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| Windham seniors Nick Garrison, left, and Jason Scott smile after signing letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college. PHOTO BY MADDIE MICHAUD |
Windham seniors Nick Garrison and Jason Scott have been working hard on and off the field and court since they were in elementary school and that effort has paid off significantly as both signed letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college during a ceremony at Windham High School on Tuesday, June 7.
Scott will attend the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he will play football.
Garrison was named Class B “Football Player of the Year” and had WMTW Travis Lee’s “Play of the Year,” but has decided to play basketball for Keene State College in New Hampshire.
Nick Garrison
Garrison has loved basketball his whole life and plays it year-round. He started playing in first grade. His dad has been very supportive, driving him around the eastern side of the United States to various games.
“He was our backbone; a competitor like you read about,” said Windham varsity boys’ basketball coach Chad Pulkkinen. “He’s going to excel because of his work ethic and who he is. All the coaches and fans that he’s accumulated over the years are excited for Nick and what he’s going to do at the next level.”
Garrison was on his school teams in seventh and eighth grade, but it wasn’t until sophomore year of high school that things really began to change; he got some playing time on the varsity team, and he began to improve his game.
During the pandemic quarantine he stepped up his game. He hit the weight room a lot and spent a lot of time practicing on the court; he received private training sessions, played Amateur Athletic Union basketball, and did anything he could to improve.
“Once you see results on the basketball court and results in your physical body it really made me want to play and pursue basketball,” said Garrison.
Garrison said he would like to thank Coach Pulkkinen, who helped push him to the next level and WHS Football Coach Matt Perkins and the coaching staff of the football team; it was a fun four years. He also is grateful to his family for driving him everywhere, all that time and effort was worth it.
Jason Scott
Scott was doing football skills and drills with his uncle in the yard while in second grade. He said he’s always played hard with a lot of encouragement from his family.
He went to football camps in seventh or eighth grade and knew he wanted to stick with it, and he set an ultimate goal of playing college football.
“Senior year was the year,” said Scott. “We probably had one of the best teams I’ve ever been on.”
Scott was injured in the second game of the playoffs when he tore his lateral meniscus and medial collateral ligament but that did not stop him from supporting his team all the way to the state championship.
While Scott couldn’t be there on the field, he said he supported them from the sidelines and motivated them the best he could.
While the injury was a setback, Scott is resilient and he’s been training, running, and doing all he can to be ready for next season.
Scott said he plans to major in business and marketing in college and use that to become a salesman.
“The thing about Jason is he will push himself to the most of his ability, he empowers so many others, he’s very selfless and he is a team-first guy,” said Windham varsity football coach Matt Perkins.
According to Scott, he would like to thank his dad, who was there for his games and took him to many activities and camps and his mom, who is a big supporter of him.
“She’s the best mom ever,” said Scott.
He would also like to thank his aunt who motivated him to work hard in the classroom, his grandfather, his brother Landon, and his girlfriend, Gianna Fowler. <
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