Season Interrupted: Jared Tolmasoff is going to be the new sheriff in town
Throughout the spring, The Times will interview high school seniors whose athletic careers were cut short by the coronavirus outbreak.
Name: Jared Tolmasoff
School: Eastvale Roosevelt
Sport: Swimming, 100 breaststroke; football, linebacker
Notable feats: Rare football/swimmer on campus of more than 4,300 students
Fall plans: Will attend Arizona and study criminal justice.
How he pulled off the football/swimming double:
“From a young age I was playing multiple sports, doing football, basketball, baseball. Eventually when you get to high school, you have to choose. I decided to hang up my cleats and went back to my roots, swimming.”
On how his football teammates viewed swimming:
“They were were kind of confused. They said it was going to be weird for me going from shoulder pads into Speedo and from Speedo into shoulder pads. I think they got jealous when I came back with a nice tan.”
On why he wants to become a sheriff:
“From a young age I’ve been able to see my dad and a lot of the task forces police departments offer. I’ve always been interested when he tells stories. Since I was a kid, I wanted to study criminal justice. For me to go join a police department and my dad to pin the badge on me after graduating from the academy would be pretty cool.”
On life without sports:
“I can’t sit still very much. I feel that’s the same with many athletes. When I see the professional level completely stopped, that’s when you know it’s a big deal.”
On the lessons he’s learned:
“For my swimming, at least when we were at that last practice, we were having fun. Then we got that call from the loudspeaker. We were confused, but at the same time when leaving the pool deck I said to myself, ‘If I never come back I had a good last day.’”
Video interviews of each athlete can be found at latimes.com/sports/highschool.
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