Fort Rucker Teen Selected to Represent Alabama in the 2026 Patriot Games

FORT RUCKER, Ala.— Most local 14-year-olds are spending their summers preparing for the next big step of high school. However, one Enterprise teen, the son of a Fort Rucker Blackhawk pilot, is preparing to represent Alabama on the national stage after earning a coveted spot in the inaugural Patriot Games.

Fourteen-year-old Trevor Roen, an incoming freshman student-athlete at Enterprise High School, was selected as Alabama's male representative after completing a competitive application process that highlighted his athletic achievements, leadership and community involvement.

"I not only feel honored, but I feel the weight of representing Alabama," Roen said. "I want to make everyone here proud."

The Patriot Games, a national competition that awards a $125,000 scholarship to its male and female grand prize winners, selected participants through an application that included a questionnaire and a video showcasing each candidate's accomplishments.

Kristle Roen, Trevor’s mother, said the family compiled highlights from his swimming, football, track and academic leadership, including his service as Alabama Beta Club state president, before submitting the application.

"The only way I can describe it is just mind-blowing," she said. "It truly represents that if you put yourself out there, you always have a chance."

Roen said learning he had been selected last week marked the beginning of a new chapter. "I was notified of being on the team last Thursday," he said. "I have started my training regimen already. It's mostly cardio and military calisthenics."

While organizers have not revealed the events competitors will face, Roen said he is preparing physically for whatever challenges lie ahead next month.

"They have not told us what I will be doing at all," he said. "They gave us a schedule and that schedule doesn't even say what the competition will be."

A lifelong athlete, Roen began competing in sports at age 8, starting with swimming at the local recreation center before moving into family triathlons, where he earned three first-place finishes and one second-place finish. He also participated in numerous Morale, Welfare and Recreation races at Fort Rucker.

Today, he competes in football and track at Enterprise High School, where he says track has become his main sport.

"It's just the most versatile sport that I play," Roen said. "I do javelin, long distance and some sprint distance in meets but went to districts for javelin."

Roen credited Enterprise track coach Fortney for helping shape his athletic development. "He has been an inspiring coach in my career so far," Roen said of Fortney. "He's just a staple of the community. He cares about the kids of Enterprise, and it shows."

Kristle Roen, acting deputy chief of the Military Pay Office at Fort Rucker, said the family's move to Alabama in 2019 gave her children opportunities to thrive. Her husband, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Eric Roen, is an active-duty Black Hawk pilot currently working at the OPFD assigned to Fort Rucker.

"Our family moved to Alabama in 2019," she said. "This area has been really good for Trevor and his older brother, Ethan, who is also a student-athlete at Enterprise going into his senior year. It's big enough that they have many opportunities, so they've really thrived here."

She said Trevor first discovered the Patriot Games through a post on social media and approached his parents about applying.

"I came home from work one day and he said, 'Mom, I'm trying out for the Patriot Games,'" she said. "At the end of the day, it's an opportunity and something to put on a college application. It's a huge opportunity, a huge honor."

For Trevor, however, the competition is about more than winning.

"I'm excited about just being there, just making new friends, just having the opportunity to experience all of this," he said.

According to the website, the Patriot Games is designed to highlight the next generation and the qualities that have long defined the American spirit. Athletes will compete in a series of events that reward not only physical achievement, but also discipline, teamwork, perseverance, and leadership.

The competition will include rounds that test excellence in skill sets of beloved American sports, including elements from football, basketball, soccer, track and more. Competitions will feature both team and individual competitions. Competitors will be tested on the skills from the Presidential Fitness Test, go through a military-inspired boot camp circuit, and finalists will compete in an obstacle course designed to test strategy and skill.

Roen and the other athletes will take center stage at the Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio Aug. 9-11. Coverage will stream on the ESPN App, culminating in a one-hour primetime ESPN on ABC special Thursday, Aug. 13. For more information on the Patriot games head to https://freedom250.org/celebration/the-2026-patriot-games