NRC’s competitive fishing team

There’s nothing quite like the relaxation of being out fishing.

The rippling of the water. The calm as you wait for a bite. Choose where and how to cast. It’s the ultimate hobby for many in the region.

However, the popularity of sports fishing is on the rise, with North Rock Creek High School the latest to join. The school launched its firstever fishing team this semester and plans to keep growing.

Coach Todd Burch, who teaches outdoor education and coaches track and football, said he had 13 students sign up for the team when it started a couple of months ago. It looks like he’ll have six to ten more groups when he opens the next round of signups in August.

Their team is part of the Student Angler Federation, which is part of The Bass Federation—the oldest and largest organized grassroots fishing organization, according to its website. The student federation hosts fishing tournaments all over the U.S.

Fishing is different from other team sports. Rather than coming together, it’s more individual, Burch said.

They don’t have traditional practices and each student is responsible for getting out on the lake to fish in their own time, though he is working to get a team fishing trip planned. The students are split into smaller teams of two per boat, not including the boat captain. That is typically a parent, which means that parental involvement is a must, according to the coach.

“If your parents aren’t involved… it’s probably not going to work for you,” he said. “The percentage of parents that need to be involved is probably more than anything else. Most kids that really have success doing it, their parents are involved in some way.”

He added that a lot of his kids are always out fishing at lakes around Shawnee anyway. One team already doing well in the few tournaments they’ve attended is part of another league in Seminole, which helps. Burch said fishing teaches his students responsibility and a work ethic. They learn how to pack a boat, drive it, and all the safety that goes along with being out on the lake. He said they also learn how to be a good sportsman. The coach said NRC is doing well so far. At their first tournament at Grand Lake, one team finished third out of 78 high school teams. Most of his team will fish four tournaments by the end of the season, with two teams fitting in five. He said one of the kids from the winning team at Grand Lake already had a few colleges following him on social media after that win. Sophomore CJ Stephens said what he loves most about fishing is the relaxation and freedom of it. “They may set a couple restrictions, but you get to choose what you’re throwing, how you’re throwing it, where you’re throwing it,” he said. Stephens has been entering small fishing tournaments around Shawnee, but when the school announced they were starting a team, he jumped on the change. He plans to keep fishing throughout high school and is open to continuing in university. Stephens also plays football and runs track.

“It makes me feel really good about my future because there’s definitely not a limited amount of options. I could really do whatever I want with my life after high school and play whatever sport, but fishing is definitely the thing I would want to do,” he said.

Freshman Reid Rollins has been fishing his whole life. It’s something he loves to do, which led him to join the team when it started. He said he tries to get out on the lake every weekend or every day after school that he can.