Something in the Water

Shane Zylstra holds the Minnesota State record for career
touchdown receptions

Minnesota State senior wide receiver Shane Zylstra has had a decorated career with the Maverick football program. 

Through 44 career games, the Spicer, Minn., native has reeled in 171 catches for 3,154 yards receiving and 42 touchdowns. Those 42 touchdowns are a school record. The previous record for career receiving touchdowns at Minnesota State was 36, held by former Maverick wide receiver Josh Nelsen (1991-94). The record is something Zylstra takes great pride in. 

“It means a lot,” Zylstra said. “Just being able compete at a high level each and every day at such a great institution, it’s just nice to be able to contribute to the team and win games because that’s what I came here to do. To not only contribute but to play at a high level,” he said.  

Named to the All-NSIC First Team and and AFCA Second Team All-American last year, Zylstra totaled 66 catches for 1,261 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior in 2018 in helping lead the Mavericks to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Shane Zylstra (right) with
his older brother Brandon

Zylstra’s football success is obvious. But what isn’t known is that Zylstra was a competitive water skier long before he became an elite college wide receiver. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Zylstra grew up near a private lake called Green Lake in Spicer and attended New London-Spicer High School. One of the family traditions was to water ski.

“Every weekend we were out on that lake water skiing barefoot and just hanging out,” Zylstra said. “My dad and grandpa used to ski a lot, so that’s who got us into that, and it just built off from there,” he said.  

He started water skiing at age five and barefooting at age seven. Water skiing is one thing, but barefooting is a whole different required skillset. It’s similar to traditional water skiing, except you don’t use any water skis at all, just your feet, as you perform jumps and tricks behind a boat. Unlike traditional water skiing, barefooting requires faster boat speeds that reach up to 40 mph, which is required for the athlete to plane on his bare feet. The barefoot events of wake slalom, tricks and jumping are also similar to traditional water skiing. One may wonder, how does this help with being an elite receiver?

“It definitely helps with balance,” Zylstra said. “You constantly have to worry about balance when you’re on the water. There’s a lot of times when you’re basically balancing on one foot, so it’s just a huge part. And then on the mental side you have a constant challenge of improving on new tricks and new styles,” he said.

Zylstra, along with his three brothers Justin Zylstra, Brandon Zylstra, a wide receiver who plays for the Carolina Panthers, and Jaden Zylstra, joined the Little Crow Ski Team of New London, Minn.. He competed for ten years with the ski team, where he had weekly tournaments in the summer all around the Midwest.

“Every Friday, you host a show for public attendance, and then we traveled to different cities around us for public shows for Water Days events and things like that. And then we often traveled the Midwest doing competitions against other teams in the Midwest,” Zylstra said.  

From there, the water ski teams and individuals compete in regional tournaments for a shot to compete at the national level.

“Growing up we were always really successful at regionals, so we always went to nationals and competed at that next level,” he said.

Looking back at is water skiing days, Zylstra isn’t shy about who the best in the family is.

“Best water skier in the family, I have to give it to myself. Brandon’s great and all, but he’s even said it too, in college at least, that I’m a little bit ahead of him. We all have our own unique talents that make us all great, but I have to stick with myself,” he said.  

All four of the Zylstra brothers, Justin, 27, Brandon, 26, Shane, 22, and Jaden, 16, found success in water skiing at the national level. Brandon and Shane ultimately chose football over water skiing, but Jaden plans to pursue water skiing in college.

“Water skiing is probably my younger brother’s favorite sport. He’s working on pursuing it down in the southern states,” Zylstra said. “You can go to college for it, and that’s what he’s thinking about doing,” he said.

Fast-forward to today, Zylstra and the Mavericks are 5-0 and hold a No. 3 overall national ranking in the American Football Coaches Association Coaches Poll. He has one goal in mind for this season, and it’s to win a NCAA Division II national championship.

“It’d be really nice to finish that senior year with a National Championship,” Zylstra said. “It’s one last go-around, and I think we have the talent to do it. It’s just a matter of getting it done at the end of the day,” he said.  

              contributed by Collin Wilmes, Athletic Communications intern

-->