South Georgia - In The Game High School Sports Magazine

“Georgia Christian is a small private school. Everybody plays everything,” says Georgia Christian senior Grant Colson as he explains why he plays five different sports at the Valdosta private school, all the while holding on to the No. 3 ranking in his senior class.

Grant runs cross country and plays soccer, basketball, baseball and golf, yet manages to maintain one of the highest grade point averages in the school. There’s no real secret to keeping his grades up, he says. He’s been playing sports his whole life – he started playing basketball at the Boys’ Club when he was five years old – and his mother, Gina, has always insisted he make good grades. “He’s done as well as he has because of his mother. Me, a B would have been fine,” laughs Wendy Colson, Grant’s father. “But after the fifth grade, making good grades became a point of pride for Grant.” Says Gina: “He wasn’t that hard to motivate.”

Grant has a sister, Katie, who is four years ahead of him. She made good grades and graduated from high school HOPE eligible. Throughout her years in college she did well and kept her HOPE scholarship. She helped establish a bit of a legacy, if you will, for Grant. “I didn’t try to compete with her, but I do like saying I made better grades than she did,” he grins.

Grant isn’t a hyper-organized, meticulous bookworm. When asked how he balances everything, he just shrugs his shoulders and says, “If I have something to do for school, I get it done. I may get up early and do my work before school or get it done during study hall.” He’s not as nonchalant about his assignments as he might seem. He and his friends take a great deal of pride in their work and doing well in school is very important to them. Maintaining strong grades has become such a priority to Grant that he won’t let anything, not even the sports he so dearly loves, get in the way. “He and his friends will gather over at our house on Sunday nights after church and sit around the table working on AP calculus,” says Gina. Grant says having his friends working on homework with him is motivation to stay on top of his assignments. “Getting together with my friends and studying really helps me,” says Grant.

It’s not like Grant has time to catch up on his schoolwork while he’s sitting on the bench, either. He’s an excellent athlete who excels at everything he does. Grant has been playing on Georgia Christian’s varsity basketball team since he was in the eighth grade; that year the team won the region title and made it to the Final Four in the state playoffs. He’s the leading scorer on the soccer team, helped the golf team win region last year and finished second in the region as a member of Georgia Christian’s baseball team.

Of all the sports he plays, basketball and soccer are his favorites. Grant participated in basketball at the Boys’ Club until he was in the fourth grade. That’s when he started his playing career at Georgia Christian. By the time he was in the eighth grade, he was playing on the varsity squad. He admits that he didn’t see much playing time that year, but he learned a great deal as he watched his team win region and advance to the state Final Four. He stands 6’2” and plays shooting guard, though he says that he’s “not that great of a shooter.” Instead, he relies on attacking the basket and finishing strong. He likes to get inside, draw a foul and go to the free-throw line. “Probably 80 percent of his points have come on fast breaks or lay-ups,” says Wendy.

Earlier this season, Grant reached a milestone that few players achieve – he scored his 1,000th career point. Georgia Christian was playing Open Bible in that particular game. Grant came in needing nine points to get to 1,000. Everyone knew he was close and his teammates wanted him to get the ball. “I was trying not to think about it, but it was in the back of my mind,” says Grant. Finally, in the third quarter, Georgia Christian forced a turnover and Grant made the crucial shot. “That was my biggest moment,” he says.

This season has been full of ups and downs for Georgia Christian. The Generals started out the year doing very well.  Then they lost to the top two teams in the state, which started a bit of a rough period for them. Still, the Generals won 16 regular-season games and, at the time In The Game caught up with Grant, they were in the middle of the region tournament. Georgia Christian was 1-1 in the tournament and had already secured a spot in the state playoffs. This season marks the fifth year in a row that the Generals have made state during Grant’s career.

As much as he loves basketball, the No. 1 sport on Grant’s list is soccer. And just like basketball, Grant experienced a great deal of success early in his career. He began at Georgia Christian when he was in the sixth grade as a midfielder, but he now plays forward. The Generals’ soccer season takes place in the fall, unlike the GHSA schools. His high school soccer career ended with a first-round loss in the state playoffs. Grant has won the Golden Boot Award three years in a row, which is given to the player that leads the team in scoring. He has also made the All-Region and All-State teams as a sophomore, junior and senior.

From the first time he stepped on the pitch, soccer was his favorite. “I like the creativity involved. It’s different from the other sports I play – you never get the same goal twice. It’s a beautiful game,” he says. Grant’s older brother, Willis, teaches at Georgia Christian and also serves as the head soccer coach. Grant enjoys playing under his brother, though it does make for unique situations. “He rides me pretty hard, though if you asked him, he would say he treats me just like everybody else,” laughs Grant. Gina believes that playing for Willis motivated Grant. “It gives Grant extra incentive to play harder, but it also leads to some very interesting phone conversations,” she says. Wendy has told Grant to treat Willis like his coach, not his brother. “It can be hard to turn that off sometimes,” he chuckles.

During Grant’s eighth grade and freshman years, the Generals won the region championship. When he was in the ninth grade, they rolled through the playoffs and found themselves facing soccer powerhouse Frederica in the state championship game. Frederica won, but playing for a title was an exciting experience for Grant. His biggest soccer moment came during the semifinal game that season. Georgia Christian was facing Holy Spirit in the Final Four and neither team could score. Grant had only netted three goals all year and wasn’t really considered a scoring threat. With about 20 minutes left in the game, he was running into the box when a teammate took a shot. The ball didn’t go in and came right back at Grant. “It was at my right foot. I just kicked it into the net. It happened so fast,” he recalls. The Generals took the lead 1-0 and maintained that advantage until the game ended.

Grant’s time playing high school sports won’t end with basketball as he still has golf and baseball to look forward to. When he graduates, he isn’t sure what he will do. Grant knows it’s late in the school year, but he hasn’t decided where he will attend college. He is hesitant to say where he’s leaning because it could change quickly. Grant would like to play soccer in college but doesn’t have any offers on the table right now. “I would enjoy playing. My brother is helping me get my name out right now. We’ll see,” he says.

Grant has had a great run during high school. He’s won region titles, played for a state soccer championship and made the kind of grades that have him at the top of his class. “He’s worked really hard. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and we haven’t had a bit of trouble out of him,” says Wendy. •