Triton's Nathan McKoy has brains, brawn, and that little something "extra"

The floor is shaking inside the Triton High School weight room. Junior Nathan McKoy is getting in a few hang clean reps. His name is proudly displayed next to a 245 lb max on a whiteboard,  number one in the school.

"No days off for him," Triton head football coach Ben Penny said.  "Game days for basketball even football, no matter what he has going on; if he has an AP exam that day, Nate comes to work."

Penny isn't kidding. As soon as McKoy finishes his set, he let's out a whistle and heads to the gym for basketball practice.

"As a basketball player he's just tough, he plays hard, he works hard," Triton head basketball coach T.J. Morrison said.

McKoy is a defensive and offensive lineman for the football team. He plays the post and does a lot of the dirty work for the basketball team without a complaint.  

"I feel like I'm a person that likes to hustle and elevate my teammates," McKoy said. "I want my teammates to get success as well."

On the court you'll see him dive for loose balls. You'll also hear him talk.  

"It just comes from being myself," McKoy said. "I just like to talk sometimes."

When McKoy isn't barking out defensive instructions or encouragement to his teammates, he's using his voice to participate in class discussions.

"He's very reflective, he's very intellectual and he thinks very deeply about things," Triton English teacher Guy Hill said. Hill has taught McKoy for three years.

"It's something you notice very soon after coming into contact with Nate," Hill said. "You see it so often that you realize this is his makeup."

You don't necessarily expect a guy that can squat over 400 lbs to be a fan of the great American novel, but McKoy is just as passionate about school as he is sports.

"It's just something about learning about literature," McKoy said. "You can pull one piece of a story and you can connect it to so many things in your actual life."

McKoy dreams of entering a medical profession like pharmacy or physical therapy. His work at Triton has earned him the Tom Suiter Extra Effort award. His teachers and coaches believe he'll be able to write whatever ending to his story he wants.  

"He's the type of young man that you'd want your own son to be like," Morrison said. "Coaches love him, teachers love him, kids love him.  All around really good guy.  Expect him to lead in the classroom, lead on the court, lead on the football field, expecting big things."