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Success Didn't Come Easy

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By BART O'CONNELL Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 28, 2008

HUDSON - It would have been easy for Travis Tindell to get discouraged and frustrated at many points in his four years of high school. Too short to compete in football's trenches or the wrestling circle. Too many previous injuries to become a champion weightlifter.

He heard the criticisms, and found a way to excel in spite of them.
Tindell just kept working, spending long hours in the weight room to get stronger, on the track to get faster, and at times, in physical therapy to recover from his setbacks. And after an amazing senior year which saw him captain the football team to the playoffs and earn third-place finishes at the state wrestling and weightlifting finals in the heavyweight divisions, he has been named The Tampa Tribune's Pasco County Male Athlete of the Year.

"He's a special kid. That's why he's achieved what he's achieved," Hudson football coach Mark Nash said. "The good thing about Travis is he's realistic. He knows what he has to overcome and because of that, he'll have success in whatever does come his way. That's the best attitude you can have."
Tindell gives much of the credit for his success to his family, including his mother, Kim, his uncles, past Hudson athletes of the year Robby Mahler and Rick Mahler, and his grandparents.

"They've always been there for me, always backed me up," he said.

He began his senior year coming off a shoulder injury which ended his junior football season prematurely. As a two-way starting lineman he helped block for the top offense in Pasco County, and as a nose guard, he fought off double teams to average 7.5 tackles per game. Nash often described Tindell as having "a motor that never stops." It was Tindell's second trip to the playoffs for Hudson, which before his arrival hadn't made the playoffs in 25 years.

In wrestling, Tindell compiled a 37-2 season record, losing in the second round of the double-elimination state tournament but winning out in wrestle backs to earn third place. Tindell credits the Johnny Walters Speed Camp for improving his speed and quickness, which made him better at both wrestling and football.

But his forte always has been his strength. After being urged to join the weightlifting team by Coach Tim White, and breaking Hudson's records as a junior, he became the first prep lifter in Pasco County history to bench press and clean and jerk a combined 700 pounds. His all-time best is 725, and he did 715 in the Class 1A state weightlifting heavyweight finals despite being the lightest guy in the event.

While his athletic achievements have been well documented, it's his humanitarian work that sets him apart. Twice during his summers in high school, he has joined a group of 20-to-25 people from River Ridge Presbyterian Church on two-week mission trips to Latin America, building homes for pastors. His most recent trip was to the Dominican Republic. He also does regular volunteer work with youth groups through the church.
Tindell will attend Dodge City Community College in Kansas this fall, with aspirations to move on to the Football Bowl Subdivision in two years. If he makes it, he will have earned the opportunity the hard way, just like every other accolade he has received.

"It's going to be tough, moving away from home, but it's always been my biggest dream to play in college," Tindell said.

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