Multi-sport athletes do different sports in different seasons, but junior Jaylen Wells-Henderson is a dual-sport athlete, which means he represents two different New Albany teams in the same season. 

 “As an experience of playing football, it was very fun,” Wells-Henderson said.

“I was bored after school one day, this was before my I had my car, and I didn’t want to walk home, so I decided to up there [football practice]  and try out,” Wells-Henderson said.

For his first year playing football, he played the last seven games on varsity. He was a little late to join, which rendered his ability to play the first three games of the season. He mainly played wide receiver and full safety. He had ten carries for 123 yards and one touchdown. For receiving, he had 18 catches for 204 yards and one touchdown.   

“My family has always been a sports family,” Wells-Henderson said.

When speaking about how his family reacts to him being a dual sport athlete, Wells-Henderson said his parents support him. His mom and dad were both multi-sport athletes in high school. Wells-Henderson’s dad played football and basketball, while his mom did cheer and competed in track. 

“It is very helpful [to be a dual sport athlete]”, Wells-Henderson said.

“If you play a sport and another sport, it will contribute to your overall athleticism; it’ll just help you overall with any sport,” Wells-Henderson said. ”If it’s really what you want to do, then go for it, but it can be hard. It’s different for everybody, but for me personally, I really enjoy it. I gotta practice both sports all at one time and all in the same weekend, so it’s always a struggle to go back and forth. I go on a week-to-week basis based on what big events are going on for that week. The goal is hopefully go D1 in track, and in baseball it’s gonna be hard, but I’m going to keep workin’ and see how it turns out.” 

Wells-Henderson has earned some accolades as a Bulldog. 

Wells-Henderson holds the NAHS long jump record at 23’ 3.75”. He is a multiple time 200 meter regional qualifier. He has an 11.4 official and an 11 flat unofficial time for the 100-meter dash.

Last year, in baseball, he had 36 strikeouts and two home runs during his AAU season. At 6’3” 180lbs, Wells-Henderson is ranked top 10 in the state of Indiana according to Prep Baseball Report for right-hand pitchers. 

Wells-Henderson spends around 20 hours a week stretching and practicing. 

 Wells-Henderson advises that if others want to be a dual sport athlete, they have to practice, work out more, and lastly, hit the weights. Before games or competing in events, Wells-Henderson says he takes five minutes to listen to music and pray. 

Wells-Henderson is currently conditioning for both baseball and track, gearing up for hopefully a successful season.