West Holmes’ Garrett Obrst finds success kicking for both soccer and football teams

West Holmes junior Garrett Obrst has always been a strong soccer player on the pitch, ever since entering the Knights’ soccer program.

As the Knights leading scorer this season, Obrst has helped mentor the many youthful soccer players, and in the process, the Knights have clawed their way to a near .500 record at 6-8-1, taking a major leap toward rebuilding the program.

However, this season Obrst has diversified his kicking portfolio, adding a different type of kicking expertise into his game.

Obrst has become a lockdown kicker for the Knights’ football team, helping West Holmes earn a 5-2 record seven games into the regular season.

How Obrst even entertained the idea of kicking a football rather than a soccer ball came courtesy of watching college football.

“I was at my dad’s friend’s house watching an Ohio State game, and they missed a field goal, and they were talking about how I should go kick,” Obrst said. “I figured, 'Why not try it?' So I got an NFL-sized football and went to the field to try to kick a few.”

It went well enough that the WHHS football coaching staff caught wind of the experiment, and the wheels were set in motion.

“I only told a couple of people I was doing it, but somehow (WH assistant coach) Mr. McAvene found out I was out there,” Obrst said. “I thought maybe he was just joking, and he said if I wanted to, I could come down with him and try it out.”

To paraphrase "Star Wars" legend Yoda, “Try not, but do.”

Do he did, and Obrst has been cranking field goals and extra points with great success ever since.

“There’s a lot of things between soccer and kicking that are similar, so I just brought it over and started to fine tweak it,” Obrst said.

He has hit from 45 yards in practice, and his long field goal to date is 34 yards, and he has been money on extra points.

While soccer is nonstop action and the time clock rarely stops, football is a different beast with bursts of play, and for kickers, it can be a long wait between activity.

Obrst said he has had to learn to be patient when kicking, learning to deal with the pressure by not thinking about the pressure.

He said he has simply focused on the process of kicking and not the end result, believing that by controlling the things he can control while setting up and kicking a field goal or extra point, the end result will take care of itself.

Obrst said doing double duty is demanding and at times exhausting, but he is enjoying himself immensely succeeding in both sports.

For Obrst, soccer has always come first, and he has been playing for years, especially since his dad and uncle both played at a high level.

“It’s fun, and I’m passionate about it,” Obrst said of soccer. “It’s been a good experience, and it keeps me healthy. I like the energy and excitement football brings, but for me, soccer just has a more comfortable feel because I’ve been doing it for so long.”

As for his role in helping to turn the WHHS boys soccer program around, Obrst has taken on a leadership role, and after three years of struggling to find wins, the Knights have turned the corner this year.

“I’m trying to help build a strong foundation so they know what success is like,” Obrst said. “I’m trying to help us all find a path to succeed together and to help us get better.”

The soccer team went winless three years ago before Obrst arrived, and the past two seasons they have managed to win three games each year, but this year has been a breath of fresh air for West Holmes, and Obrst has been a central component of that uptick.

“I’m happy we’re taking it in the right direction, and hopefully next year we can take it to an even better level moving forward,” Obrst said.

While many student-athletes find success in one sport in any given season, it is a rarity to find someone dedicated enough to make a major impact in two sports during the same season.