A Balancing Act Part I

Name: Jessie Huff School: Eastview High School Sports: Soccer & Gymnastics Who is your favorite athlete? Shawn Johnson What are a few highlights from playing soccer at Eastview? Going to the state tournament last year and the team-bonding trip to Duluth that we took this year. What is your proudest accomplishment in soccer? Scoring 11 goals this season, a big improvement from last year and playing for the select team Bangu Tsunami in the summers. What's the most difficult thing about soccer? Physical fitness - at the end of the game it's sometimes difficult to keep working hard depending on who you're playing. Which events do you compete on in gymnastics? I do all the events including the all-around competition. My favorite is bars and least favorite is the beam. What is your favorite thing about gymnastics? We have a really fun team and fun coaches so I enjoy the people. Plus I've been able to improve a lot over the last couple of years. How do you prepare for gymnastics during and after soccer? It's tough. I play soccer six days a week and am in the gym once a week. Most of the girls on the team are already doing two days a week in the gym so I miss out a little on training, but I catch up. What's the hardest thing about gymnastics? Nerves - when you're ready to compete it's hard to control what's going to happen. Do you enjoy watching soccer or gymnastics more? Gymnastics - you don't see it as much and other people don't know anything about it, so it's fun to be able to understand what they're doing. How has competing in two sports helped you? It's helped me learn how to manage my time - because I've taken on a lot at once, I know that I'll be prepared to manage a busy college schedule. What is your favorite high school sports memory? Going to state in soccer last year and beating Eden Prairie for the first time ever to earn the Lake Conference title this year. Have you chosen a college? I am playing soccer at Augustana in Sioux Falls, SD. The school has a good pre-med program that is connected with the hospitals. Also - I thought that the soccer coach seemed like a good guy and I liked the team when I visited the school. Name: Luke Dewall School: Stillwater High School Sports: Football, Alpine Skiing & Baseball Who is your favorite athlete? Joe Mauer If you could only play one sport, which would you choose? During football season my answer is football and during baseball season it's baseball! What is your favorite thing about football? The camaraderie you get... it's an overall team game. In baseball you can have a star player carry the team, but in football you have to have all 11 players involved. What about your favorite thing about Alpine skiing? My mom was a Division I skier at Montana State, so I've been skiing since I was little. I like being out there in the cold and doing a sport that not everyone else does. How do you prepare for skiing once football ends? Depending on how far we go in football, there is a short gap before the start of our ski season. I participate in the team "dryland training" until the snow gets here, which sometimes takes too long! What is the most difficult thing about playing more than one sport? The time commitment & being able to organize myself. It's hard to manage time between sports, homework, family and friends. How do you juggle all the sports in the summer? We have football practice in the mornings Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then I have baseball games four or five nights a week. Which do you enjoy watching most - football or skiing? Definitely football. I like college football because of the fans, rivalries - it's more intense than the pros in that sense. Skiing isn't the most fun to watch, especially for parents. They stand out in the cold for four hours and get to see their kid for about a minute as they come down the hill! How has playing multiple sports helped you? I think it's helped me be a well-rounded person & provides a good variety. It's been a great learning experience, especially being a three-sport captain. It's tougher on my mom but has provided a great leadership opportunity for me that I'm sure I'll carry with me all through my life. What is your favorite high school sports memory? Either beating Roseville in double overtime the first game this year or beating Hastings 44-20 at their homecoming. Do you have college plans yet? I'm in the process of figuring it out... I'm leaning more towards playing football right now but want to wait and see how the baseball season goes. I'm looking at schools all over the country and am interested in studying business and possibly architecture.