Sports Spotlight on Brady Zittleman
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Alexander Gorney | 12/19/2012 .jpg)
Sports is Zittleman`s life.
"I look at sports as I have fun when I win and winning takes a lot of preparation and hard work and I know what it takes to do that I just try to be the best I can to make our team better," he said.
Zittleman is a three-sport standout for the Mandan Braves. The senior was an-all state defensive back for the football team, He`s captained the hockey team to one of its best starts in the programs history and he is also a valuable member for the baseball team. But the journey has had some bumps along the way.
"Junior year, in quarterfinals I broke my thumb and had surgery. I missed the first third of the season. I still had my legs so I could still get in shape and it sucked cuz I couldn`t shoot the puck but it was one of those things where I bought into getting better, getting in shape so when I could get back I wouldn`t be behind and thats one of the big things making sure you are on top of things."
"He`s a real leader on and off the ice. vocally and by the way he plays. He tries to be a good role model for the players and he speaks up when he needs to get inspired," said Mandan senior Tre Kautzman.
It`s not hard to figure out where Zittleman is on the ice. If the long blonde hair doesn`t give it away its the pink breast cancer awareness sticker on the back of his and a couple teammate`s helmets.
"Last August, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, one summer my mom babysat Brady and from then on we became best friends and my mom has been a second mother for him and we wear those to celebrate my mothers defeat of cancer," Kautzman said.
A sign to show Zittleman`s commitment to others is as strong as his commitment to playing beyond high school.
"I definitely want to play sports in the next level I feel that my high school career is just a building block of going to the next level and I feel that it would be a waste if I didn`t play a sport in college whether thats football or hockey it doesn`t matter to me I just want to play four years for a team," he said.
Based on what teammates say, that dream is likely to come true. with the spotlight on Brady Zittleman, for NBC North Dakota Sports, I`m Alexander Gorney.>
In his four years with the Braves, Zittleman says his two fondest memories came against Bismarck High. One was last year during football when the Braves beat the Demons in the regular season. The other being last week on the ice, when the Mandan beat BHS for just the second time in school history.
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