By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
At 6’4” and 210 pounds, O’Dea’s Rasaan Thomas is an imposing presence of the football field, Thomas, a three-year starter who plays safety and running back for the Fighting Irish, says that the decision to attend O’Dea has been life changing.
“O’Dea has definitely changed my life,” said Thomas. “I just came here as a football player, but they have changed me as a young man.”
For Thomas, the family-friendly atmosphere and the fact that his coaches truly care about his success both on and off the field have been very instrumental in his growth and success.
“We have the best coach in Washington high school football,” says Thomas. “Coach Kohler has not only trained me to be a better football player, but a better young man off of the field. He stays on me about my grades. I had a tough time with my grades, and he was always there for me when I was having family problems. There is a very wide range of age in our coaching staff, but all of the coaches treat us the exact same way.”
Despite the great personal growth and success Thomas has seen on the field, he faced some personal challenges that hindered him from playing, but he managed to prevail better than ever. Suffering injuries during both his sophomore and junior seasons that could have been setbacks that alter the way he approached the game, Thomas has come back time and time again in a better space than he was before.
“My dad would always tell me, if you go out on the field thinking you are going to get hurt, then you are going to get hurt. So, playing with a free mind and doing my job every time definitely helped me bounce back,” said Thomas. “[During] my junior year, I fractured my wrist and had to miss three games, so it was kind of rough, but I was able to bounce back and finish the season strong.”
Aside from injuries, Thomas has also had to work through personal family issues during his junior year that impacted his grades. But he didn’t let it get him down, as he sought out the support that he needed and got back on track with his studies.
“There is a lot of support for student-athletes because they know the amount of work we do during the week with practice at the school and having to commute each day,” says Thomas. “The teachers are very supportive, and they give us a lot of time to complete our work.”
Shawn Thomas, Rasaan’s father says that his son has always been a hard worker in the classroom and was proud of the ways he worked through the issues that he was facing.
“I knew that his grades had slipped, but [knowing] the type of person that he is, a hard worker, I didn’t need to really get down on him because he holds himself accountable very well,” says Mr. Thomas. “But of course, just being his dad, I am going to send that reinforcement on how to go about things to make sure that he stays on top of his grades.”
For many years, the O’Dea football program has been a prominent force in the Metro League. Despite losing key players due to graduation last year like Jason Brown, Thomas believes the team’s performance has remained strong.
“We are definitely a younger team. Having three juniors and one sophomore all starting, so we’re very young guys, but there definitely has been no drop-off,” says Thomas. “With our offense, we have a very strong offensive line, and losing Jason Brown, people had a lot of talk, but we have very experienced veterans like Uriah Stringfield, who are able to step and lead our team.”
Displaying the great qualities of a humble athlete, Thomas highlighted that even though the goals he has set for himself are important, they are rather minor to him, compared to the collective success of the team.
“I want to make more of an impact on the defensive side, have another first-team all-metro selection, and an all-state selection, but those individual awards are just minor things,” says Thomas. “The main goal is the state championship, and winning the Metro League championship in back-to-back years is a great team goal. It is all about the team, not about myself, so If I don’t meet my individual goals, it is not the end of the world for me, because the end goal is the state championship.”
Thomas’s aspiration to enhance his defensive play shows his versatility. While his father, who coached Rasaan in his little league days with the CD Panthers, enjoys the success of his son both on and off the field, he admits that right now that he is happy to just be his dad and enjoy the ride.
“He is multitalented on both sides of the ball, and it is just fun to watch him play and turn into one of the state’s best safety’s,” says Thomas. “My younger son, Keelan, is at O’Dea and it has been 10 years since they were on the same team, so I really enjoy being able to watch them play together again.”
While playing at the collegiate level is the dream for many young athletes, Mr. Thomas noted that the sky is the limit for his son, and getting a college scholarship would be ideal for the family.
“It would help me out a lot, and not just for college football, but for him to be able to earn a degree and still end up playing the game he loves at the same time would be amazing. But wherever the chips may fall, we will see what else happens,” Mr. Thomas concluded.