Your Knoch Knights have seen many great athletes in their time. From baseball star and Washington College shortstop Brady Wozniak, to the thousand point scorer and current Athletic Director Mr. Shoop, and you can’t forget about the 2025 graduate and Juniata College softball catcher Grace Hensch.
All of these lovely people have one thing in common: they all share their roots at these grounds, Knoch High School.
I had the pleasure of interviewing all of these lovely folks, asking them to compare their experiences in college and at Knoch. It went a little something like this.
What were the initial differences between high school and college athletics?
Mr. Shoop had the best answer, in my opinion. “When you’re a freshman, especially, you see that the game is viewed more like a business,” Shoop stated. “In high school, if teams don’t win, coaches don’t get fired. In college, it’s businesslike.”
But, all three of them are similar to the idea that college is year round, while high school is more laid back.
“You practice maybe 3-4 days a week for a couple hours in high school,” Wozniak said. ”For college we are practicing everyday. Even on days when we don’t have practice, guys are always getting their work in.”
“As you gained experience, how does your college experience compare to your experience at Knoch?”
I was expecting fairly similar answers. Yet, I was given some fairly different answers. Wozniak thinks that the work ethic in college is significantly more tough.
“Definitely a lot more work in college when it comes to balancing that with my classes,” says Wozniak.
On the other hand, Mr. Shoop believes that the high school experience is more of a building block to go to the next level. Signifying that high school builds your experience, but college is where they “fine tune” you.
Hensch also brings a cool idea to the table, stating that the college experience as well as the Knoch experience is encouraging to the athlete.
“I think they compare in a lot of ways,” she states, “It pushed me to be the best athlete and leader at all times.”
She also discusses how, in college, you have to take care of yourself.
“Definitely the intensity of it. You have to take care of yourself after practices and games,” Hensch stated.
“Was the experience at Knoch or in college better?”
Shoop’s approach was leaning toward college, but seeing the good at Knoch. He stated, “I don’t know if there was one over the other.”
He explained that his team at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) was extraordinarily good. One of his strengths toward college was the traveling aspect of it.
He stated, “When you’re in high school, you’re pretty much local. When I got to college we were playing teams from all over the country! We went to Detroit, Michigan, got to play against big schools like Pitt and Duquesne, there’s lots of cool experiences to have in college.”
Wozniak, on the other hand, wasn’t sure whether or not he enjoyed his experience here or at Washington more.
“I don’t know if I could say I enjoyed one more than the other,” Wozniak stated. “I had a lot of great memories at Knoch, and I love it here in Washington. I’ve just always loved playing baseball.”
Hensch is definitely enjoying her experience more at Juniata College.
She states, “Knoch was great for athletics but college is a whole different experience. So far, I’d have to say that the college experience has been better.”
“For athletes that want to go to the next level, what work do they need to put in?”
All three of them had pretty much the same answer, you have to work hard. No need for quotes here.
“What did/does your day look like in college?”
Yet again all three of them had rather similar answers. However, Hensch’s quote stands out. “My day consists of an early morning lift, class, studying, food, hangout with friends, practice, and then some late night studying,” Hensch stated, “College is full of studying and working hard in your sport.”
