Captain of three sports — bowling, ping-pong and boys volleyball — and having competed at the state level in each, senior Jerry Floeder grew up as the second youngest of 10 athletes and with parents who always encouraged him to be active. 

From a young age, Floeder and his siblings participated in volleyball, ping pong and bowling recreationally. “My family used to participate in the Flaherty’s Kids Bowl Free Program, so we’d get two free games a day,” he said. “I love these summer bowling sessions because almost every time we went, we’d put a wager on the second game. The person with the lowest score would pay for everyone’s ice cream. I guess one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much is because I wouldn’t lose very often.” His family also had a ping pong table in the basement and a volleyball net outside, which he and his siblings played with often.

Having nine siblings and parents that emphasize excellence means that friendly competition is a large part of Floeder sibling dynamics. “Whether it be the highest ACT score or who can play piano the best, we compete a lot,” said Floeder. He emphasizes that while some of his siblings have had State runs in one sport, he’s the only one who has made State for all three.

Outside of sports, Floeder is vice president of National Honor Society and runs a student-led club to bring music to the elderly and nursing home patients. He’s also captain of Quiz Bowl and works as a student intern at the University of Minnesota aiding in cancer research. 

Because Floeder is a three-sport athlete and doesn’t participate in athletic clubs outside of school, his training regimen doesn’t resemble most athletes’. “Every season I come in cold turkey. The first few weeks of practice are always super difficult, especially for volleyball, and I’m always slightly behind my teammates,” he said. “I work double hard to catch up, then continue to work double hard to be the absolute best I can possibly be.”

At the end of last year, Floeder was selected by the coaches of bowling and volleyball and the previous captains of ping pong to be a captain of each sport this year. “As captain […] my responsibilities are to not only help newer players improve their skills, but to be the rock for the team,” he said.

Floeder has played Mounds View sports since seventh grade. Now, as an upperclassman, he finds that he is transitioning to a mentoring role for his younger teammates. “I started all of these sports when I was really young in high school, so I was the one kind of learning a lot. But, starting last year when I became an upperclassman, it really became clear to me my role was switching,” said Floeder.

While he’ll always love playing sports recreationally, Floeder does not plan to pursue any of his three sports professionally after high school. “I just like having the break from all the academics that I do,” said Floeder.