By Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
EL DORADO - When college life begins in the fall, Parkers Chapel's Kade Cushing may not know what to do with himself.
When you're a five-sport athlete, you tend to not have a lot of free time on your hands.
But after a standout career in multiple sports with the Trojans, Cushing will now be keeping his focus strictly on tennis.
Cushing, who won the 2A state singles title in aiding the Trojans to the state championship, recently signed with the University of the Ozarks.
"I had been getting emails from different colleges," Cushing said. "They sent me an email wanting me to send them a recruiting form for them, and I ended up looking into their college. They got back to me. Their coach was very positive, and I started talking to him more and more. I liked the college and the coach, so I decided to go there."
Cushing, who said he wants to study business management, got a taste of what college life will be like on his visit to the school.
"The school is very welcoming," Cushing said. "I went up there and toured the whole campus. I talked to lots of people who are currently enrolled there about life on campus. I talked to some of the members of the tennis team about what their daily lives are like, and I got a really positive feeling from it. I played tennis with the team for about an hour, hour and a half. Tennis is a big deal there. I got that vibe very strongly. They're making a whole new tennis complex, and tennis is going to be a big thing there."
A standout in football, golf, tennis, track and cross country, Cushing said the challenge of playing five different sports in high school is an accomplishment that he has learned a great deal from.
"I'm very happy with how my high school career went in athletics," Cushing said. "I'm happy with all of the relationships I've made through it. I'm happy with all of the skills I've learned from it. It was definitely a highlight of my life. It was definitely fun and I learned a lot from it."