Though their playing days might be over, alumni athletes are still active in the Parkway South community. They often return for homecoming, charities, and even just stopping by Parkway South practices to help develop younger athletes like Blake Ferrell so they can get to the college level. It’s amazing to see where he is now, and how far he has come since helping the Patriots compete and win.

Transitioning from high school to the college level intensity can be a big adjustment for athletes — in both work ethic and in skill of their chosen sport. And for college Freshman Blake Ferrell from Webster University ( 45.9 field goal%, 4.1 rebounds per game), that transition wasn’t exactly easy.

“The transition from high school to college was more than I expected,” said Ferrell. “In highschool I was always bigger,faster, and stronger than most. And I was always the go-to guy on the team.

“But once I got to college, I very quickly noticed that players were bigger,faster,stronger, and more skilled than me. So I started waking up at 5 a.m. every day and working out, and having practices at night go as long as 12 o’clock,” said Ferrell.

Another challenge these athletes face is the college felt that they had to choose. And sometimes, they feel regret for not choosing a certain college.

“It was very difficult to choose between the final three colleges because they are all different and I liked them all,” said Ferrell.  “Also I had friends persuading me to go to one or the other. But it was my future to choose.”

All college players have reasons why they wanted to get the college level of athletics. But to actually hear about their motivations why they kept playing is inspiring.

“I furthered my college career in college because it has always been a dream of mine since I was a kid to receive a scholarship to play basketball at the college level,” said Ferrell.