For the last three years, Oak Park and River Forest High School’s Johnny Nelson has been a throwback student-athlete in this age of sports specialization. The rising senior has been starting quarterback on the football team, a forward on the basketball team, and a pitcher/third baseman on the baseball team.
This year, however, Nelson has decided his collegiate future is in baseball, and he won’t be on the gridiron when football practice begins next month. He’s also hanging up his basketball shoes.
“It’s tough, knowing that all my guys are out there and I’m not with them,” Nelson told Wednesday Journal in an interview. “I’ve had a lot of fun times playing football [and basketball], but in the grand scheme of things and looking out for my future, I think it’s going to work out better for me.”
Nelson says being a three-sport athlete at OPRF wasn’t difficult. Playing with his friends on each team made things easier for him, and he described his multi-sport experience as “fun.”
“It wasn’t that challenging. The coaches were great with me,” Nelson said. “Each sport, I had a different group of guys who were like my brothers, so it was easy to go from sport to sport with guys I knew were going to be there for me.
Nelson admits balancing three sports with OPRF’s rigorous academic curriculum was a challenge, but he was able to make it work.
“I found time during school to get my work done,” Nelson said. “I paid extra attention in class, and that helped me out.”
Nelson will play travel baseball this fall as he prepares for his third varsity season with OPRF. Last year, he hit .333 and had 10 doubles and 23 RBI for the Huskies, who finished with a 27-11 record and lost to Brother Rice 2-1 in a semifinal at the IHSA Class 4A Reavis Sectional.
“Johnny is a kid every coach wants to have in their program,” said OPRF baseball coach Kevin Campbell. “He’s got a great work ethic, he’s a team-first guy, and he’s got great athletic ability. He can do things a lot of other baseball players can’t.
“The thing that sets Johnny aside is his dedication to his teammates,” he added. “It’s unmatched. He’s the ultimate competitor, and winning has always been his number one objective.”
Rising senior Johnny Nelson of Oak Park-River Forest High School will play collegiately at Wright State University. (Courtesy Johnny Nelson) 
Rising Oak Park-River Forest High School senior Johnny Nelson goes up for a dunk at a basketball game last season. Nelson won’t be on the hardwood this year as he’s focusing exclusively on baseball. (Courtesy of Johnny Nelson) 
Rising Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Johnny Nelson was the Huskies’ football starting quarterback the past two years. Nelson will not return to the gridiron this fall as he is focusing exclusively on baseball. (Courtesy of Johnny Nelson)
Once his OPRF career ends next year, Nelson plans to play collegiately at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
“From when I was first contacted, they were very welcoming, and the way they talked to me, they wanted me a lot,” he said of his commitment to the Raiders, who play in the Horizon League and reached the final of the Vanderbilt Regional this season. “They made a personalized plan and showed where they would see me in the future. The way they work and their style of play just really match with me as a person.”
Nelson, who is deciding between business and engineering as a major at Wright State, plans to cheer on his football and basketball friends at the games this fall and winter. He adds that his OPRF experience will help him in college.
“Coach Campbell is definitely a great coach,” Nelson said. “He instills a culture of hard work into all of us, which will definitely help me in the long run.”