In athletics, students usually have to wait a long time to wear the varsity athlete badge.
That is why Jyden “Jy” German’s rise to varsity football as a 13-year-old is so impressive. The running back is currently in eighth grade when it comes to academics, but he’s competing with high school juniors and seniors on the gridiron every Friday night.
“That is not common,” Evangelical Christian School Football Head Coach Mack Mitchell said. “You have to be a pretty special kid to be able to do that.”
Special is just the start. Jy grew up in a football family. His dad, Jammi, was a super successful wide receiver when he was younger. He played at Fort Myers High School, setting numerous records. Jammi then went on to play collegiately at Miami and then spent four years in the NFL. So, with a father like that, Jy was born to be a football player.
“I started playing football around two,” German said. “My dad really since I could walk, he’s had me holding a ball around and throwing the ball to me, stuff like that.”
Jammi taught his son everything about the sport. Jyden looks up to his dad as a role model.
“It’s just great to have someone who has already been there and done that,” Jy said. “A role model in the house every day is awesome.”
Jy grew up playing Pop Warner football for Cypress Lake. However, last year he transferred into ECS in order to get a jump on his football career.
“I felt like it was a great opportunity just to be able to play high school as an eighth grader and get that extra year of experience,” German said.
Jy began running track at ECS. He ran for Coach Mitchell, who is also the coach of the Spartan’s track and field team. His speed impressed many for how young he was. So, when football season rolled around, Mitchell already had Jy and his speed on his radar.
“He is a next level speed guy,” Mitchell said. “He really gives us a lot of things we can do differently offensively.”
Playing varsity as an eighth grader is a massive ego boost. However, Jy kept repeating that one of his main goals through all of this was to remain humble.
“He’s a humble individual for his age,” Mitchell said. “It’s kind of hard to tame a kid mentally for that. He does it with grace.”
Jy is currently the second running back on the Spartan’s depth chart, but has already seen playing time in the team’s first exhibition game. The next opportunity for German to run the rock is Friday, August 26 against Saint Stephen’s Episcopal.
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