Hanover Central High School

Story by Michael Uzelac Matt Oeler is a 17-year-old student-athlete who attends Hanover Central. He has three siblings, and of the four, he is the oldest. In kindergarten, his dad showed him baseball, and he liked it. He played it for a season, then once it ended, he wanted to play something else. So the following year, in first grade, he started playing football. This grew on him very quickly. He liked it all, from the friends he made to the environment. He continued playing football and baseball up to his freshman year. He played left field and third base in baseball, while in football, he played defensive end and left tackle. His freshman year was his final year of baseball, but not for football. His first year in high school was just the beginning. That year alone is when Hanover’s football team won sectionals. Matt went on to say, “Us winning sectionals was one of my biggest achievements in football, just being a part of the team and winning it was cool.” Two of the biggest lessons he has learned while playing football are hard work beats talent and technique is greater than strength. Matt thinks his biggest strengths as an athlete are that he can be coached and he has discipline. “With the ability to be coached, it shows that you care and it builds a good relationship with your coach which you always want to have,” he said. Although Matt is a talented football player, he doesn’t know if he will continue to play in the future. Instead, he might help and coach his little brother. With the experience he has, he can help his brother and give him a lot of different tips. Even though he might not be playing football in college, he still wants to go. His dream college is Penn State, but if he doesn’t go there, he wants to stay in the state and go to either Purdue or Indiana University. At one of these colleges, he would study and try to get a degree in cybersecurity. He started getting into cybersecurity when he was little and it’s always been something that he found interesting. He believes it's something that he can turn into a good career. As Matt moves on to the next chapter of his life, he will never forget all the friends he's made, the memories with them, and the people who helped him along the way. His football journey might be ending, but all the lessons and friends he’s made on the way won’t be. So, as Matt moves on to college to pursue his education in cybersecurity, he will use all the different lessons he’s learned and the advice he’s got to help him and be ready for it.