Jared CohenWhen watching the Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks football team, it is hard to not notice senior Matt Solverson.
The 6-2, 185 pound senior is an impact player in every way. He is most utilized on the defensive side of the football where he characterizes himself as a “hybrid.” And by hybrid, he means hybrid everything as you will find him playing linebacker, safety and corner over the course of a game.
“Wherever coach needs me to go, that’s where I’ll go,” Solverson said. “I try to give my best effort and make the plays, do whatever the team needs.”
Solverson is also seen on the offensive side of the ball at times as a tight end as well.
What makes this Nighthawk such a versatile athlete is the fact that he takes skills to the football field that he has obtained from other sports. He is also a standout basketball and volleyball player. In a day in age where we so often see athletes focus on just one sport at this level and beyond, Solverson mentions that all three sports provide traits which aids him to have success in each of them.
“Footwork really from basketball and volleyball transition into football,” Solverson stated. “Then just the aggressiveness of football can transfer into basketball. Each sport really helps each of the other ones.”
While Solverson makes a big impact on the football field this fall, he is also making a major impact off the field. He is one of the founders of a philanthropic organization in Southern Arizona called “Tucson Athletes Serving Kids.”
“We go help out underprivileged kids,” Solverson explained. “We play with them, talk to them because some of those kids have really hard lives. They have a lot to go through and it really just puts a smile on their face to just to see someone come to help them.”
This is a program that the entire Ironwood Ridge football team has become involved with and with Solverson at the forefront who hold’s a high position within this group.
“I’m the treasurer and I was like one of the founders of the group,” he mentioned. “Our football team wanted to do some good for the community and this is what we determined and it has really gone a long way.”
Solverson and the Nighthawks dropped a tough game to start their 2014 season up in Phoenix against the Liberty Lions last week but aim to get back on track this week when they take on the Cienega Bobcats for their home opener.
