Struthers athletes Ava Croyle, Andrew Kopnicky, Micah Neider and Jonice Coats were nominated for Student-Athlete of the Week for the weeks of January 8th and January 15th.
Each of the athletes was nominated for their dedication and passion for the sport, which their coaches all recognized. Having those qualities, among many more, earns the attention of many people, especially coaches, which is why it is such a great honor to be nominated.
Ava Croyle, a junior basketball player, believes that her skills earned her the nomination.
“I try to lead our team and be a voice on the court when I play and practice. The coaches believe that I’m a leader and feel that I help people and try to fix our team’s confusion whenever I can,” says the basketball player.
Kopnicky was nominated by Coach Garcar for his efforts in basketball, as was Croyle who was nominated by Coach Minchin-Skook, and Micah Neider who was nominated by Coach Polito. “JoJo” Coats was nominated by Coach Eisenbraun and Coach Brabant for her skills and improvement in bowling. To be picked out of all of the athletes on their teams meant a lot to each of them.
Croyle is happy that her efforts got the attention of her coaches.
“I put a lot of hard work and time into my sports, so showing that it doesn’t go unnoticed really helps me try even harder,” says Croyle.
The nomination is pretty prestigious, simply because it gets the attention of most people who live in Struthers. It’s hard to earn the attention of the coaches and be recognized out of all the athletes playing, but not impossible if they put their minds to it and work their hardest day after day.
Croyle takes time to motivate others to work for the award as she did.
“Just be yourself and make sure you are being the best player you can be. Be a leader and role model for other athletes,” says the junior.
