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"Determined", "Competitor", "Desire". 



When asked about Northwestern High School standout Donnie Hissa, these phrases were used by all three varsity coaches who worked with him. 



These characteristics allowed Donnie to excel in football, basketball, and baseball and also helped him become the inaugural recipient of the Pat Richter Award presented by WSN as the Triple Play Triple Threat Male Athlete of the Year. 



The Triple Play Triple Threat of the Week is an honor given on WisSports.net to the top senior boys and girls three sport athletes in the state.  It is sponsored by the local community telephone companies of Wisconsin.  



At the end of the school year, those awarded with the weekly honor are eligible for the Pat Richter Award, which will go out to the top boys and girls three-sport athlete of the season.  



Hugh V. "Pat" Richter is one of Wisconsin's most-storied student-athletes in state history. He was a three-sport athlete at Madison East High School, competing in football, basketball and baseball. He went on to fame at the University of Wisconsin, earning nine varsity letters in three sports. He would later become the Athletic Director at Wisconsin. 



It is only fitting that the first Pat Richter Award winner would compete in the same three sports that Pat himself achieved so much success in. And compete he did. 



"I just love competing," Hissa said earlier this year. "I get yelled at and kids get mad at me in gym class sometimes because I get upset because I just hate losing. I ll do everything I can to win. I just love the competition aspect." 



Northwestern football coach Dennis Scherz saw that competitive drive up close and personal as Hissa anchored an offensive line that sprung holes for a pair of 1400-yard rushers this year. 



"He is the kind of player everyone wants on their team," Scherz added. 



In football, Hissa earned first-team all-conference honors on both the offensive and defensive lines as a senior and was a First-Team All-State choice by both the Associated Press and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association. 



Northwestern advanced to Level Four of the football playoffs, finishing up on Saturday, November 14th, just two days before basketball practices began. As with many high school athletes, there was little downtime for Hissa as he joined the Tigers basketball team which was coming off a state tournament appearance in 2009. 



Without star guard Steve Tecker, who was lost for most of the regular season due to an injury, Hissa helped Northwestern to an 18-4 record in the regular season, including a 14-0 Heart O'North Conference record. Buoyed by the return of Tecker and getting big-time performances from Hissa, The Tigers advanced to the state tournament once again, falling in the Division 2 title game to Catholic Memorial. 



Hissa was selected as a First-Team HON All-Conference performer as a junior and senior and finished first in career rebounds at the school and third in career points. He was a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-State pick and a third-team selection by the Associated Press. 



Hissa may have received more basketball recruiting attention, but his busy schedule made it difficult to get as much summer exposure as today's college process requires. 



"I think the biggest challenges for Donnie were in the spring and summer trying to juggle all the off-season activities," Northwestern basketball coach Dan Cowley said. "Donnie played in all the team-related leagues and tournaments for basketball, but chose not to play AAU because of the conflicts it creates in the spring and summer." 



Not that Donnie wasn't used to playing against the best of the best or in big-time situations. 



"Being in multiple sports certainly provided the opportunities necessary to develop the mental toughness needed to compete and succeed in all sports," Cowley added. "There is no substitute for experience in pressure situations and Donnie certainly had a wealth of experience with four years of varsity basketball, four years of varsity baseball, and three years of varsity football." 



With all the success and ability in the other sports, it is baseball that Donnie will participate in at the collegiate level and what is nearest and dearest to his heart. Committed to Notre Dame on a full baseball scholarship, Hissa always had a soft spot for the grand old game. 



"I love all of them but baseball might be my favorite sport because I ve been doing it the longest," said Donnie, who first played tee-ball when he was five years old. "My dad was a Little League coach in Oulu for 15 years. I used to practice with the older kids." 



A first-team all-conference performer for two seasons who was also named All-District as a senior, Hissa posted some impressive numbers in his final prep sports season. 



Appearing in 10 games, Donnie recorded 80 strikeouts in 50 innings and posted a 0.80 ERA while allowing just 28 hits. 



While Hissa could have concentrated on just one sport, Northwestern baseball coach Steve Lahti is glad he chose to remain involved in other activities. 



"He is proof we should not be specializing in one sport. He went through high school without any real injuries." 



Despite all the demands for his time, Hissa did not let his education suffer. In fact, much like the award's namesake, Hissa didn't just pass his classes, he excelled. Graduating with a 4.0 GPA, Hissa was the Northwestern High School senior valedictorian and was selected as one of just 16 boys to receive the WIAA Scholar Athlete Award. 



It is a playbook Richter laid out during his time as a true student-athlete at Wisconsin. He was named Wisconsin's Big Ten Medal of Honor winner (for academic and athletic excellence) in 1963 and was inducted into the Verizon/CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1995. 



"Determined", "Competitor", "Desire". 



For some, these are just buzzwords for a t-shirt. For Northwestern's Donnie Hissa, they are the foundation that has allowed him to achieve great things...and ultimately be a very deserving recipient of the Pat Richter Award. 



To view our initial profile of Donnie as part of the Triple Play Triple Threat Athlete of the Week series, please click here.