Jacob Bolwerk does the job for Living Word Lutheran no matter the season
Mark Stewart
JACKSON – This was a rare afternoon for Living Word Lutheran’s Jacob Bolwerk.
Rain washed out the team’s game against Brookfield Academy on Thursday and a busy stretch that included seven games over nine days caused Timberwolves baseball coach Tim Gast to give the team the day off. A free afternoon? It’s not a part of Bolwerk’s regular schedule.
“I probably get four of these a year,” the senior said.
That’s not a complaint. That’s just the way things are for this three-sport standout.
If Bolwerk wasn’t playing football or soccer in the fall, he was getting ready for basketball season. And when the hoops season was done, it was about time to get ready for baseball. And during our usually wet Wisconsin springs, baseball season is usually divided into the weeks preparing to play and the mad crush to squeeze in all the postponements before the start of regionals.
There are a lot of talented athletes around the area, but it is rare to have someone who arguably can be considered one of the best athletes to ever walk through a school’s halls. That’s Bolwerk, whose résumé includes conference player of the year awards in basketball and baseball, all-conference distinction in football and two years as a starter for the soccer team.
“It’s going to be nice,” Bolwerk said of his day off. “But I always love competing and practicing with everyone.”
Bolwerk entered play Saturday hitting .484 with 13 runs and a .999 OPS for Living Word. With the exception of a couple of brief appearances, tendinitis in his right biceps has kept him off the mound. Last year, however, when he claimed the Midwest Classic player of the year award, Bolwerk went 6-2 with a 1.75 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched.
This year he made just two appearances on the mound, going one inning each time.
“For us the easiest way to describe him, especially on the mound, is he’s a bulldog,” Gast said. “He gets after it, loves to compete.”
Some of that might come from having two older brothers who competed to varying extents in high school. That competitive spirit also could come from having to step in and prove himself immediately as Bolwerk did as a freshman. He was the starting quarterback that year, a position that forced him to display maturity beyond his years.
“I think the biggest thing is just staying calm,” he said. “As a leader you want to have everyone on the same page, stay calm so they’re calm. That’s the biggest thing. And, of course, as a freshman, you’ve got to lead by example, too, because they’re not just going to trust a freshman. You’ve got to show that you can do something on the field.”
That was the first of what became Bolwerk’s 12 varsity letters.
His favorite sport is basketball followed closely by baseball. His best sport? That’s basketball. He plans to play at St. Norbert College next year.
Hoops is also where he has enjoyed his most success. The 6-foot-3 guard, a four-time all-conference selection, averaged 24.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game and was named the Midwest Classic player of the year after leading Living Word to a 9-6 league record and a 16-8 mark overall. He received honorable mention on the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 4 all-state team. Bolwerk finished as the program’s all-time leader in a handful of categories, including points and assists.
“Simply the best player in school history and he has transformed the basketball program,” outgoing coach Josh Steffen wrote on Bolwerk’s all-area nomination.
That season followed the fall, when Bolwerk’s presence showed the impact a talented athlete can have on a program.
After playing soccer as a sophomore and junior, he returned to football. He started off kicking and punting, but after watching some of his teammates never leaving the field, he offered to play receiver midway through the year. A couple of weeks later, he was also lining up at linebacker.
He made enough of an impression to earn all-conference honorable mention at both positions.
The baseball season has been a bit of a struggle so far. The Timberwolves entered the year expected to contend for the title, but Bolwerk’s injury, among others, has hampered the team. It entered a doubleheader with Messmer on Saturday at 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the Midwest Classic
Bolwerk ranks second on the team in batting average to senior Jonny Bauman (.517) and second on the squad in runs to senior Sam Crook (14).
The team is going to need a lot of help to get back in the race for the conference title, but as Bolwerk notes, every team qualifies for the playoffs. He hopes that by the time regionals begin in two weeks that he’ll be back on the mound and the team will be firing on all cylinders.
Then it’s on to St. Norbert for Bolwerk. Living Word, meanwhile, will move on, too, hoping someone takes the baton Bolwerk ran with for so long.
“It will definitely be shoes to fill," Gast said, "but I think that’s the beauty of coaching in general; the challenge of coaching is to continue to see kids rise to the occasion "