For Quin Whalen, the stage has been set.
The Central Bucks West senior lineman is anxious to help set the tone for his team’s rushing attack this fall and he likely will be regarded as one of the top players in his field in the greater Philadelphia region.
He is a young man with few words, but he has allowed his actions to state his case. As a result, Whalen is keeping his expectations tempered, and maintaining a vigilant work ethic.
“I just have tried to get one percent better each day,” said Whalen. “As a team, we are just trying to get better every day. We’re looking to see what we can control, and not worry about the other things.
“COVID helped brings us together last year, and we just tried to play the best we could with the amount of games we had last year. We just took it game-by-game, and did what we could.”
Whalen played his part in the offseason, focusing on strength training and added 30 pounds to complete a 6-foot-4, 260-pound lineman frame on both sides of the ball.
“I was happy with what I was able to do,” said Whalen. “I went through the team workouts and did some weight training on my own. I was able to put on 30 pounds, and I am happy with my weight and size. I feel like I haven’t lost a step, and my movement has been good.”
Bucks head coach Rob Rowan also has liked what he has seen.
“Quin has placed a tremendous amount of emphasis this offseason on gaining healthy strength and weight,” said Rowan. “We are counting on Quin to be our physical tone-setter when it comes to our rushing attack. As a three-year starter, he has the necessary experience to take some big steps forward this year.
“Quin is a tough hard-nosed who is as dependable as they come. He has a high football IQ and works each and every day to master his craft. Quin has a strong desire to be a high character individual, which has allowed him to cement himself as a leader of our program on and off the field.”
Whalen has applied the same types of principles in the classroom. He has a 4.6 grade point average and scored 1,360 on his SATs. He hasn’t decided on a college as well as a major. Instead, he would rather allow everything to fall into place.
“I am leaning toward a career in math and possibly teaching,” he said. “I’ll figure it out. I believe I will be playing football next season.”
When he isn’t playing football, Whalen continues his work with the Boy Scouts. He normally attends a meeting weekly, and is working toward becoming an Eagle Scout. Whalen also is a member of the Bucks’ track team, as he had thrown the shotput and discus for three years.
In the meantime, though, Whalen is focused on making the most of the upcoming season.
The Bucks were 2-4 last season.
“I’m excited,” he beamed. “It will be great to get back to work on the field and start hitting in pads. We have enough guys coming back, and we have a good group of younger players. There seems to be a good chemistry here. We all have to play our part.”
Whalen certainly will play his role.
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