work and dedication to himself and his teammates. His life may seem hectic, but that is just how he likes it.