GRASS RANGE — When Grass Range sophomore Freddie Allen isn’t breaking ankles on the football field, he’s shredding as the lead guitarist for his family’s band, The Sightliners.
“Freddie at the time was just a wee boy, 12 years old and showing some serious ability and serious talent at the guitar, and we were desperate to get someone we could use every weekend," said Jaxon Allen, head coach of the Grass Range-Winnett football team and front-man/bassist for The Sightliners. "It wasn't long before we were leaning on this 12-, 13-year-old son to step up and do it."
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“I'd never really played a whole band gig in front of people, so it was definitely a different setting and kind of stressful at some points, but I got the hang of it," Freddie Allen said.
Allen’s abilities took off during COVID. The family transitioned to homeschooling, which they’ve maintained, and suddenly Freddie found himself with a little added free time to hone in.
“My uncle Weston, (my) dad's little brother, he always played and I thought it was super cool, especially that I had just started learning and seeing him. I was in love with it," Freddie Allen said. "Going along with all the band stuff I was in awe watching him play lead guitar."
“Freddie comes along and he starts learning guitar and takes it really seriously and has this skill that he's developed, and I'm like, 'There's my inner rocker. It was my kid all this time,'" singer/songwriter and mother Haeli Allen said.
"It's really fun, because it helps me when we're on stage because he brings that edge. He brings that life and energy that I can't produce on my own."
As if school, football and his guitar didn’t occupy enough time, his family’s ranch and the work it entails adds on.
“There's a lot of freedom to being on a ranch, as well, but you can't have that without putting in the hard work," Freddie Allen said. "It's hard work having cattle and all that, but it's worth it to work that hard."
But one thing is constant for Freddie, who is the oldest of six — family.
“I guess that's another part of homeschooling. Being around and having that responsibility of having to look after your younger siblings or help with the baby and stuff," Freddie Allen said.
“I don't perfectly do all of these things. You fall short, but I always think of that analogy with plates and which one is starting to slow down. Go over and give that one some attention and spin it up and get it going again," Jaxon Allen said.
"Sometimes that's work. Sometimes that's being a father. Maybe I'm not spending as much time as I need to with the kids, so I need to get that plate spinning faster and pull away from the work a bit, but it can be mind-melding at times."
The focus for the Allen clan now, though, is on finishing the 2026 football season with more hardware, as the Rangers are the top-ranked team in 6-Man football.
A test awaits Saturday as No. 1 Grass Range-Winnett hits the road to face No. 2 Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine.
