Alex Hurtz moved from Wisconsin to Arkansas in pursuit of college football aspirations
KENOSHA, Wis. (BVM) — From July 18-19, Alex Hurtz attended the Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp at Rocky Top Sports World in Gatlinburg, Tenn. It was a huge honor for one of the best kickers in Wisconsin in the Class of 2022.
He performed well that weekend against more than 500 of the nation’s best high school kickers, punters and long snappers, but it was also an eye opener for Hurtz and his mother, Susan. The camp showed how competitive college recruiting can be as all of those who attended the camp were just like Hurtz.
“I realized there are 500 kickers down there competing for these spots,” Susan said. “These kids are from all over the country. When you see these 500 kickers nationwide those kids are moving ahead, those kids are getting exposure.”
Most years, this would have only made Alex go back to Kenosha, Wis., and just work harder as he prepared for another season with Indian Trail High School. However, COVID-19 made the Hurtzes think about what they would do if the fall sports season was affected like spring had been.
A week after the Kohl’s camp, their worries were confirmed as the Kenosha school board elected to go fully online to start the semester. Then the WIAA announced it would postpone the start of the football season until Sept. 7.
“You have to expose yourself if you want to be put on that radar and staying in Wisconsin I just didn’t think it was going to happen,” Susan said.
It was then that the Hurtzes began to seriously look at leaving Wisconsin so that Alex could better pursue his goal of playing college football. It was a big decision, but not the first one he had made in his pursuit of playing college athletics.
“I made the decision freshman year that I have a much higher chance of playing college football and I think I wanted to pursue football more because of the atmosphere,” Alex said.
Leaving Alex in charge of the football, the Hurtzes reached out to friends and family to find the best place for Alex to attend school and play football.
They looked into moving to Texas, Colorado, California, Indiana and Arkansas as possible places for Hurtz to continue his high school career.
Eventually they decided on Lake Hamilton High School in Pearcy, Ark.
“They were in school and playing football,” Alex said. “Full season and playoffs.”
They knew people in the area and were familiar with the town. Lake Hamilton’s reputation as a great football school also helped with the decision. The Wolves have a good chance of winning a state championship and the addition of Alex only helps.
With his mom staying behind at first, Alex moved to Pearcy in early August. He immediately started practicing with Lake Hamilton and on Aug. 28 played in the Wolves’ season opener against Lakeside.
Hurtz played well, going 4-4 on PATs and making a 43-yard field goal with 3.7 seconds left in the second quarter. It was a great first game for the new Lake Hamilton kicker and an early confirmation that the Hurtz family made the right choice.
The last month has been hectic, but the Hurtzes are happy with their decision. They still have a house and many ties to the community back in Kenosha, but for now, Pearcy is home.
