Jacob Waibel
#H8ME6ROWNTAL3NT
Fort Meade linebacker Jacob Waibel said that he had to seriously consider if he really wanted to play football after an injury sidelined him his sophomore year.
“I just moved up to varsity and I broke my leg when we played Hardee. That’s when you have to check yourself if you really want to keep doing this when it’s hurting your body and causing you injuries. You have to see if it’s really worth it.”
The Frostproof native decided to keep playing and since transferring to Fort Meade in 2014, he’s been a fixture on the Miner defense. Waibel said that the key to his recovery and return to the game wasn’t a physical challenge, but a mental one.
“The confidence in it was the hardest part about coming back,” he said. “The hardest part was when someone fell on it again and knowing it was okay but the mental aspect of thinking it may be broken again. That was the hardest thing. Track season the following year was very hard because I ran hurdles and coming down on it…it was more psychological than it was the physical leg itself.”
Waibel is a 175lb inside linebacker, “a little on the smaller side” he says, but don’t let his size deceive you. He’s third among Miner players with 32 tackles this season. Fort Meade’s defense has given up an average of 4.5 points per game and he and fellow linebacker Austin Castillo are a big reason why. Waibel said that being a cerebral, disciplined player help him consistently be one of the first players to the ball.
“You have to be very focused mentally,” he said. “You have to be very technical. I didn’t play so good last week [referencing Crescent City game], that’s why you saw me running earlier today. Personally getting myself better, coach didn’t tell me to do that or anything. I just have to keep focused and play good football.”
He said that one of the first things he noticed about his new school was the unity between students.
“The atmosphere,” he said. “Everybody’s a family in the school. My old school had cliques, but here, there’s only 75 people in my graduating class. So everybody knows everybody and we go do whatever all the time.”
Waibel is in contact with Greenville College in Illinois and Stevenson College in Maryland, both Division III schools, in track and football. Waibel runs the 300m and 110m hurdles.
“That’s the whole goal. Going to college has never been a question to me, I’m going to go regardless. If football can pay for it, that’s great.”
Writer - James Bennett, Jr.
Photographer - Titus Moye Photography
#H8ME6ROWNTAL3NT
Fort Meade linebacker Jacob Waibel said that he had to seriously consider if he really wanted to play football after an injury sidelined him his sophomore year.
“I just moved up to varsity and I broke my leg when we played Hardee. That’s when you have to check yourself if you really want to keep doing this when it’s hurting your body and causing you injuries. You have to see if it’s really worth it.”
The Frostproof native decided to keep playing and since transferring to Fort Meade in 2014, he’s been a fixture on the Miner defense. Waibel said that the key to his recovery and return to the game wasn’t a physical challenge, but a mental one.
“The confidence in it was the hardest part about coming back,” he said. “The hardest part was when someone fell on it again and knowing it was okay but the mental aspect of thinking it may be broken again. That was the hardest thing. Track season the following year was very hard because I ran hurdles and coming down on it…it was more psychological than it was the physical leg itself.”
Waibel is a 175lb inside linebacker, “a little on the smaller side” he says, but don’t let his size deceive you. He’s third among Miner players with 32 tackles this season. Fort Meade’s defense has given up an average of 4.5 points per game and he and fellow linebacker Austin Castillo are a big reason why. Waibel said that being a cerebral, disciplined player help him consistently be one of the first players to the ball.
“You have to be very focused mentally,” he said. “You have to be very technical. I didn’t play so good last week [referencing Crescent City game], that’s why you saw me running earlier today. Personally getting myself better, coach didn’t tell me to do that or anything. I just have to keep focused and play good football.”
He said that one of the first things he noticed about his new school was the unity between students.
“The atmosphere,” he said. “Everybody’s a family in the school. My old school had cliques, but here, there’s only 75 people in my graduating class. So everybody knows everybody and we go do whatever all the time.”
Waibel is in contact with Greenville College in Illinois and Stevenson College in Maryland, both Division III schools, in track and football. Waibel runs the 300m and 110m hurdles.
“That’s the whole goal. Going to college has never been a question to me, I’m going to go regardless. If football can pay for it, that’s great.”
Writer - James Bennett, Jr.
Photographer - Titus Moye Photography
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