Avery Hodge, FBCA
Photo by Bradley Collier
AFTER HER SOPHOMORE SEASON, AVERY HODGE MADE A DECISION THAT DRASTICALLY ALTERED THE ROAD OF HER HIGH SCHOOL CAREER.
Hodge, a softball phenom as soon as she stepped onto the Tompkins High campus as a freshman, left the Katy ISD school for Fort Bend Christian Academy. Sure, she wanted to compete for a State Championship and felt the Eagles could get her there. But more than that, Hodge wanted to right her ways academically.
“I really had to lock in and get focused,” Hodge said. “At Tompkins, I wouldn’t really care so much about my schoolwork. But the teachers here pushed me hard. The competition in this school academically made me want to do well and pushed me to do better.”
It wasn’t easy on either end.
“At first, it was a struggle,” Hodge said. “It wasn’t as competitive as other teams I’d been on, but it helped me work on other things I needed work on, like teamwork and leadership.
“I learned to look out for everybody instead of just doing my own thing.”
Academically, it was also a considerable adjustment period.
“It’s something I struggled with more generally, but this school really helped me,” Hodge said. “Teachers keep us more engaged. Before I got here, I would sleep a lot in class. Here, not only do they keep you involved with things, but they make sure you actually understand what you’re learning. It’s not just a bunch of tests being given to you right away.”
The maturity of Hodge’s decision is a significant part of her make-up as she graduates Fort Bend Christian Academy this spring. It’s a testament to her character and competitive nature to push herself and do what’s best in the long run.
Hodge is going to Oklahoma, one of the premier softball programs in the nation, to play shortstop. Twice, she has been named to USA Softball’s Junior Women’s National Team.
Last season, her first at FBCA, Hodge helped the Eagles to the State Semifinals, hitting .762 with 48 RBIs and eight home runs. This season, she’s added pitching ace to her resume, as irrepressible of a force in the circle as she is in the box .
She’s no slouch on the volleyball court, either. Hodge is, in fact, a State Champion, helping FBCA to the TAPPS 5A State Championship last winter. She was a first-team, allstate libero with 375 digs.
In two seasons on the volleyball court as an Eagle, Hodge averaged 3.3 digs per set, adding 75 aces and 10 kills.
“The Junior Women’s National Team is probably my biggest accomplishment,” Hodge said. “The State Championship is something I’ll never forget.”
Hodge has always had things in order. She’s always had an idea of who she was and what she wanted to do.
She committed to Oklahoma in September 2017, around the start of her eighth-grade year.
“It was a stress reliever,” she said. “I didn’t have to be in that process of texting colleges and worrying about getting looked at. I could just focus on working on what I needed to for college and getting better, so that when I got to OU, I’ll be ready to go.”
Hodge is a natural athlete.
Take pitching, for instance. Hodge only pitched in spot moments last year. But, because of team need, she stepped up to take over the No. 1 role this season. As the season has gone on, she is throwing harder and her spin keeps improving. Relying on a deadly curveball and screwball, Hodge has a veteran’s knack for keeping the ball in the zone and throwing strikes.
She can do anything if she puts her mind to it. She’ll do whatever it takes to win.
Hodge wants nothing more than to finish her senior year with another State Championship. It would mean so much to get one in softball.
But no matter how gaudy the statistics or how memorable the wins, Hodge wants to be remembered for much more. Her legacy is in who she is, not what she does.
“Hopefully, having a good attitude and trying hard in whatever I did,” she said. “Helping my teammates up and just encouraging others to be the best they can be. I want to be remembered as someone who wanted to win and helped my team and teammates do that.”
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BASKETBALL
FBCA’S BOYS FINISHED 14-15 ON THE COURT IN 2021-22, AND THE GIRLS FINISHED 17-14. BOTH TEAMS FINISHED FOURTH IN THEIR RESPECTIVE DISTRICTS.
Junior point guard Samuel Cole earned his secondstraight all-state honor for his play this season. Cole averaged 22 points, five assists and five steals per game and is one of the top talents in the Class of 2023 in the Greater Houston area.
The Eagles’ girls were led by all-state selection Madison Dunn. The senior averaged 7.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.6 steals. Senior Angel Nwodu added 9.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game for the Eagles.
SWIMMING
FBCA’S GIRLS SWIM TEAM WRAPPED UP A STELLAR SEASON WITH AN EIGHTH-PLACE FINISH AT THE TAPPS DIVISION II STATE SWIM MEET IN FEBRUARY.
The Eagles scored 103 points as a team, eight points behind sixth-place St. Joseph. Twenty-six total teams competed at the meet.
Junior Whitney Childs took silver in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:00.51. Childs also finished sixth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:02.22).
Senior Darian McMillen (200-yard IM, 100-yard freestyle), senior Madelyn Pozzi (100-yard freestyle), sophomore Aly Gregorek (50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle) and senior Brooke Byers (100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke) also represented the Eagles at State in their respective events.
The FBCA boys finished 17th at State out of 25 teams.
Senior Grant Klatt wrapped up a decorated high school career in fine fashion.
Klatt finished second in the 200-yard IM with a time of 1:53.55. He also took silver in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 49.19 seconds. Klatt had entered the year winning gold in the event each of the previous three seasons.
Sophomore Jacob Bjorngjeld (100-yard freestyle) also represented FBCA at State.
SOCCER
FBCA’S BOYS AND GIRLS SOCCER TEAMS WERE WELL-REPRESENTED IN THE POSTSEASON HONORS.
On the boys side, the Eagles named senior defender Austin Westfahl first-team, all-district. Sophomore forward Emanuel Montoya was named to the second team, while sophomore forward Daniel Bassey was named to the honorable-mention team.
For the Eagles’ girls, sophomore forward Kyra Whitman, who also enjoyed an outstanding year as a cross country runner, and junior midfielder Elizabeth Ingraham were named first team, all-district.
Sophomore defender Ruth Tamuno and freshman goalkeeper Ava Franco were named to the second team. Freshman forward Sydney Ferguson, senior midfielder Madeline Font, and senior defender Abigail Preng were named as honorable mention selections.
Whitman was a star on the field. She was also recognized as an all-state, honorable-mention pick.
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