Senior Captain Brian Malone, after investing nine years in Walpole Youth and Walpole High School football programs, will continue his athletic and academic career at Springfield College. Springfield is a Division III school with access to many successful athletic programs located in Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield plays a competitive schedule against talented teams like Union College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

“I chose Springfield College for many reasons. My junior season, my position coach for high school was currently attending Springfield College as the same position as me. I had a great relationship with him and after the season he took me on a tour for the whole day and I got to meet the coaching staff, take a tour of the campus, and attend a basketball game,” Malone said. “I immediately felt at home and loved everything about the school and I knew it was the right fit for me.”

Springfield also boasts great programs involving the sports and fitness industries, with Kinesiology and Exercise Science and Sport and Fitness Administration/Management being some of their most popular majors. Malone took this into great consideration.

“Another factor in my decision was the academics because I knew I wanted to do something involving sports when I’m older and Springfield College is a perfect fit for that curriculum,” Malone said.

Even though Malone has made this achievement on his own merit, he expresses great gratitude towards all of his past and current coaches, and credits them for helping him become the talented player he is today.

“Two prominent coaches throughout my career have been Coach Tosone and Coach Sullivan. Coach Tosone taught me a lot about the game of football in my 8th grade year, as well as my Freshman Year. He was a great coach and a great person to play for,” Malone said. “Coach Sullivan was also a prominent coach throughout my high school career, because going into sophomore year with a new Head Coach I didn’t know what to expect, but he made our team feel like a family and his help with me throughout the recruiting process was very helpful to me.”

Now, Malone is currently in his final year of varsity football, and has already made some great plays to show for himself in this shortened season.

“My favorite highlight so far was recently in our 17-14 win against Weymouth. With about 20 seconds left, I made a one-handed interception in the end zone to seal the game on Weymouth’s final drive. The whole team celebrated and it was a great feeling to be a part of that,” Malone said.

In a few months, Malone will be at Springfield for his collegiate career and he is plenty prepared to work hard on and off the field.