Austin Arave, a student at Blackfoot High School, participates in three different sports. However, he doesn’t participate in the three sports you might assume.
Yes, there are other teenagers from Idaho who play on the football and basketball teams at their high schools. Few of those teenagers, however, have also earned spots in national rodeo contests.
Austin possesses a special set of abilities that are a result of both nature and upbringing.
Austin’s father, Blackfoot head basketball coach Clint Arave, claims that he inherited his genes from two rodeo basketball players.
At American Falls High School, Austin’s mother, Chelsey Arave, participated in both basketball and rodeo. Clint, who played basketball as a child, continued his rodeo career into college and the professional ranks.
Clint stated that both Austin’s parents’ sides had a lengthy history of involvement in basketball and rodeo. From a football perspective, Austin is a far superior player to me.
The nature side of the equation is that. Regarding the nurture side, Austin remembers growing up following his father, who rodeoed, and falling in love with the life.
He said, “I always just kind of liked rodeo.” I began participating in all three because I enjoyed them and wanted to excel in them. I simply enjoy competing.
After qualifying for the national high school rodeo the previous season, Austin had a difficult time at the Idaho High School Rodeo Association Finals last week, recording three no-scores. However, he claimed that the main characteristic of rodeo, like basketball and football, is having a short memory for errors. He went on to say that becoming excellent at all three requires equal amounts of skill and confidence.
“You have to be incredibly confident in everything you do,” he remarked.
The three sports have more in common than that.
“To be honest, all three are very similar,” Austin remarked. It requires a lot of hand-eye coordination, whether you’re shooting a basketball, roping a calf, or tossing a football.
Austin went on to say that the abilities he acquired in each sport aid in his growth alongside others.
In the 2024–25 high school basketball season, Austin Arave makes a basket as the Blackfoot Broncos take on the Hillcrest Knights. © Kalama Hines, EastIdahoSports.com
Austin was the starting quarterback and point guard for the Blackfoots during the previous academic year as a junior.
The Broncos entered the 5A District 6 tournament as the second seed on the court, however they lost to Bonneville twice and were eliminated, never making it to the state tournament.
The Broncos recovered from a 0–9 2023 season to finish 6–5, including a playoff victory at Preston. The eventual 5A state champion Hillcrest Knights defeated them.
Additionally, Austin believes that the club is only getting better and that another successful season is imminent.
He said, “I’m eager to see what we’re going to do.” Although we will undoubtedly be a little young, I believe we will be well-equipped to achieve our goals.
Even during the week of the rodeo finals, Clint observed, Austin would spend his mornings in the weight room for team lifts and his afternoons throwing the football. He continued by saying that he gets a lot of joy from watching his children excel in fields where he was successful before them as well as others, like football, where his son has achieved greater success than he ever did.
Given his personal experiences, Clint’s hilarious viewpoint on Austin enables him to be extremely happy for his son’s accomplishments:
It’s much superior in many respects.
