Becoming a talented athlete is no easy task.
For someone to successfully manage their time while simultaneously navigating through school and making a name for themselves in the realm of athletics, it takes a special kind of work ethic.
Some young athletes are self-made, while others reap the benefits from a lineage of athletic genes.
So when a family produces one elite athlete, some might consider it fortuitous luck or fate. But when it happens two, three or even four times, that’s when a legacy is born.
That is the case for the DeLong family, and Zac DeLong is the latest of a talented batch from that bloodline to have excelled in their respective sports.
“We have a lot of roots here in Lawton,” DeLong said. “My brother (Rodney Jr.) came here and coached one year in softball and went to the state tournament, and now he’s the head coach softball coach at North Texas. My sister (Chelsea) played softball here, and she won back-to-back state championships. Now my dad (Rodney Sr.) is here, and we’ve been to state the past two years in baseball.”
Rodney Jr. has had quite the successful coaching career thus far, leading Austin Peay to a 39-19 record, its first winning season in 24 years, last year before taking over at UNT in June. He also led Cache to a state championship in 2013 and served a short stint as the Cameron softball coach.
Rodney Sr., the MacArthur baseball coach, has led the Highlanders to consecutive state tournaments in his first two years at the helm.
DeLong, a multi-sport athlete at Mac, is a valued member of the Highlanders’ football and baseball programs.
His role on the football field, though, is more of a recent endeavor.
DeLong, much like fellow senior Christian Maldonado, took a break from the gridiron during his junior year to focus on other things.
Even so, Mac football coach Brett Manning had a feeling DeLong’s departure would be more of a short hiatus than a permanent departure.
“I took a break to focus on baseball,” DeLong said. “It’s funny because the day I said I wasn’t going to play, coach Manning said, ‘You’ll be back next year.’ Sure enough, I was back.
“I love football for the most part, and I knew I could make a difference on this football team. I knew I could make an impact, and I knew this would probably be the last time I ever play football anyway.”
And make an impact he has.
Through six games this season, DeLong has tallied 42 total tackles (8 solo) and 1.5 sacks as the starting inside linebacker, and he’s also has won the prestigious ‘Hammer’ award twice.
“It means I’m doing something right, for sure,” DeLong said. “I’m accomplishing something, and that’s another thing I can always look back on later on in life.”
DeLong said though his father loves baseball, he’s been nothing but supportive of his decision to rejoin the football team this season.
“He said if anything, it’s going to help me get bigger and stronger and help me stay in shape for baseball,” DeLong said. “I know after this, I’ll be in great shape once baseball starts. He was 100 percent behind me, and he still goes to all the games and cheers with my mom.”
When DeLong suffered a setback just before his sophomore year thanks to a broken ankle during a summer league baseball game, Rodney Sr. played a pivotal role in getting him back into shape and back on the road to stardom.
Although the road to recovery was a length one, DeLong said the experience help mold him into the athlete he is today.
“It was a big blow because I was ready for football to start,” DeLong said. “It set me back a lot for football. I had to sit out and couldn’t even play the whole year. I barely got back in time for baseball. I had to wear a big ankle brace, and I was probably 70 percent during baseball season. After freshman year, my dad said, ‘We gotta get to work, you’re way behind right now. If you want to go play in college, you need to get to work.’
“So me and him, we just started grinding. Going into sophomore year, I started grinding, grinding, grinding away.”
That hard work certainly paid off for De-Long, especially on the diamond.
He went from hitting .260-.270 his freshman year to hitting .415 his sophomore year. Last season as a junior, De-Long improved once more by raising his batting average to the .420-.425 range.
“From here, I just gotta keep grinding and grinding,” DeLong said. “I can’t take a day off, and my dad tells me that every day.”
He hopes that grind results in the acquisition of some fine jewelry in the form of state championship rings.
After all, he’d never hear the end of it from his sister if he graduated from high school without a state championship.
“(Chelsea) has an upper hand on me with two state rings, so this year it’d be good if I got one under my name,” De-Long said. “It’d be good if I could get one or two rings this year in football and baseball.”