2024 Interview with Demetrius “ Deuce “ Stanley from Lakota East

 

Demetrius Lee Stanley Jr.

Lakota East High School 

DT/Rush Side DE 

Class of 2025 

What is the best part of being a student-athlete at Lakota East High School?

At Lakota East, you have a big support group ranging from administration, staff, and students. And despite anything, they’re always understanding and willing to lend a helping hand in any area needed. 
 
What is the hardest part of being a student-athlete at Lakota East?

Just being disciplined enough to stay on top of everything and making sure you’re performing well in all areas of life on and off the field 

Along with football, you also wrestle. How long have you been involved in both sports? 

I started playing football in 2012, when I turned 5. I started wrestling in 2015, when I was 8 in the third grade. I played both all through my youth, middle school, and up until now. But I had some roadblocks along the way, like injuries and things. 

How did your wrestling season go?

My season went great.
I went 41-8 on the season and accomplished so many things along the way. I won and placed at some tournaments this year to become a state qualifier. So overall, I just got the opportunity to become a better person and a better leader for my teammates this season. And even though in most aspects it’s an individual sport, I wouldn’t be able to get where I needed to be without my teammates, so big props to them and my coaches, supporters, and family members. 

Which of the two sports is the toughest to prepare for? Explain

They’re both crazily tough to prepare for. But on one hand, wrestling is an individual sport in most aspects (except in tournament team scores, duals, and in tournaments, you go as far as you bring yourself), and football is a team sport. So with team sports, you have to know and learn all the plays, study the playbook, watch films thoroughly, and communicate with the guys around you. And making sure that you’re uplifting those around you, not bringing them down, by being a vocal leader and going out there with no doubt. Be gap-sound, know the plays, and go make elite plays on the line. Which is definitely difficult in its respectable ways. But on the other hand, with wrestling, you have to focus on technique, maintaining the specific weight, dieting right, being hydrated but not overweight, and making sure that your health and hygiene are good all throughout the winter because a simple cold or skin stuff could end your season easily. Making sure you’re ready to go into long matches and being at peak performance and conditioning. And just to answer "wwhich one is tougher than the other," it is simply hard. But to me personally, I think wrestling is tougher to prepare for than football. But with preparation, reps, and time put in, You’ll just have a different type of confidence in you that would make both significantly better. 

You battled some injuries during the 2023 season. Can you share with the readers what the injuries were and how tough the rehab was?

I pulled my groin or strained my hip flexor three weeks prior to our first game after coming back from the U16 Nationals for wrestling, and the rehab was pretty tough, having to rehab for that up until week 4 or 5. I was also dealing with shoulder impingement going into the end of the football season, and the rehab for that has been pretty tough too, but the athletic trainers at East have set up rehab programs for me to do that have helped significantly. 

Entering the 2023 season, what were your personal goals? 

Just to get back to football since I didn’t play sophomore year and to be my best self through and through. 

What were the high and low points of the 2023 season? 

A few highlights of the season were just being able to go and perform. Because our record really didn’t represent how the games went. We put a score on the board in every game except for three. But we just had adversity that didn’t play in our favor. And a low point was just our QB getting hurt right before halftime in a game that I really did think we could win. But it’s just something that is controllable, and other things are out of our control. And in the season, I never felt like it was a team we lined up against that we couldn’t have beat. It was never about effort or not working hard enough; it’s just that when you have a new team starting from the ground up, you have to go through things that make you want to strive for more, and I feel like that’s how the season was. 

What will you miss the most from the class of 2024? 

I will just miss the friendships that I made with those guys in a short time period, and now they’re just gone to do whatever they want to do in life, so it’s kind of bittersweet. 

Who was the toughest player you went up against during the 2023 season, along with the team he played for?

Eugene Harney played running back for Sycamore High School. I mean, this guy was just persistent, and he’s a two-time state champion in wrestling. He was bouncing off of guys tackles left and right. He was very quick, and he has this different type of game IQ on both sides of the ball and on the mat that makes him an elite athlete. On top of the work that he puts in,. 

After your senior season is over, will you play in any of the state-wide all-star games if you are invited? 

I’m always up for some work and good exposure, and I would like to play in one of those all-star games if it benefits me and others, but if not, then no. 

Can you share with the readers some of the schools that are recruiting you, and would you add the sport they are recruiting you in?

At the moment, no schools are recruiting me, but I just work hard in the classroom and weight room, and when the opportunity comes, I will be ready. 

Where is the best spot in town to grab a set-down meal?

Probably Outback or Texas Roadhouse 

Who is your favorite athlete?

Gable Steveson

What is a talent that you have that others might be shocked about? 

I know how to make music and play the trumpet.