Transfers seem to be a key part of teams nowadays in both college and high school sports. They are often the difference-maker a team might need to get to the next level. Senior Dane Omel transferred from Class C-1 Lincoln Christian to Class A Lincoln Southeast last year during his junior year, and has proved his versatility in the 2024 Knights football season with both a receiving touchdown and kick return touchdown already. He has also been a good addition to the Knights backfield, adding 41 yards on the ground.
It was not the easiest decision for Omel to transfer. Omel had developed strong relationships with the coaching staff and his teammates at Lincoln Christian that made it difficult for him to leave the place he spent the last three seasons. The current Lincoln Christian head football coach, Kurt Earl, still checks up on Omel and they maintain their strong relationship.
“[The hardest part was] leaving my friends, but I knew I had friends here and would make new friends,” Omel said.
The new bonds Omel has made at Southeast have proven to be strong ones that help build up team chemistry. Junior Javion Fuller knew Omel before he transferred, and was excited to get to play with him.
“He showed me that, no matter what, like, if you do something wrong on the play, you still can do better, and show your physical abilities on the field,” Fuller said.
Omel has been fortunate to play a multitude of positions this season but he finds receiver to be his “ home” position. Omel has also played running back and kick returner this season, as well as playing safety on defense.
“It’s a lot of fun just kind of moving around,” Omel said. “I like the ball in my hands.”
Wide Receivers and Varsity Assistant coach Justin Frietag saw how special Omel was from the moment he arrived at Southeast. Frietag knew that he could make plays in unique ways and in ways the coaching staff could be creative with him by moving him around in different ways to get the ball in Omel’s hands.
“I saw that early on, like in seven-on-seven in camp, that he was going to be a pretty athletic dude for us and some of the plays he made were pretty impressive,” Frietag said.
Many factors often lead to someone wanting to transfer and with Omel, it was no different. Lincoln Chrisitan will always have a place in his heart, but it was time for a change.
“I got hurt [junior year] and just didn’t get the numbers or stats that I wanted, and wanted to play against better competition too, and just show that, like, I can play Class A,” Omel said.
Omel already had proven himself as a leader on the team as well, being a key contributor to team chemistry. Omel has a lot of trust in his teammates and coaches around him at Southeast, which he knows will lead him to success.
“We all look out for each other but we also have fun, and we all got a chip on our shoulders this year to go prove them wrong,” Omel said.
