As Teagan Klein stepped into the throwing circle he listened to parents, students, and teammates cheering him on. He took his stance resting the shot on his shoulder, preparing to give it his all.
There is a lot that goes into being a three-sport athlete in high school, but freshman Teagan Klein faces the challenge head-on. He plays offensive and defensive line in football, defense in lacrosse, and throws shot put and discus in track. Klein has a simple mentality when it comes to which sport is his favorite.
“Track is my favorite sport to play because I love throwing things around,” Klein said.
Klein’s love for the sport shows on the field. In shot put, he has thrown 40 feet, six inches, and in discus, his personal best is 102 feet.
“It’s nice playing lacrosse and throwing for track in the same season. I just go from school to throwing practice and then straight to lacrosse. We don’t have interfering schedules so it really works out,” Klein said.
Playing sports in the same season takes a lot of dedication and sacrifice. Even in the offseason Klein still works hard to improve and stay prepared for his sports.
“In the offseason I do lots of lifting and I try to do some cardio to stay in shape,” Klein said.
Klein tries to stay fit year-round to do his best in and out of the season. Being in shape is just a small part of being a student-athlete. When it comes to academics Klein stays on top of his work.
“The hardest part of balancing sports and school is doing my work with the little time I have after lacrosse. I go home and then I have to do my homework and all that stuff. I struggle with time management so I try to get my schedule down since it can be busy,” Klein said.
Despite his busy schedule, Klein makes it work. Mike Murphey is a counselor at Revere Middle School (RMS) and the assistant coach of the Revere High School (RHS) track and field team. He coaches the throwers and has seen Teagan grow throughout this season.
“I’ve known Teagan since he was in middle school …The first time I ever coached him was this year in throwing. He came out and has done really a great job of using his body as a young guy who doesn’t have all the technique down. He is able to constantly translate that into improvement in what he’s doing,” Murphey said.
Although Klein is just at the start of his high school career he has the tools to succeed. Klein’s ability to quickly learn from others helps him rapidly improve.
“Some people have a hard time making that transition from kind of the spoken word or showing them how to do something to then being able to try it themselves. He’s really able to do that, which is, I think, really important,” Murphey said.
For Klein, it is important to not only be able to learn proper technique but also put in the time and effort to better himself as an athlete. Murphey has seen how much effort Klein puts into his sports.
“I know he works really, really hard. I know his dad told me that he works a lot outside of school on throwing. Track practice is kind of like working out. Some days are good days, some days are bad days, but everything you’re doing is about training your body,” he said.
Lots of hard work goes into Klein’s training so he can steadily improve. He is able to focus on and gradually improve all aspects of throwing even when it comes down to the small details.
“Just like maxing out in a weight room, there’s max output that you would put out with a throw. You think you’re throwing like a 12-pound shot or a 1.6 kilo disc—you can’t go out and do like 50 of those a day. You’ve gotta be able to work on the little stuff inside of that like your technique. I think he does a really good job at that as a young athlete,” Murphey said.
Klein makes sure to work on all aspects of his game during practice from his strength to little things liem his form. Murphey continues to see Klein grow as he competes at meets.
“Teagan has improved quite well. One of the biggest issues in track is being able to go from doing it in practice to then being able to execute when you compete. He’s done a good job of not letting the competition get to him,” Murphey said.
Handling the pressure at meets is just a small part of competing for Klein. Murphey encourages Klein to keep a good mentality and stay determined to improve.
“Sometimes in track, you know, every throw isn’t a personal best. You may throw 50 throws before you beat your personal best. So you have to have that kind of determination and be able to not allow the results to affect your focus … The mental side of it is the most important piece,” Murphey said.
Klein can focus on what matters to do his best. Murphey has faith that Klein will continue learning and improving as he gets older. Senior Rowan Klein is Tegan’s older brother. He has watched his brother grow and thrive as an athlete over the years.
“He used to be extremely reluctant to practice or put in work outside of sports. This year he’s kind of matured and started putting in work on his own to help get better at what he loves to do,” Klein said.
Klein has seen Teagan change as an athlete since they were young. He and his family support Teagan in any way they can when it comes to athletics.
“We are very supportive of Teagan because my entire family has done athletics. We give him advice, we’re always there to support him in whatever sport he wants to do. We enjoy seeing him enjoy things that he’s good at doing,” Klein said.
In addition to supporting Teagan as a brother, Klein is also one of Teagan’s teammates. He has seen Teagan do whatever it takes to support his teams as a reliable teammate.
“I would say his best quality as a teammate is the way that he stands up for his teammates. Teagan puts emphasis on the team over himself and how everybody has to work together to get to their goal,” Klein said.
Being a team player is important to Teagan. Klein has seen Teagan work diligently to be successful in all aspects of his sports whether he’s supporting his teammates or improving his skills on the field.
“I would say that right now Teagn’s work ethic is the best that it’s ever been. He’s doing two sports—lacrosse and track—at the varsity level, and he’s still finding time to get all of his schoolwork done. He’s working very hard,” Klein said.
Teagan works hard, but that doesn’t stop Klein from pushing him to be better. Klein tries to be a great example for his brother to follow.
“I try to lead by example in everything that I do to be a good role model for Teagan. There’s always kind of a sense of competition between brothers, especially if they’re in the same sport. So I try to give him an example of how hard he should work and the attitude he should have toward himself and his teammates in his sports,” Klein said.
Teagan is surrounded by positive influences pushing him to be better. He will continue to work and improve as an athlete throughout his high school career.
This story was originally published on Lantern on May 1, 2025.