Nicholas Hodell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Estrella Foothills High School for AZPreps365.

At a young age, Estrella Foothills senior quarterback Ty Perry always wanted to be up to the standard of the older kids, including his cousins, during Friday sessions of tackle football at a park near his home. 

That competitiveness to get stronger was the first hint of the kind of leader he would be for Estrella Foothills.

Coach Derek Wahlstrom said he considers his quarterback as competitive as anyone he’s ever coached.  That desire to be the best has helped Perry grow as a person and leader as well.

After his team’s 56-10 loss against Northwest Christian, Perry texted his teammates with the goal to turn around the team’s three-game losing streak.  The message was simply to take the frustrations and put it into a good practice session on Monday.  His teammates did exactly that.

“We came in and had our best practice session all season,” Perry said.

In practices, senior wide receiver Daylen Batchan said Perry is a true team player, trying to get everyone to put in a good practice session.

“He tries to bring the best out of us every day,” Batchan said.  “We get those little lulls in the middle of practice and he’s the one willing to pick it up.  He just wants to be a part of everything.”

Perry’s relationship with his teammates is also evident on Thursdays when he invites several wide receivers and offensive linemen to his house for a team dinner.  Batchan said the dinners are a great way for the team to bond together without having to worry about the stresses of practices or academics, especially for the seniors.

“That’s just a great team experience,” Batchan said.  “It gives us a moment just to be together without football and just to enjoy each other because this is our senior year and it’s our last time really being together because we don’t know where everyone is going to go.”

Perry used his competitive spirit to grow as a person over the offseason as well.  He is using his competitiveness this season to bring a more positive effect to his teammates by lifting them up more in between drives and plays.  Perry noted conversations between himself and Wahlstrom during the offseason about improving some of his interactions with his teammates.

“Coach has talked about instead of coming across as cocky, having more moxie and have more confidence instead of cockiness,” Perry said.

Perry is not just a standout quarterback with more than 800 passing yards through his first three games this season.  Perry also has been a point guard for the school’s basketball team the last three seasons.  Perry says there are similar elements of control over what happens in both games and that he likes to be in those tough spots.

“Whether you win or lose, the game is on is you,” Perry said.

In the classroom, Perry also stands out with a 3.75 unweighted GPA.  Wahlstrom has had Perry in his classes in multiple subject areas and said that his competitiveness drives his success academically in addition to his work on the field.

“He’s an excellent student and part of that is that internal drive and part of that is that competitiveness that he wants the very best,” Wahlstrom said. 

Perry’s competitiveness showed in his schoolwork as a young kid.  He recalled growing up with senior middle linebacker Quinlan Popham and competing with him on fast-paced math assignments in class.

Batchan sayid there are several qualities that make Perry a great student, including paying attention in the classroom and asking questions.  These qualities, according to Batchan, make Perry someone that other students can look to if they want to achieve similar success.

“I think he is one of the ones that a lot of our students can model after because I think he is a great role model and he is what it looks like to be great in academics and take care of his business on the field too,” Batchan said.

Balancing academics with athletics and hanging out with teammates has been a bit difficult for Perry, but he's never forgotten the importance of homework. 

“You still have to stay on top of it,” Perry said.  “The grades are a big part of my whole thing because I want to go play college football and I want to get a scholarship.”

Perry said there have been a few schools at the NAIA, Division III and Division II levels that have recruited him, but the current limits on recruiting have made the process more difficult. However, Perry is not concerned about it in the short term, saying that he may walk on to a school.