By Jacob Dimond
jake@yelmonline.com
Yelm High School seniors and former Tornado football players Shane Creegan and Nathan Ford made the biggest decision of their lives so far by deciding to forgo college football opportunities in order to serve the U. S. military.
Creegan, former center on Yelm’s offensive line, will join the United States Air Force and anticipates departing for the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) in July, though he’s currently in the process of receiving his MEPS date. He’s hopeful to work in air traffic control as an airborne weapons system specialist or with in-flight refueling. As a high school offensive lineman, Creegan received an offer to join Pacific Lutheran University’s football team and drew interest from other local programs.
Ford, former running back and linebacker for the Tornados, will join the U.S. Army and said he’s still in the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery process, but he’s hopeful to depart for MEPS at the end of August or the beginning of September. Once he joins the Army, he’d like to become an infantry ranger. During his time as a Tornado, Ford received an offer from Minot State and caught the eyes of several programs in surrounding states.
Prior to the end of the 2024 fall football season, Ford and Creegan held college football opportunities and intended to continue their gridiron ventures. Both Ford and Creegan stated they hadn’t anticipated joining the military even one year ago, but after a lot of reflection, they decided on their future paths.
“I did a lot of self-searching with what I wanted to do and wrestling with the options of if I wanted to play football or do something else,” Creegan said. “It was definitely stressful, and it definitely took a while to come to terms. Joining the military is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a freshman. I’ve always thought about it, and after this last season, I decided that I was going to do it.”
Ford, who returned to action after a broken collarbone during YHS’s 2024 football season, said he was looking for a change in his life.
“For me, it was kind of wanting to change up my life a little bit because football has been my whole life. After breaking my collarbone, it was a struggle deciding if I wanted to stay with it or not. I thought about it a lot. I’ve been playing football my entire life, and that’s who I’ve been and all I’ve been. I wanted to change it up a little bit,” Ford said. “I still think about how I could go play college football, but I was honest with myself. I have to be honest with myself every day because this is the right choice, the right path to go.”
Creegan said he made his decision after a “big coming-to-Jesus” moment and deciding he wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself.
“When I started playing high school football, especially my sophomore year, I had coaches on the high school staff and coaches I trained with tell me that I can play at the next level if I work hard enough. I spent so much time from my sophomore to my senior year working out and training. I decided that continuing my football career isn’t what I want to do,” Creegan said. “I came to terms with it, and I tell myself every day that it’s the path God set for me, and it’s the path I want to take.”
Creegan added that one of the biggest changes in preparing to become a U.S. airman has been transitioning from being an offensive lineman — big in stature — to meeting weight requirements for the Air Force. He described that as a challenging process.
“I’ve fallen in love with the work I’ve had to put in, and seeing progress day in and day out. I’ve been eating healthier, working out, doing a lot of cardio,” Creegan said. “Seeing changes in my life has made it easy. It’s been stressful, but it’ll pay off in the end.”
Ford said the process of transitioning from a high school football player to preparing to joining the Army has been stressful due to ASVAB preparations. He said he’s leaned on his dad and teammates’ fathers who have served in the military and gone through this process for support.
“I’m not a great tester in school. When it comes to the ASVABs, I get really stressed out and struggle on that,” Ford said. “Other than that, the recruiters have been great. They’ve been helping me decide on a job, how to get better on my ASVAB and preparing for MEPS.”
For both Ford and Creegan, joining the military is an act that’s been common in their families. The two are honored to add to their families’ military legacies.
“My dad, my grandpa, my great-grandpa and other family members have served in the Army,” Ford said. “I just wanted to keep the tradition of serving in the Army going.”
Creegan continued, “Both of my grandfathers served. My grandfather on my dad’s side was in the Marine Corps. My dad said that he was a different kind of dude. He was disciplined, and he did a lot after. He was a policeman. He was a firefighter. Then he retired and golfed. He lived a pretty good life. On my mom’s side, he was in the Army. He was a mechanic and loved working on cars. He’s always been very knowledgeable and taken great things away from it.”
