JT Phelan, now a Whitworth athlete, always prepared

JT Phelan grew up around sports, especially football and baseball.

The son of two high school coaches, he also grew up with a sense of all the things that go into a successful program.

“I got into watching game film pretty early,” he said. “And I still like to watch a lot of game film. I guess you could say I developed more of a cerebral approach to the game.”

Phelan played both football and baseball for his father, John, an assistant football and head baseball coach at East Valley. His mother, Lisa, is the former cross country coach at Freeman High School.

The kind of deep understanding that comes from playing the game as well as studying it from every available angle gives a player a head start on most, and that head start helped Phelan crack the starting lineup at linebacker as a true freshman last fall at Whitworth.

“I could never get to sleep after a game, so most of the time I’d be up until 3 in the morning watching game film after one of my games and then be up at 7 a.m. to watch game film with my teammates,” Phelan said. “I still go back and watch game film from when I was in high school.

“If I’m scouting a team I like to watch for tendencies – to see if there’s something that I can spot that will tell me what they’re going to do. I start with the quarterback and go from there. I also like to watch my own film and look for things I can improve on.”

The whole Pirates squad started out on a fresh page a year ago under first-year coach Rob Sandberg.

“I think I do catch on to things a little faster than most,” Phelan said. “I had no idea what to expect coming in last year. I think we had something like 50 freshmen come in last year and five of us were able to contribute significant minutes.”

As a high school player, Phelan did a little of everything. As a senior he started at linebacker and wide receiver and played significant amounts of time as a running back and quarterback.

At Whitworth, he focused on playing defense.

“I started out in the rotation at linebacker,” he said. “I had a pretty good game against Whittier and afterward they told me that I was going to be the starter. I was honored!

“What that means is that I play the first two series, then my backup plays a series. Then I play two more and he plays one. That way I know I can just go for it. It’s not like high school where I would play the whole game.”

Phelan is a collegiate rarity: a two-sport athlete. He played baseball for the Bucs in the spring and plans to continue.

“I know there may come a day when I have to choose one sport over the other and it’s something I’ve thought about,” he said. “But I’m not ready yet.”

He’s more prepared for the start of his sophomore season of football, however.

“For one, I know what to expect this year,” he said. “After baseball season ended I got this great workout plan from the coaching staff. I read it and thought to myself, ‘Oh boy, I’m going to be pretty sore for a while.’ But it’s been great. I’ve put on some muscle – not as much as I’d like – and I’ve improved my flexibility.

“I was pretty lucky to talk to a nutritionist when I was in the eighth grade. I loved it and have always been very conscious about what I put in my body. That’s even more important now. I know the coaches will give us a speech on it when we get to camp to start two-a-days, but for me it’s something I concentrate on every day.”

Phelan said he loves the atmosphere at Whitworth. The Pine Bowl on a crisp fall afternoon is an event. After the final whistle family, friends and fans spill out onto the field to celebrate, take photos and catch up on old times.

“I love game days in the Pine Bowl,” he said. “My family loves to come out and watch and it’s fun to have everyone come down to the field. Our coaches stress that – they put family ahead of everything. Even ahead of football.”