Aultman Alliance Community Hospital Athlete of the Week | Brendan Zurbrugg of Alliance

Alliance sophomore Brendan Zurbrugg has experienced enough highlights in one school year as some athletes have in a career.

It started in football when he became an efficient passer and dangerous runner as a quarterback on a young team that gradually matured offensively.

It continued in the winter in basketball, when he became a deadly 3-point shooting threat on a young team that surged to the top of the conference standings.

In the spring, he literally has been on the run and a sprinter and hurdler.

His track season reached its zenith at the Eastern Buckeye Conference. Zurbrugg won four individual events at the meet on a sunny 80-degree Saturday at Marlington, helping the Aviators place second in the team standings to the Salem Quakers.

Finishing first in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the 110 hurdles and the 300 hurdles earned Zurbrugg Most Valuable Player Honors.

While he has enjoyed competing in the sprints, and also in the 4x100 relay in earlier meets, Zurbrugg considers himself a hurdler first, and prefers one event over the other.

"I love the 300 hurdles more because I'm more physically suited to run them," said Zurbrugg (6-foot-3, 180 pounds), the Aultman Alliance Community Hospital Athlete of the Week.

"I'm tall, I take longer strides and I have the endurance."

Competing in high school track and field has brought Zurbrugg a sense of enjoyment, especially since he also is a gifted baseball player. In the best of both worlds, it would have been easy for him to compete in both high school sports, even though they occur in the same season.

Brendan Zurbrugg of Alliance enjoys playing multiple sports

However, Zurbrugg had no problem picking track over baseball.

"I'm a football guy and one of the reasons why I got into track was to improve my speed for football," Zurbrugg said. "I love baseball and play it during the summer, but to try and play both sports at the same time during the season and give my full attention to both of them would be an injustice."

That type of cerebral comment isn't surprising, because Zurbrugg shows the same kind of thoughtfulness he has displayed in the classroom, where he carries a 4.1 grade-point average.

"Getting good grades are important," Zurbrugg said. "I want to go to college and getting good grades is certainly [an advantage]."

His gravitation to the track, specifically the hurdles, also has a family tie-in. Chris Zurbrugg, his father, and older sisters Caroline and Mary all competed in the hurdles while running high school track at Alliance.

Chris Zurbrugg is more than just Brendan Zurbrugg's father. He also coaches his only son in football and track. Chris Zurbrugg, the Alliance head football coach from 2000-02, currently is the high school quarterback coach and an assistant track coach under head coach Gary King, working specifically with the hurdlers.

"I'm very fortunate to have my dad as a coach," Zurbrugg said. "We have our meets videotaped. After every meet we'd look at the video and he would tell me what I need to do."

Brendan Zurbrugg gets instruction from his father Chris, also an Alliance standout and current coach

Brendan has received plenty of his instruction from his father, both in football and in track. However, he confides the best piece of advice he has received has nothing to do with form and technique.

"My dad said the best thing to do when I have [an issue] is to pray to God, and it's been good advice," Zurbrugg said.

Before he chose teaching and coaching as a profession, Chris Zurbrugg also played three sports at Alliance in the early 1980s. He was the starting quarterback during the early stages of Joel Cockley's first of two stints as head football coach. He was a starting forward on a successful 1982-83 basketball team piloted by head coach Harry Fails and was a hurdler on the track team piloted by Dave Clegg.

Chris Zurbrugg eventually went to Michigan and played quarterback, starting the last part of the 1984 season when starter (and current Michigan head coach) Jim Harbaugh went down with an injury.

"My dad will tell me a little bit about his career, but he's focused more on being a coach and a father to me," said Brendan. "Sports is important in our family."

Brendan is the youngest of Chris and Christina Zurbrugg's five children and the only boy. Caroline is his oldest sister, followed by Carissa, Mary and Erika.

"Having four older sisters is like having four more moms, but they're very supportive," Brendan said, laughing.

That support and hard work helped Zurbrugg surface as one of the top hurdlers in the county. He made a statement at the Stark County Championships on April 23, winning the 300 hurdles with a time of 41.10 seconds

Since that meet, he has shaved seconds off that time, and that included a 39.19 at the EBC Meet, one week after he was clocked at 39.9 at the Austintown Optimist Meet.

"I felt I've improved my form," Zurbrugg said. "It's solid and when I'm showing the right technique, I keep my lead leg straight when clearing a hurdle, then my trail leg will snap over."

That textbook technique and form which has produced declining times has propelled Zurbrugg to his first-ever postseason meet. A hip flexor ousted him last spring.

"I'm happy to get a chance to run in the postseason this year," Zurbrugg said. "My focus is to take it one meet at a time, with a goal of making it to state."

SIX QUESTIONS FOR BRENDAN ZURBRUGG

What is your favorite food?

Pasta.

What is your favorite movie?

The Waterboy.

Who is your favorite athlete?

(Cincinnati Bengals quarterback) Joe Burrow.

What is your favorite track and field event?

300 hurdles.

What area do you need to improve the most?

My flexibility.

What life lesson have you learned during high school?

I've learned the importance of working hard and the need to stay patient.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Alliance's Brendan Zurbrugg makes an impact in three different sports