CORONA, Calif. — Down. Set. Go.
They're the three words Centennial High School senior Korey Foreman can recite in his sleep — a trio of words he's been hearing since he was 6 years old.
This year, his senior season, he expected to hear them every Friday night. Instead, Foreman hasn't heard them at all, at least not in the way he's used to.
“I couldn't wait for the season to start," Foreman said. "We we’re gonna win the championship, we’re gonna do it all. Sadly, it is unfortunate we couldn’t do everything like that.”
Because instead of running out on field as the star defensive end for the Huskies, Foreman is running drills solo at Winner Circle Athletics, trying to make the best of a senior season that still hasn't come to be.
“Now because of COVID, and everybody else is trying to fight this pandemic in many other ways ... it’s just sadly I’m going at it and I’m doing it the way I have to," he explained. "It’s heartbreaking."
As one of the top three players in the country in the class of 2021, Foreman could've graduated early and enrolled at the college of his choice in the spring. Instead, he opted to hold out, wanting to play another season of high school football.
The lack of game reps thus far has been difficult to handle, especially considering other states have already kicked off.
"Other people being able to play and perform, it ups their rankings," Foreman said. "For instance, me not being able to play and other states being able to, I was knocked down from the number one spot on a couple of recruiting sites."
While the CIF season was supposed to begin in December, the governing body for high school sports announced Tuesday that it would be postponed even further. It was a decision that cemented a tough move for Foreman.
Instead of waiting for the uncertain season ahead, he decided he would continue training and play at the club level.
“The fact of me being able to go out and play for a club team like Winner's Circle, I’m being able to go and work these moves and see what works and what doesn’t," he explained. "We have to do everything we can to go in between the lines of everything stopping us from being the best we want to be," he explained.
“You have to be able to test and not just study as in workout but in game days," Foreman continued. "Everything you’ve been learning, if you can’t put it to the test what’s the point in you learning them.”
While the CIF Southern Section made clear that the intent is still to play out as close to a full season of football as possible, a lack of updated guidance from the state's health department has forced their hand.
To Foreman, although he will miss out on playing with his high school teammates one final time, he's hoping that this decision will play out in his favor.
"The situation I’m going into is selfish," he said. "I have to be selfish, and that’s what I have to do. I'm going to do the best to make sure my goals and everything I have set up with my family is met."
"I'm going to do my best that when they hear about Korey Foreman, they know he is the number one player in the nation."