Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the total number of state titles Valley has won since this story first published May 2, 2019. The Tigers recently captured state championships in boys' track and girls' golf.
We have a legacy here at Valley High School that extends throughout the state in every sport. It’s a legacy that defines who we are as student-athletes in this school, and we take pride in maintaining that legacy former athletes built while wearing “Valley” across their chests.
Valley has won 106 state titles throughout our school’s history since 1942, when the boys’ track and field team earned the school’s first state championship. Since then, we have won 105 more and seven Iowa “All-Sport” championships. Because of that rich tradition in athletics success, you can see why the name on the front of our jerseys is unlike any other in the state.
For me, attending Valley games when I was younger was a big deal. I came to just about every football and basketball game at Valley Stadium and Coldiron Fieldhouse. My friends and I would sit up in the corner of the bleachers and watch in awe. We were mesmerized of how competitive and physically-dominating each team was and the skills each player possessed. I remember going home afterwards and would mimic basketball and football games in my basement as if I was on that same field or court. I watched former Valley student-athletes like Peter Jok, Kale Abrahamson, Tyus Mason, Brandon Ellingson, and the 2011 state football championship team.
I was determined to be out there and win titles—just like these student-athletes.
On Finding, Developing Success
I played a lot of sports in elementary school that helped me become the Valley athlete I am today. It started slow, playing on the playground with all my buddies at recess, but that's where I started to find my competitive edge.
I moved on to AAU and formed bonds with my future Valley teammates. We had won a lot of games, but I believe those championships we accumulated over the years started at recess; gaining that competitiveness we discovered led us to having success on Friday nights in front of the whole community.
What people maybe don't see is what happens inside Valley High School that makes those championships possible. It starts with academics, because after all: We are students first. We take pride in our academics because that is what will carry us through life beyond athletics. We have resource areas all around the school, where you can receive help in any of your classes at any time. Our coaches also make academics a high priority, as they constantly check our grades and make sure we our doing our classroom assignments.
Another priority of being a student-athlete is obviously the training aspect, which happens year-round in every sport here at Valley. Once class ends for the day, students fill the weight room and can be found on Tiger Field preparing for their next season. One of the biggest contributions for our training, in my opinion, has been the addition of early bird P.E., which is before-school weightlifting for your designated sport. A cool thing about this course is that it also takes care of our P.E. credit.
Our facilities are top-notch, and we are very thankful for that. Valley Stadium—which holds over 8,000 people—is the biggest high school stadium in Iowa. Even the high school’s Tiger Field is newly redone with upgraded turf and a new track. Valley has a first-class weight room with 16 high performance racks, and each rack is equipped with an iPad that athletes enter their results to monitor and track progress. We have a training room with trainers who help keep our bodies healthy and recover fast from injury. We also have a nutritionist who comes every week and makes sure what we put in our body is fueling our daily lives so we can perform to our peak performance. We have even brought in a sport psychiatrist who helps us find the right mindset in everything we do.
When we are in season, though, our teams are locked in and our eyes are set on joining the long list of many state championship teams Valley has produced. We come to practices with the attitude to improve because the name across our chests is one of the most targeted in Iowa. Everyone wants to beat us—we are everybody's biggest game of the year. And we welcome that.
On Building Unbreakable Bonds
Our camaraderie as a team is something we all take deep pride in; it is how we formed that trust between each other. At the end of the day: If you can trust the person to your left and right, your team has a good chance to be successful.
On the football team, the offensive line is the most important group on the field (excuse my bias). We bonded with each other to make sure we have the trust that each player knows their role in order to excel. We spent every Wednesday after practice going out to eat at various restaurants. During the summer, weekends, and even in season, we often had movie parties, where we would watch those cheesy comedies and deep motivational movies. This off-field bonding helped strengthen our relationships personally, and it contributed to winning games.
It is pretty easy to be good student-athletes when you have good coaches. Our coaches at Valley are second to none. As student-athletes, we really see that they care greatly about us as people of the community—not just student-athletes. When we depart for a game, coaches tell us to carry ourselves with high character because of the “Valley” that stretches across our jerseys. While we all want to leave a legacy in athletics, we also want people to remember how good of people we are, too.
Our coaches are more than just sport coaches—they are life coaches, too. They set us up for a great path down the line and provide us the tools to make us better athletes and citizens of our community.
And, quite frankly, that is more important of a legacy to have: To be first class people of West Des Moines.
On The Legacy I Hope To Leave
In my time in the West Des Moines Community Schools, I have witnessed 34 state championships. Every single one of those teams made everything I talked about a priority. They used the resources they were provided and went to work every day. Champions are made when there are no fans in the stands. They are made running sprints in the hot summer sun and in the weight room in the deep months of winter.
My advice to future Valley student-athletes:
Take in every moment you get. When you put on that Valley jersey, cherish it. Your time as a Valley Tiger will fly, so do that extra rep and finish the drill so the jersey you leave behind is in a better spot than when you started. It is an honor to wear the Valley High School jersey.
At first glance, Valley may seem like a big school, and don't get me wrong, it is. But the more you become involved, the more you fall in love with this place. The friends I made on the football team will always be my best friends because of what we experienced together.
I am off to play college football at Iowa State University, but Valley High School will always have a special spot in my heart because of the people. I will visit whenever I can because of all of these unbreakable connections.
As I move on, though, I hope my impact will be forever felt. I want all of the elementary and junior high students to look at what I accomplished here and put in the work themselves to become even better than I was. I wanted to be like the Valley student-athletes I watched growing up, and I hope I left a lasting impression on those who watched me.
I will continue to represent Valley in a positive way. I hope I can show future Tigers who attend WDMCS that if you put in the work and trust the process, then you can make it to the next level and be great at whatever you pursue.