Football, Basketball
Favorite athlete: LeBron James
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in a sport: Going out as a senior and beating a playoff bound West team to go out with a bang.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: As a kid, I thought my cup would hold pee during a football game (I was very young), so I peed and everyone saw it.
Music on mobile device: Rap and Country
Future plans: Study business and play college football
Favorite motto: “Play every game like it’s your last.”
One goal before turning 30: Be very successful in whatever profession I am in and start a family.
One thing people don’t know about me: I used to play quarterback in middle school and could throw the ball further than Michael Vick.
By Mary Jane Souder
Trevor Watts is a gifted offensive lineman, one of the SOL’s very best.
A four-year varsity player, the Souderton senior turned himself into an impact player on the defensive line as well. He also handled the punting duties this fall.
“He did everything for us,” coach Ed Gallagher said. “This year he didn’t come off the field.”
While there’s no mistaking the senior captain’s talent on the gridiron, that’s just a fraction of what sets Watts apart.
Talk to either one of his coaches – Watts also is a key member of the Indians’ basketball squad, and trumping even his immense talent is his ability to lead.
“He was definitely our best leader,” Gallagher said. “He’s the kind of kid that could have been a two-year captain if we didn’t have such good leadership in last year’s (senior) class.
“He has a really good mindset about what’s important. His work ethic is outstanding, and he’s a good football player on top of that.”
Souderton’s football season did not follow the script Watts or any of his teammates had hoped for this fall. A 3-7 record after last year’s trip to the district playoffs was disappointing, but if there’s such a thing as a happy ending to a season that doesn’t meet expectations, it came when the Indians upset a playoff-bound Central Bucks West squad in the final game of the regular season.
“It spoke volumes listening to the kids talk about him after our last game against West,” Gallagher said. “We got in a huddle after the game. Most of the seniors said something, and some of the underclassmen got up and said something.
“Pretty much the recurring theme was – ‘Trevor, we love you even though you’re pretty hard on us.’ ‘Trevor, we love you even though you’re really hard on us.’ That’s all it was over and over again. He always tried to hold them to the standard he had.”
Ask Watts about his leadership style, and his thoughtful response suggests a level of maturity well beyond his years.
“I learned very quickly that you can’t just expect things to happen,” Watts said. “Not everybody has the same drive as you might.
“I tried different leadership styles throughout the season. At the end of it, I just realized – you have to be understanding to the people’s circumstances, you have to know when to have fun and when to crack down. With the week 10 win (over West), I think that shows me and my other captains that we were able to find what it took to get everybody on board.”
A fierce competitor, Watts was understandably frustrated when – after a big win over Penn Wood in their season opener – the Indians dropped five straight.
“As good as he was, there was only one of him,” Gallagher said. “He played quarterback for Indian Crest, and he joked all the time about getting the ball, about playing quarterback.
“I said, ‘Trevor, I know you can throw, I know you can catch. You can do all those things, but you’re our best lineman, and you’re going to remain a lineman, so get used to it. You’re not going anywhere else.’ He’s a really good athlete.”
*****
While football is his passion, Watts also excels on the basketball court.
“When you’re in football season, you don’t do anything for basketball, and when you’re in basketball season, you don’t do anything for football, but those five or six months in between, you’re doing both,” he said. “Sometimes you’re laying in bed saying, ‘Oh, why do I do this?’
“Basketball is completely different than football, but I think the family I’ve made on this basketball team and the chemistry and just the way basketball is played – I just love it. My coach has made me love the sport even more. It’s something I can’t imagine not finishing through my high school career.”
Watts was the Indians’ second-leading scorer last season, and his 6-2, 265-pound frame gives the Indians an imposing presence in the paint.
But again, that’s secondary.
“He is obviously a talented football and basketball player, but what stands out for Trev is really his leadership qualities,” coach Tim Brown said. “He’s far above his age, and he’s almost like another coach for us.
“He’s the hardest worker there is. He pushes people, but he also knows when to be empathetic. He reads people very well.”
Brown checks with Watts when he wants to know the pulse of the team.
“I go to him when I want to know the general atmosphere of the team or how everyone is feeling,” the Indians’ coach said. “I always go to Trev for that kind of stuff because he’s very emotionally aware and just smart.
“He’s a people person, he understands everybody. He’s always thinking about – what can I do to get the most out of everybody? That’s even me – I’ll go to him and say, ‘Hey, am I being too hard on the guys?’ And he’ll tell me. He’s always straightforward and honest as well.”
Watts’ contributions on the court are also significant.
“He’s our center, he’s our big man,” Brown said. “He brings energy, and he’s definitely an intimidating force. He’s a lot to deal with for other teams. He crashes the boards really hard.
“Another thing – he’s a leader on the floor as well. He keeps us emotionally balanced. He knows when to cheer, he knows when to get on the guys. He’s kind of our floor manager, our game manager. Usually, it’s the point guard. For us, it’s our center.”
*****
Watts was a three-sport youngster, beginning with flag football when he was five years old. Shortly thereafter basketball and baseball entered the picture.
“I always did love sports,” Watts said. “My uncle played football, so I would always be at his football games as a young kid.
“My mom played Division 2 basketball for a year. It was a family thing, and I just inherited it. As a young kid, I loved playing sports and loved being active.”
Watts played all three sports through middle school but opted to walk away from baseball when he reached high school to make time for himself and schoolwork.
“As a kid, you always without knowing it set things apart from others,” he said. “Whenever I got upset or wanted to clear my mind, I would go shoot a basketball.
“Playing football is the best feeling in the world, and I wish everybody could feel that way. I played quarterback in middle school, and even then, I loved the sport, I loved the game. It turns boys into men.”
Nothing, according to Watts, compares to playing under the Friday Night Lights.
“It’s a rush, it’s unlike any other feeling in the world,” he said. “You’ll remember it for the rest of your life.
“To lace them up, getting ready to play a Pennridge or an archrival. You can’t imagine that kind of atmosphere, that kind of feeling, all the adrenaline rushing through your blood.”
Watts acknowledged that his final high school football season was about a whole lot more than wins and losses.
“After we ended up losing a couple of games, our main focus was to grow as a team,” the senior captain said. “At some point, we realized playoffs might not be in the picture, but we needed to all grow as men and as a team.
“I think the real shining star in that story is how we came out in our last game and we beat a CB West playoff team. I think we played the best football we played all year.”
And as endings go, they don’t get much better than that.
“From last year losing to Downingtown East in a heartbreaker when we thought we had the game won to this year, ending the season on a win was not only for our seniors a good sendoff, but I believe it is also going to be a momentum builder for next year,” Watts said. “Week in and week out, you try to tell the team – hey, you’re capable of beating anybody.
“I think week 10, they finally bought in. Everybody finally thought – hey, what is the difference between me and the guy across from me? It’s how much heart you put into the sport, how much energy you give on every snap, and it showed. We outlasted CB West, and it was a great feeling.”
For Watts, both basketball and football have a family feel.
“I’m an only child, I have no brothers and sisters, but I really feel like I have brothers on the basketball team,” he said. “Even with the football team, Tycier Goods, my co-captain, he calls my mom his mom sometimes. We’re that close. It’s like a brotherhood.”
Two years ago, Watts - at the encouragement of his friends - joined the Souderton Connie Mack squad.
"We actually were runner-up in Connie Mack A states, so that was a good one-year run," Watts said.
Watts is the commissioner for the school’s LINK Crew, a student organization to help freshmen get involved in high school life.
As for his future, football will definitely be a part of it with several FCS schools expressing interest.
“And everyone in the PSAC loves him,” Gallagher said. “He’s a really good lineman, he moves well, and he’s a great kid. He works really hard, his teachers like him.”
Added Brown, “Colleges need to understand that he’s a glue guy. He can add value to any program.”
Watts plans to major in business/economics and is considering several minors in the business field. He aspires to one day coach as well.
“I’ve always wanted to coach Pop Warner or little league basketball, but it’s too time consuming right now,” he said. “I do look forward to being a coach at some point in my life, passing my love I have for the game to others.”
