Josiah Foster hasn’t had many of his late afternoons free during his days at Trinity Lutheran High School.

The reason is because he has been a three-sport athlete, having been in basketball, soccer and golf the past four years.

“I really enjoy the teammates,” he said. “We normally have a pretty fun time playing and practicing, and the coaches are really nice and helpful.”

Foster played basketball and golf at Immanuel Lutheran, but didn’t pick up soccer until his freshman year at Trinity.

In the winters, he said he enjoyed his role as a shooter on the basketball team.

“I came in off the bench and normally played as either a forward or a shooting guard,” Foster said. I enjoyed shooting, so that was probably my favorite part.

“I think I would rather take it to the basket, but I know my coach liked it when I shot. I’d say playing against a zone was probably easier because if you pass the ball and rotate it well it breaks down really easy so you can get your best opportunity there.”

The senior has played with the same group of players for years.

“I enjoyed the guys I played with, especially my senior class,” Foster said. “Some of the guys I went to Immanuel with I’ve been playing with for a long time. I feel like our team had a pretty good connection, for the most part, and that was the enjoyable part about it.”

Foster played the No. 5 position for the golf team last spring, and has hopes of moving up in the lineup this season.

“There will be four seniors this year and for sure we should have very solid scores throughout the top five,” Foster said.

He said his favorite hole at Shadowood Golf Course in Seymour is No. 11.

“The back nine would be easier for my swing because if I do mess up I’m going to slice to the left because I’m a left-handed player,” Foster said. “I like the layout of the front nine better, but I normally score on the back nine better.”

He said his best nine-hole score was a 41, and he prefers nine-hole matches over 18 holes.

“I don’t do very well on 18,” Foster said. “I think I shot a 99 last year. My drives have gotten a lot better as I became an upperclassmen because I started taking weights, so I’ve gotten a lot more distance on my drives. A good drive for me is probably 275 (yards), 300 maybe.

“My irons can be inconsistent at times, but if I’m playing well I can normally put them on the greens pretty good. My putting used to be better than other parts of my game because I couldn’t hit it very long, but now I’d say it’s probably about even with the rest of my game.”

Foster plans to work hard during the pre-season.

“I’m going to work on all parts of my game,” Foster said. “I’m going to make sure that my swing is as consistent as it can be, and I’ll try to go from there because we’ve had a long offseason. From how much I improved last year, I’d say this year if I just keep working at it, and keep my focus I’ll be able to break 40 and 90.”

Foster said he joined the soccer program at Trinity through the urging of some friends, and because they needed more players.

“They needed more players because we’ve always had a small team,” he said. “I joined because I figured it might be fun, and I’ve stuck with it.”

On the pitch, Foster worked as a defensive specialist.

“I played as a sweeper,” Foster said. “When I played the middle of the field I was supposed to control the ball, and whenever I was on defense, especially as a senior, I was supposed to help the underclassmen back there, and help keep the defense together.”

He enjoyed filling the role of captain in soccer.

“It was pretty nice. I felt like having A.J. (Goecker), Trent (Shoemaker) and me as captains was really good because we had someone in the front, someone in the back at all times as a captain,” Foster said.

On defense, Foster relied on consistent communication with his teammates to get stops.

“Communication was really important because, not only telling the other guys around you that you were going to get the ball and you’re going to clear it, but getting the defense to push up so that you could keep their offense way from your goal and allow your offense to do some work,” Foster said.

No matter which sport he’s working on, Foster has seen the benefits of putting the time in.

“Practice is very important, especially in soccer and basketball because soccer and basketball is a little different when you’re working on your conditioning,” foster said. “The whole team needs to be in shape for it to go well.

“In golf the practices are really important for your short game. If you’re taking days off you’re going to be more inconsistent. Golf is probably the most mentally difficult sport. It’s very important to keep your cool in golf because if you don’t you’re not going to recover, and in basketball same thing. You need to keep your cool and stay strong there.”

He has enjoyed being a student at TLHS.

“The teachers where are very helpful and that’s really nice because, being an upperclassmen and taking harder courses, if you need help they’re more than willing to come early or stay after, Foster said.

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Name: Josiah Foster

High school: Trinity Lutheran

Parents: Paul and Donna Foster

Siblings: Rachel, Andrea

Sports: basketball 4 years, soccer 4 years, golf 4 years

Athletic highlights: soccer MVP

Organizations: National Honor Society, FFA, church youth group

Plans after high school: attend Purdue University, study construction management technology

Favorite food: steak

Favorite team: Purdue University

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