Winning state championship two years in a row, lettering in football, and training and practicing became the normal routine for senior Kyle Custis’s life. Custis has had a passion for the game of football since approximately age five when his father, Kevin Custis, began throwing the football around with him.

  “Football has always been very good for me because it gets me involved within the high school as well as meeting new people,” Custis said. “I have grown up with the majority of my team and have built special connections to last for a long time.” Along with lettering both years in football, he also participated in the winning of two state championships in his sophomore and junior year.

  Along with the two championships under his belt, Custis claims that his favorite aspect of football is the amount of relationships that have been built between him and his teammates, which pushes them to work together to accomplish the goal. As a team, the Sheridan Broncs plan to take the title of state championship again. Training for this team goal includes lifting in the summer and running routes in the Sheridan High School gym at the end of the football season to stay in shape. When training in the summer, the athletes create their own teams to either go lift in the morning or the afternoon. The majority of football players also go to Chadron, Neb. for a camp to enhance skills to further train themselves. After the season starts, and this year, a week before school starts two-a-days begin, two-a-days is when the football team has practice once in the morning and once again in the afternoon until school starts again. After the two-a-days period, that is when after school practices become normal for the team. Custis, as well as the rest of his team, not only gain physical strength, but they gain a stronger bond among each other. He has also learned more about self discipline after these camps.

  Custis has role models both inside and outside of football. His most important role model outside of football is his own father. Family is important to Custis, so having his father as a role model creates a large impact in his life. Within football his coaches,  Jeff Mowry, Don Julian, Kevin Rizer, Jeff Martini, Marshall McEwen, Darin Gilbertson, and D. J. Dearcorn, are Custis’ role models.“Kyle is a very selfless player,” said Mowry, “he puts the team and their goals above his own personal goals.” Not only have his coaches taught Custis more about football, they have also given him and the team lessons they can carry on in life such as teamwork and selflessness. His personal goal this year is to be a good person to everyone. To accomplish this, he says that “if anybody needs to talk to me they feel welcome to talk to me,” said Custis.

  For his future plans after high school, Custis is not totally sure if he wants to play football in college. However, he is wanting to get a degree in business either in Black Hills State University in Black Hills State, Mont., Dickinson State University in Dickinson, N.D., or Carroll College in Helena, Mont.

  Outside of playing football and school, Custis enjoys fishing and spending his free time in the mountains.  “It is nice to just turn off the phone and get away from the regular life. To just play some games, talk, or do other activities with my family is important to me,” said Custis. Custis and his family own a cabin in the mountains that they sometimes travel up to for a weekend getaway.   The one thing Custis would recommend to all Sheridan High School students is to get involved. “Whether it be sports, or art, or any extracurricular club or activity, getting involved with others doing what you love is the main goal,” said Custis. “Making connections with others that could possibly last after high school is very important in life.”

  Custis is the son of Kevin and Nina Custis.