Inspired by greatness, Berks Catholic’s Will Hess refuses to stop moving

Will Hess crams a lot of things into his busy daily schedule — except for lunch and dinner. He doesn’t have time for that.

This time of year he’s literally on the go from sunrise to sundown — actually, a little before the former and after the latter. The rising junior at Berks Catholic never stops moving.

He’s up at 5 a.m. for the 6:30 team lift. There’s conditioning work at 7:30. Quarterback drills at 8:30. Then it’s off to Garage Strength to lift again.

On and on it goes, throughout the day. Wednesday, when he had a baseball playoff game at Kennett Square with Exeter’s Senior Babe Ruth League team, he didn’t return home until midnight.

A few short hours later it all began again.

For multi-sport athletes this is the busiest time of year. Every sport is in season.

Most football programs have morning workouts Monday through Thursday, with occasional 7-on-7 competitions sprinkled in. College hopefuls attend prospect camps throughout the week or on the weekend. Many top players work with personal trainers in between.

Some basketball players can be involved in three or more leagues throughout the week, then head to weekend tournaments and showcases.

Baseball players have games three or more nights a week, plus occasional weekend tournaments.

The Berks-Schuylkill Legion and Berks Senior Legion programs are entering their playoff phase, with regionals, then states, then national tournaments that will spill past the start of high school practices in early August.

For some, like Hess, the action is non-stop — and that’s exactly the way he prefers it.

He loves each of his three sports — football, basketball and baseball — and playing with the friends he’s made in each.

He’s not about to give any up of his sports. And won’t stop sneaking in nine holes of golf during afternoon “breaks” or taking his fishing pole over to Gring’s Mill or Antietam Lake.

Where he’d find time to clean, cook or eat anything he finds at the end of his rod remains a mystery.

“I worry watching him go-go-go all the time,” says his mother, Robin.

Will Hess has no such concerns. This is his favorite time of the year, especially with a beach week coming up. He’ll keep a similar non-stop routine in North Wildwood, where he has a gym membership so that he can continue to lift each day. He’ll find someone on the beach to throw with, whether it’s a football or baseball. In the evening he’ll find a court with a pick-up basketball game waiting for him.

When Robin and Bill pack for the trip they don’t need to take a beach chair for Will; not like he’d ever use it.

About the only time his feet aren’t hitting the ground is during morning surfing sessions. Sometimes he sits on his board, out past the breakers, and takes it all in.

“It’s relaxing to sit out there for a little,” he allows.

He relaxes at the end of a three-sport day, giving himself an hour or so to catch a favorite show on Netflix. Often he doesn’t make it through to the end of an episode. Robin will find him asleep on the couch.

It’s no wonder. In addition to all the training and playing, he also finds time to coach younger basketball players in the West Reading Summer League, mow a neighbor’s lawn when they’re away or earn some money with a part-time landscaping job.

It’s exhausting just to review his schedule but Will says he rarely gets tired.

“It’s all stuff I like to do,” he figures. “There’s some times where I have to take a quick nap; other than that I’m good.”

“He’s a super hard-working kid,” said Saints football coach and offensive coordinator Dave Stahler. “Always has been. He’ll do anything to help out around here in the athletic department: He fixes goals, puts uniforms away. He’s done it forever.”

As the son of a football coach and former athletic director, Will Hess grew up around the Berks Catholic athletic program. He was a ball boy for the Saints during their District 3 championship runs several years ago, inspired by star players such as Isaac and Cooper Lutz and Brandon George.

Now he’s competing for the starting quarterback job, along with rising sophomore Zach Suski and rising freshman Aidan Curley. Each looked good during 7-on-7 drills earlier in the week against Gov. Mifflin.

Hess is the only one with varsity experience. He even got a start last season, when Mitchell Gatz couldn’t go against Malvern Prep.

At 5-6, 156 pounds, he’s not going to run through any defensive tackles but but he knows the position well. He has quarterbacked the Wing-T offense since his early days in the Berks Catholic youth program. He has leadership qualities, key for the position, and a team-first attitude.

“I always love competition,” he said of a battle that will go on for the next 6-8 weeks. “Whoever will win us football games (should get the job).”

Even if he plays quarterback Hess hopes to see time at linebacker and on special teams, on the punt and kickoff coverage and return teams. As you might imagine he’d never come off the field if he had his druthers.

“He always has energy,” Stahler said.

Hess never lacks for motivation. If he ever gets down or too tired to go on he thinks about Anthony Myers, his second cousin. He looked up to Myers, a standout defensive back at Berks Catholic, and was inspired in the way he handled himself during the most trying of times.

Myers succumbed to brain cancer during his junior year but always handled his situation with grace. Hess saw Myers during good times and bad and won’t allow himself to stop moving.

“He always was on the go-go-go,” Hess said.

Before home games Hess will stop and take a knee at the 17 marker, placed in honor of Myers. He’ll reflect on what his cousin endured. He writes the date 12-4-19 — when Anthony’s battle with cancer ended — on the tape around his wrist.

“If I have my head down, I can look at it and think of him,” Hess said. “Even after one bad play he’d pick everybody up and tell us to get the next one.

“When he was going through all the treatments, he would send us pictures, and he’d be smiling — he always had a smile on his face. If he can do that while being in pain I shouldn’t have any excuses.”