In small high schools, athletes must play more than one position for many sports. Charleston high school football is no different. 

Sophomore standout Treylin Couch is even getting in on the action. As only a sophomore, he made huge contributions on both sides of the ball in Charleston’s win over Jersey. Couch scored four touchdowns while also playing defensive back for most of the game. 

During that game, Couch had to sit out for a little with a hip injury. He was able to come back in and finish the game, but two-way play can do that to athletes. 

Couch said playing two ways can cause more injuries, but if your mindset is good, everything will be fine. 

Two-way players do have an increased chance of injury. According to U.S. High School Football Injury Statistics | Injury Claim Coach, 6% of high school football injuries come from no contact.   

Some of those are illnesses, but overuse is still a big problem in injuries. Even with 6% coming from no contact, other contact injuries can still stem from being overworked. 

Senior running back and linebacker Ben Coffey plays hard on both sides of the ball. He is a physical player who hits hard on defense and offence. With that, he must work twice as hard during practices. 

“A lot of work. I try to go as hard as I can during practice and then take a break when the sub goes in, but it’s 100% all the time,” said Coffey. 

Two-way players have to get good at not just one position, but two of them. Having to put twice the work in everything can cause a lot of strain on the body. 

“I felt better than I ever have,” said Coffey. “I mean, once you go through the amount of pain, you just don’t feel it anymore.”

Some players like Coffey want to become two-way players as they become good enough. However, in Illinois there is also a need for that at times. 

Charleston is in the class 4A subdivision in the Illinois High School Association for football. That means that they are a medium sized high school compared to the rest of the state.  

With this Charleston just does not have enough people to fill a full team with just one-way players. Players have to step up and play two positions. 

Charleston head coach Brian Halsey said that with having only around 750 students they need many students to take on more than one role.  

“Kids need to share their gift, share their talent and not specialize in a particular sport, and we have too much of that,” said Halsey. “We run into the fact of kids specialize in a particular area, and that’s the only sport they play or they just don’t want to work.”   

Many kids even with playing two ways in football also play other sports. Some kids do not want to put in all that work, but a lot do even if there is a bigger risk of injury doing that. 

“In a perfect world, you play one way, you come off, you get a blow, you hydrate, you get back in. You see a lot of these kids, aside from two-ways, contribute on special teams, too. It’s the true Iron Man stuff that you hear your grandfathers talk about,” said Halsey. “But, you know, I hope to, in the future, alleviate that.” 

Two-way players are a big part of high school football even with the risks. Two-way players are still making big impacts on the field and for now two-way players are not going anywhere. 

Patrick Schmitz can be reached at 581-2812 or at pfschmitz@eiu.edu.