Most students go to college straight after high school, but in a few rare cases, some students might take a gap year to focus on school or sports. Tim Spears, senior lacrosse and basketball player, is one of those students.

Spears is going to a prep school in Massachusetts for a year in order to take AP classes to get some college credits so he can focus more on lacrosse when he eventually goes to college.

“[I am taking a gap year] because I want to focus on school and be able to get a scholarship to a good lacrosse school,” Spears said. “I am still planning on taking four years of college.”

Spears said that what he is not looking forward to about going to a prep school is that he is not going to have as much freedom as he would if he went to college with his other friends. He said it is like going to high school, and he has to wear a coat and a tie everyday.

“I totally get his decision,” Joey Lindstrom, senior football and lacrosse player, said. “I was playing around with the idea of going to prep school for football as well, and I think when you really want to pursue athletics, at least for me, I thought I was funneling myself if I went to prep school. I really just wanted to go to college, and that was for me. For Tim, that’s totally his decision. So I guess that’s how we’re different, but I totally get his decision, and I think he’s going to do very well. But I absolutely think it’s the right decision for him because I know how badly he wants to play college lacrosse and when you have that kind of motivation I think you can really be successful.”

Lindstrom said he first heard about Spears’s decision to go to a prep school for a year while Spears was doing physical therapy for his knee in a pool at the YMCA, where Lindstrom works as a life guard. Lindstrom was surprised at first with Spears’ choice, but said Spears seemed really happy with his decision to taking a gap year off of college.