D9Sports.com and EYT Media are doing a series of player profiles on returning high-school athletes this summer. The year in school listed by the athlete is the year the athlete is entering this fall.
RYAN PASTERNAK – Senior – DuBois
Son of: Chuck and Becky Pasternak
Sports Played: Football and Baseball
2015-16 Highlights: A two-sport star for DuBois, Pasternak was the fourth-leading tackler on the Beavers football team recording 7.2 tackles per game (79 total) including a team-best five sacks. He also had an interception and a fumble recovery. On offense, he is a key member of an offensive line that helped DuBois rack up 503.2 yards per game. In baseball, he was a middle-of-the-order hitter for DuBois and hit .357 with a team-best 21 RBIs. He had eight doubles and a home run while scoring 12 runs.
Post High School Goals: Pasternak plans on playing football in college and has been contacted by numerous schools ranging from mid-level Division 1 to Division 2 including Holy Cross, Albany, Akron, Robert Morris, Duquesne, New Hampshire, St. Francis (Pa.), Rhode Island, Bloomsburg, Edinboro, California (Pa.), Brown, Bucknell, Clarion, VMI, William & Mary, Shippensburg, Columbia, Penn and Lafayette. When he is finished with college, he hopes to get into the Pennsylvania State Police Academy.
Q&A With Ryan Pasternak
D9Sports: Do you have a favorite sport, and if so why?
RP: Football is without a doubt my favorite. It is by far my best sport as well as the sport I have the most fun playing. In football, brotherhoods are formed that last a lifetime. When you step on that field together as a unit, it’s something special.
D9: What is your best high-school related sports memory and why?
RP: I have a couple. It’s actually a tie between having back-to-back walk-off hits against DuBois Central Catholic and Hollidaysburg in consecutive games this baseball season and defeating Mifflin County in my first-ever varsity football start as a sophomore.
D9: Has there been a coach and/or teacher who has influenced you the most in your high-school career to this point, and if so, why?
RP: I would say both my dad, who has coached me the whole way up through, as well as Benny Benasutti, my offensive line coach who has taught me a ton about technique and playing the game.
D9: What do you like best about playing sports in high school?
RP: The competition and the friendships. Almost all my friends have been acquired through sports during my life.
D9: What is the hardest part about playing sports in high school?
RP: The hardest part is balancing sports, school and your life outside of it all. It’s a big sacrifice to make, but it’s definitely well worth it.
D9: How much offseason work do you put into your sports?
RP: I put in a ton of offseason work. Every single day after school from the day we got eliminated in the football playoffs last year until the start of the next season, I work out. I also take a weight-training class as an elective to do during the school day every day. That is all in addition to the conditioning and agility drills I do on my own time regularly.
D9: What is your favorite subject in school?
RP: History.
D9: What do you like to do for fun when you aren’t playing sports?
RP: When I’m not playing sports, I enjoy spending time with my family, my dog and my friends. Together, we like to relax, play basketball, go fishing and do just about anything else for fun.
D9: What are your goals for the upcoming school year both sports wise and academically?
RP :My goals this year athletically are to win a playoff football game for our program, be an all-state lineman and hopefully earn a football scholarship. Academically, I would like to try and be an A-honor roll student every semester.
