Leaving a strong mark across the UC High community in a short period of time, Male Athlete of the Year Senior Troy Bassler has made both his teammates and coaches proud across a variety of sports.

   Bassler is known to be one of the hardest working athletes in all of the sports he has played. “Troy is the hardest worker on any field he is put on. I always see him putting in work during his free time when others are relaxing,” said Junior Kai Doyle, a teammate of Bassler on both the Football and Lacrosse Teams. Football and Track teammate Senior Terrance Donati said, “I think he deserves Male Athlete of the Year because he works extremely hard on the field, in the classroom, and has traits that many people admire.” 

   Bassler started playing football at a young age, as his dad played football throughout college and wanted him to follow suit. He started playing lacrosse when he was thirteen years old, and joined track because he wanted to get faster outside of the fall football season.

Donati said, “Troy and I played youth football together, eight years ago, and he is a great leader. He tends to lead by example very often.” Donati said that one thing he will always remember about Bassler is celebrating with him after all his touchdown catches. Donati admires his work ethic, and drive to be the best. 

   Bassler paid great credit to his teammates. He said, “I would say my teammates are the biggest key to my success because they push me to be the best player I can be in order to help my team succeed.” 

   Outside the field, Bassler is known to go snowboarding, working out for the sport he’s playing, and spending time with his loved ones. Doyle said, “Troy definitely deserves the title of Male Athlete of the Year because of what he’s done for the school’s athletics in his time at UC High.”

 Varsity Boys Lacrosse Coach CK Littlewood said, “Troy Bassler is that rare athlete that excels at everything he does. He was a star football player, one of the fastest people on the UC High Track Team, and is a standout player for the Boys Lacrosse Team, both on offense and defense. He is also a straight-A student, and was one of very few San Diego athletes to be awarded a CIF Scholar/Athlete award this year.”

   This year, Bassler was congratulated for winning one of the National Football Foundation’s Walter Zabel Scholarships. “It was a very big honor being able to receive the Walter Zabel Scholarship award, and I am very blessed that I was chosen by the National Football Foundation [NFF] to receive such a prestigious award,” said Bassler. 

   The San Diego Chapter of the NFF is one of 120 chapters in the nation. According to the official NFF website, their “…chapter was established in 1971 to ensure that all young San Diego athletes have the chance to develop leadership qualities, learn about teamwork, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academic excellence. [They] award over 40k of scholarships annually through… individual and corporate sponsors.”

   Littlewood also said that Bassler is a dream to coach, “He is respectful and dedicated, both on the field and off.  He is what every coach hopes for in a player. If every player could ‘be like Troy,’ the world (and sports) would be better for it.”

   “One of my favorite high school memories was being able to win the CIF championship for football for the first time in school history. This was a big deal, because I’ve been talking about winning a championship since I was a freshman,” said Bassler. During Bassler’s athletic career, he was able to play Pop Warner football with a lot of the same coaches that have coached him for the past two years.

   Bassler is known to be dedicated to be the best at whatever he does. “Troy trains with intensity at practice — and always gives one hundred and ten percent when gametime rolls around. He is a quiet leader on the field, preferring to let his superior athletic ability do the talking rather than brag about it. The other players on the Lacrosse Team really admire him for his skill and intensity. He is an integral part of our team, and we would not be where we are this season without him,” said Littlewood.