EVERYTHING HAS a STORY Success Isn’T Given
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S T MPI NG G R O U N D S EVERYTHING HAS A STORY Success isn’t Given. It’s Earned. On the Track, On the Field, In the Gym. With Blood, Sweat, & the Occasional Tear. Stomping Grounds, LLC. 3rd Edition Content Copyright. © 2018 814.792.8181 www.stompinggroundsonline.com Like Us on Facebook Stomping-Grounds-Sports Teammate • Competition • Success In 2014, for the first time, more high school girls played volleyball (432,176) than basketball (429,504), Sierra Widmar – Bishop McCort according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. In 2015-16, volleyball added another 4,133 girls to those numbers, while basketball lost 276 participants. Examine the past decade, and the numbers are more striking. Statistics compiled by the NFHS show an increase of more than 40,000 volleyball players in that span and a decrease of 23,000 basketball players. Sierra Widmar, however fills a spot in both categories. Widmar, a senior at Bishop McCort High School, states that the reason that she competes in a variety of sport categories is because she loves the feeling of being part of a team, enjoys the thrill of competition, and the opportunities that sports provide to be successful. Although Widmar plays both Volleyball and Basketball all year long for both the school and travel teams, she states that if she had to choose, her true love and favorite sport to play would be volleyball. She started playing volleyball in the 4th grade and has played on several travel teams. Widmar consistently participates in volleyball camps to improve her skills. In addition to volleyball and basketball, her other sport and recreational activities include playing on her high school softball team and Judo training (in which she had a personal coach who trained her from the ages of 4 to 12, 3 times per week). Although Judo is an activity that she no longer participates in, Widmar claims that her participation in Judo taught her a lot of the skills she uses now in volleyball. Skills such as mental toughness, which is helpful when negative things occur during competition and don’t easily affect her. Widmar plans to be involved with athletics far beyond her high school years, whether as a player or as a coach. Currently, she is a candidate for admission to the Air Force and Naval Academies. Widmar states that as she furthers her education, she also plans to further her participation in athletics. Her personal best in all 3 sports proves that she has a good chance of achieving this at the collegiate level. Currently she has 1000 assists, 408 digs, and 398 kills in volleyball. Her high school basketball career thus far includes 516 points and 477 rebounds. Moreover, she has the highest batting average on her high school softball team. New Construction • Additions • Roofing Electrical • Plumbing • Kitchen/Baths Sewer Lines • Concrete • Garages 814-242-0571 Persistence, Patience, & Practice An article at Education.com talks about the 3 “P’s” student athletes learn that extend beyond the classroom: persistence, patience and practice. Team members learn that practice is required, even when they would prefer to be spending time with friends. They learn the harder they work, the better they perform. They also discover that by never giving up, they are more likely to achieve their goals. These life lessons benefit students long after their high school years, helping them succeed in college and beyond. The same holds true for Shawna Leonard who enjoys playing sports like softball and volleyball. These sports motivate her to try hard, do her best, and challenges her to be the best. One way she hopes to be the best, is by beating her sister’s school record of 202 strikeouts in a season, while trying to set the record for the most homeruns in a single season. Leonard looks to her coach to help her meet these goals by coaching her rigorously and giving her the motivation/encouragement to do well. This approach has served her well, as evidenced by her personal best records of 147 strikeouts and 9 home runs in a single season. Leonard also has the top pitching speed of 63mph, all of which she plans to increase this season as a senior. She has achieved major highlights, including winning the Westpac title in 2018 and winning 3 consecutive years of District V Championships. Shauna’s main strengths are pitching, fielding, and hitting. However, she feels that she can improve in all areas of all the sports she plays, specifically in volleyball with passing and softball with endurance. During the winter months, she attends weekly pitching lessons with her pitching coach. Her dad (which is her travel ball coach) has her pitching once or twice a week. Furthermore, Shauna has had the opportunity to work with numerous college coaches and college players at various camps and clinics. At these camps/clinics she enjoys learning different drills and pitching techniques. Shauna expects her coaches to always encourage her to do her best during the ups and downs and to always have her back in every situation. Shawna’s use of the 3 P’s has been witnessed through her performance as a student athlete, which has earned her several Shawna Leonard offers to play and learn at the collegiate level. At this point as a young athlete, she is still undecided. Meyersdale Hour Emergency 24 Service • Cleaning • Servicing • Installation Service, Inc. • Gas/Oil Boilers & Furnaces • Gas Lines 1976 Forest Hills Drive Windber, PA 15963 YEAGERSHEATING.COM 266-3707 or 467-5523 Stoystown Auto Sales David Fleegle Cell: 814.279.2016 Sales Manager Office: 814.629.0140 www.stoystownautosales.com Just Another Player??? Simone Durham is just another player yet, not just another player. I say that with respect for this young lady and with admiration for how she goes about her business. Football is a sport traditionally played by men. Traditionally speaking, Johnstown has not had a full season female football player. In my time, I have not coached another female player for any long period of time. I did, however, wrestle with Kristy Krouse Furfari in high school (who was covered by USA Today as one of the few female wrestlers at the time). Like Kristy, Simone quietly and without any fuss went about her business just like everyone else on the team. But, Simone is not like everyone else, she is a woman playing (a traditionally) man’s sport. In addition, she is a freshman playing a varsity sport. Neither are very easy. What I love about football is all the lessons it teaches; teamwork, hard work and how to deal with adversity. There are so many scenarios where adversity comes in to play. For example, good plays, bad plays, wins, losses and a host of other things go along with the nature of the sport. Consider being the only female, or finding a separate place to change. Consider people telling you that you can’t play football or telling you you’re not good at the game. In this instance, Simone is not just another player… she has double the adversity. Yet, she never complains about any of it. Simone works diligently, quietly and breaks every barrier with such class that she is not just another player. Today, the sport of Football is challenging. There are so many questions about how women are treated. Simone serves as an inspiration to all women who were told no, pushed around, or told this isn’t something a girl can do. She is not just another player, she is an inspiration to all genders who were told they couldn’t do something. In the end, all she wants to be is just another player and to be perfectly honest, she is. Simone does everything her teammates do and is coached the same way. No exceptions, adjustments, or limitations are made. She isn’t just another player chasing the dream, but a symbol of you can be whatever you work to be! By: Tony Penna 330 Arthur Street • Johnstown Getting the Job Done Kiera Booth, Junior at Berlin Brothersvalley states that playing sports and being active is something that she really enjoys and picks up honestly from her athletic family background, which include her parents (who played many sports) and her brother (who currently plays at the collegiate level). Booth participates in high school volleyball, basketball, and track. She also plays club volleyball for Revolution in Pittsburgh and enjoys water sports in the summer. Booth explains that she is always working to better herself because she wants to be an influential part of her high school and help her team go to the State playoffs. An article at We Play Moms explains that because everyone is working toward a common goal in team sports, students learn firsthand how their performance impacts the rest of the team. Student athletes like Booth must find their place, whether it is to be a leader of the team or to play a supporting role. Booth understands how important it is to do both and make her impact visible on the team. The major highlights and achievements in her career can prove it. Booth, who is just a junior at Berlin Brothersvalley High School describes one of her most honorable achievements was receiving both the Somerset County MVP in volleyball for the 2017 season and Somerset County MVP in basketball for the 2017-2018 season. Reaching her 1,000th kill mark in volleyball as a sophomore was a huge highlight of her volleyball career. During her sophomore year, she was a part of District Championship and WestPac Championship teams in volleyball, basketball and volleyball.