FEATURED SENIOR ATHLETE: Noah Claycomb, North Putnam

Noah is a senior at North Putnam and participates in one sport, football.

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Banner Graphic: How important are sports to you, and what have you learned from them?

Noah Claycomb: “Football is my life. I’ve been playing ever since I was five and put in flag football. I’ve always enjoyed the sport and have excelled at it at a pretty great rate. It’s allowed me to from many great relationships with my teammates, even outside of football. It’s a great thing to do in high school if you have the opportunity.”

BG: Talk about football.

NC: “Football for me is an escape. I can get myself away from home, go out and play the game that’s so great and I’ve always enjoyed. It’s brought me excitement and the joy of finding new relationships with everybody. Having a family aspect in the team has been nice.”

BG: Early on in the season, the offense was still trying to figure a few things out when, against Covenant Christian, you got 50 carries and 30 more the next week against Cloverdale. What changed in those games that getting the ball was what the offense needed to do?

NC: “The first couple of games, our offense as a whole wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Myles (Bryan) and Christian (Kramer) looked good early but for the offensive line, tight ends and myself, we were still figuring things out and learning the system. The guys know the assignments now and get them done; the holes are opening up and the coaches are more comfortable with things. I love the work load. If the coaches want to give me the ball, I’ll make a play and that’s my mindset on every snap.”

BG: What’s the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you in sports?

NC: “In flag football, I was wearing sweats and got depantsed while running the ball. I kept running with my underwear showing and my pants down to my ankles.

BG: What does your game day routine look like?

NC: “I get up kinda early on Fridays and go to the linemen breakfast, of which I’m invited. We eat breakfast around 7 a.m. discuss our goals for the evening and have some bonding time before school. I try to stay hydrated all day and stay up on film, looking for keys to the game. I eat some good food and continue to hydrate, which is important on game day.”

BG: Do you have any favorite college/pro sports teams or athletes you follow?

NC: “My favorite college team is Ohio State and in the NFL, it’s the Atlanta Falcons. One athlete in particular I watched growing up was Adrian Peterson. I was always trying to learn the moves and everything from him as he was a great athlete.”

BG: What else do you do at school besides things involving sports?

NC: “I’m not too crazy involved but I participate in North Putnam PIE. We get together with Cloverdale to do things with younger kids.”

BG: What do you like to do outside of school and sports?

NC: “I love going kayaking with my buddies. It’s one of my favorite things to do and we bond together doing that. I also like playing pick-up basketball and like to stay active.”

BG: What are your favorites in movies, TV and music?

NC: “I like action or comedy movies, am more of a hip-hop and R&B guy these days and, as for TV, my favorite show is ’The Walking Dead.’”

BG: Are you a person that wants to watch TV shows and movies or stream something from YouTube, Twitch, TikTok etc.?

NC: “Personally, I’m pretty balanced. I love just sitting with family and watching stuff on Netflix but I also like to stroll through Twitter, looking for info on football and high school athletics in general.”

BG: What is something you have never done before that you would like to do someday?

NC: “One thing I would lke to see is one of the seven great wonders of the world.”

BG: What is your biggest fear?

NC: “Having one of my close family members pass away, whether it’s my mom, dad, brother, sister, way too soon. Even just in general.”

BG: You’ve been placed in charge of making dinner. What’s on the menu?

NC: “I love to cook, so for me, as I love meat, you can’t go wrong with a ribeye steak, a baked potato and some bacon-wrapped asparagus.”

BG: Do you have any pets?

NC: “We have four dogs, including Monkey, a pitbull mastiff, Bella, a pitbull boxer, Riley, an English bulldog and Poppy, a rednose pitbull.”

BG: If your house were on fire, all living things were already out and you have your keys, cell phone, wallet/purse etc., what is one thing you would go back and get?

NC: “It would have to be my little ‘Blue’s Clues’ stuffed animal that I’ve had since I was born. That’d have to be the one.”

BG: If you were to describe your personality in one word, what would that word be and why?

NC: “Outgoing. I always try to be happy and bring energy, bring everyone up and have a good time. Slacking and moping is no fun at all, neither is not doing anything without great effort.”

BG: What has been your favorite place to visit?

NC: “My grandpa lives in South Carolina. We don’t get to see him a lot, so it’s good when we go to visit him.”

BG: What was your favorite school field trip?

NC: “When I was at Cloverdale, we went to the Indianapolis 500 on the day before the 100th anniversary race.”

BG: How important is support from your family and classmates to your success?

NC: “My parents and my family as a whole, when they support me, gives me the extra fuel I need. It’s nice to have some supporting me, giving a round of applause when I’m doing good. As far as students and classmates, if it’s not good support, I’m not worried about it, though I love student support as much as anything. Support is support. The school does a good job of it and it makes me feel better that there are people around supporting me in a good way.”

BG: Describe your overall school experience both academically and athletically.

NC: “Academically, it’s been pretty good for the most part. I was on the A-B honor roll through my sophomore year, though these past two years have been a little more difficult and I’ve been just off the A-B honor roll. It’s been very good overall. Athletically, it’s been varied. Growing up and when I was at North Putnam, it was awesome. At Cloverdale, it was a little bit frustrating with everything going on, so when I came back to North Putnam in middle school, it was awesome to get back in with a bigger group, learning more technique and harder things. In high school it’s been a struggle after going 8-3 as a freshman, having been on the losing side of the things the past couple of years. It’s been great to make friendships I’d like to keep for live and overall, I’ve learned a lot of good things.”

BG: If your school was to offer a class it currently doesn’t, what would you want to see taught?

NC: “We used to have personal finance and business, which is a great class to teach young adults and students the stepping stones of life and financing. Every school should have it.”

BG: What are your plans for after high school, and what career are you headed toward?

NC: “I’m still trying to figure it all out. I’d definitely like to go play college ball at some level as I love football so much. Academically, I’m intrigued by politics and law, so I’d like to study law or political science. Everyone has probably had a thought about being President at some point but I want to be involved in the political world to make the world a better place.”

BG: Is it difficult to keep up with your school work being an athlete?

NC: “Yes and no. Yes in a sense that if you’re coming up to game day and are too zoned in leading to the game you might forget about homework. If you can keep your mind on school as well going into game day, it’s not too terrible.”

BG: Which particular classes and teachers have helped you the most in high school?

NC: “Personally, my junior year, I was at Area 30 and did a culinary class in which we learned how to cook. My teacher was very good about adding in life lessons, teaching us certain things for later in life. The teachers at North Putnam also do a great job of that as well, not just trying to cram material, but talk to us about things that go on after high school.”

BG: After college, if you had your choice, would you want to live in the mountains, on the beach or in the neighborhood?

NC: “Somewhere in the mountains, which is ironic as I have terrible allergies and they flare up in nature. That said, naturally made things are beautiful to see when you walk outside as opposed to looking at traffic lights, which are pretty boring.”

BG: Do you think high school has gone fast, and are you going to miss it?

NC: “Yeah. It’s 100 percent gone fast. For everyone, it flies by. After freshman year, it’s always in go mode. I’ll miss certainly parts and I’m hoping to keep as many friendships as I can. I will miss the students, teachers and those within the school system as well as sports, unless I’m able to play at the next level.”