'Athlete of the Year' Gives Back to Help Make Others Better

Adam Jackson’s attitude of giving back and volunteerism, along with his considerable success as a wrestler for , has helped to earn the senior recognition as the Rosemount Patch Athlete of the Year for 2011 as selected by our readers.

“I feel like I've been given a lot from other people and it has helped me to develop as a person,” Jackson said. “So giving back to other people is well-deserved because I’ve been treated that way and I know how much that can help to develop a person.”

Jackson credits the generosity of mentors when he was younger, his parents and coaches for helping him develop into who he is today and is eager to do the same for others.

“He’s been very successful for us,” said Rosemount wrestling coach Brett Larson when asked about Jackson. “But beyond that, he’s an extremely hard worker, he’s a great student, great role model for the younger wrestlers ... he doesn’t complain, and he’s a team guy.

“He’s a very tough individual,” Larson continued. “He wins with class and loses with dignity. He’s very steady and he’s not afraid of competition.”

Considering Jackson’s resume, both on and off the mat, Larson was just hitting the highlights.

After a 38-3 season last year that ended with a second-place finish at the state tournament, Jackson is once again on a roll this year and striving to end his high school career with the state championship that eluded him last year.

All of Jackson’s losses last year came to Apple Valley’s Destin McCauley. Jackson is currently ranked No. 2 in the state at 152 pounds by the Guillotine, and will again have to get by an Apple Valley wrestler in No. 1-ranked Mason Manville to accomplish that goal, but Jackson feels the title is within reach.

“I think if I go out there and do my best that I can hang with anybody,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be tough, though.”

Challenges and hard work are things Jackson has never shied away from. 

“He’s very passionate about wrestling and he has a very strong work ethic,” said his mother, Nikki Jackson. “He continually impresses Joel (his father) and I.”

Larson agreed.

“I know he’s very focused in whatever he does,” said Larson. “His parents have something to do with that. They push him but they’re very supportive and provide him the opportunity to be successful. Adam has given 100 percent in all that we’ve ever asked from him as a wrestler. It’s [his success] — a combination of his internal drive, internal determination, his parents and the way the coaches have coached him — and he’s responded to all of that. He’s a very determined individual, whether it’s on the mat or off the mat.”

Regardless of how Adam finishes his wrestling season, the senior will leave Rosemount at the end of June to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. And even with Adam's current wrestling resume, being accepted into the academy is the one thing he says he is most proud of. 

“I started looking at the academy as an option,” Adam said. “I wasn’t for sure I was going to play a sport there, but the [chance] to serve my country as well as going to college and getting a great education at the same time, was such a great opportunity.”

Adam said he visited West Point last summer, but when he was contacted by the Air Force Academy after the state tournament last year and visited it he “fell in love with it right away.”

“I felt it was a better fit for me,” he said. “Plus, the coaches are both from Minnesota and really good guys. I felt I could really become a better wrestler under them.”

Adam may have gotten noticed by the academy for his wrestling skills, but having a 4.0 GPA and a history of service and giving back to the community also didn’t hurt his chances of acceptance. Adam said he will also focus his studies in the medical field while there and would eventually like to go into the sports medicine field.

“School is very important to him,” Nikki said. “He’s had some great teachers in Rosemount and he should be well prepared for the next step that he has.”

When Adam leaves for that next step in Colorado this summer it will be much different than his last visit to the state as part of a mission trip with St. Joseph Catholic Church. Adam went along last summer with a group from the Rosmeount church to tutor and mentor underprivileged youth in Cortez.

“He was helping them (the kids) to read, talking to them, being a good role model and mentor,” Nikki said. “He really enjoyed that and got a lot out of it.”

In addition to helping those youth, Adam also has spent time volunteering at the Lewis House in Eagan, serving as a mentor to children residing there due to family abuse situations.

“We’re extremely proud of him,” Nikki said. “He’s a great kid with a lot going for him.”