Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / Record Newspapers Athlete of the Week: Yorkville's Hayden Hodges

Transcript

Record Newspapers Athlete of the Week: Yorkville's Hayden Hodges · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

• 0:05
  Record Newspaper's A Athlete of the Week, Yorkville's Hayden Hodges. Written by
• 0:10
  Skylar Cassellus This article is being read by an automated voice, brought
• 0:15
  to you by Everlit. Name Hayden Hodges School, Yorkville Sport, Flag Football
• 0:21
  Year Senior. Why she was selected? Hodges, The reigning Southwest Prairie Conference
• 0:25
  defensive MVP, intercepted two passes and pulled seven flags as the Fox's
• 0:30
  5522 SPC beat Plainfield South 22-0 for their third straight win. The
• 0:36
  senior WRDB now has seven interceptions over Yorkville's last three games. Great
• 0:41
  kid, Yorkville coach, Clarissa Cooper said. I've been able to coach her
• 0:46
  in both flag football and basketball her sophomore year, and she is
• 0:50
  someone who loves to compete. She's more of a quiet kid until
• 0:53
  she starts to get comfortable, and she loves making others laugh. It's
• 0:57
  been fun watching her grow as an athlete, especially on the football
• 1:01
  field. She's been able to dominate defensively and continues to show her
• 1:05
  athletic ability on the offensive side as well. Hodges was selected as
• 1:10
  the athlete of the week in an online vote. Other nominees were
• 1:13
  Oswego Football's Graham Schwab, Oswego East Flag Football's Elaine Taylor, and Oswego
• 1:18
  East Soccer's Gabe Lopez. Here is Hodges Kanda with sports reporter Skylar
• 1:23
  Casellis. You and your teammates have bounced back this season with three
• 1:29
  straight wins to get to five five. What have been the most
• 1:32
  crucial elements in that turnaround? Hodges, I think the most crucial elements
• 1:38
  were just trying to come together as a team. We had new
• 1:41
  players this year with underclassmen, so I think just trying to be
• 1:44
  a leader was important. You've had seven interceptions over the past three
• 1:49
  games, including two in your latest win over Plainfield South. What makes
• 1:54
  you so successful as a defensive back? Hodges. I just read the
• 1:58
  QB's eyes and I try
• 1:59
  to be aggressive. I have a strong instinct to go with the
• 2:02
  ball, so I think that plays a big role in my play.
• 2:05
  After graduating ten seniors last year and you now being a senior
• 2:09
  yourself, how have you taken on they responsibility that comes with being
• 2:13
  a leader on this team? Hodges, I just try to be there
• 2:17
  for the underclassmen. I know my first season starting on varsity, I
• 2:21
  was a sophomore, so it was a lot of pressure, And I
• 2:24
  just tried to be someone who can support the young girls, and
• 2:27
  be someone who they can trust. You're the reigning Southwest Prairie Conference
• 2:32
  defensive MVP, and you're well on your way to a repeat. Is
• 2:36
  this something you envisioned when you first got into flag football? Hodges,
• 2:41
  not at all. Honestly, I just got into this sport because I
• 2:45
  wanted to try something new, and I thought I'd be good at
• 2:47
  it, but becoming conference defensive MVP just felt like a big accomplishment,
• 2:52
  and my hard work was paying off. What's been like to play
• 2:56
  flag football and contribute to its rapid growth in recent years? Hodges,
• 3:01
  it feels really great. I feel like being a new sport that's
• 3:04
  growing is just very I don't know the word. It just feels
• 3:07
  very great, I guess. Has there been any game in you high
• 3:11
  school career that's been your favorite or stuck out to you the
• 3:14
  most? Hodges, definitely our regional game last year?
• 3:19
  Our starting QB got hurt, so I had to step up and
• 3:21
  make up the position. And also a game this season versus Hersey.
• 3:25
  I had a game saving interception, and we won fourteen nine. You
• 3:29
  and your teammates won a regional championship and made the sectional round
• 3:33
  last fall. As you near the end of the regular season, what
• 3:37
  goals do you all have as you try to recreate that success
• 3:40
  from last year? Hodges, our main goal is just trying to get
• 3:44
  that regional plaque again, and once we make that happen, your next
• 3:47
  step will be sectionals. Are there any professional uh tackle or flag
• 3:51
  football players you try to model yourself after? Hodges, definitely San Francisco
• 3:57
  49ers QB Brock Purdy. He's my favorite player. I think he just
• 4:02
  started off kind of unnoticed in a way, and watching him grow
• 4:05
  and become more popular just makes me want to follow him and
• 4:08
  look up to him more. As you wrap up your high school
• 4:12
  career, what have been your favorite parts of your high school experience
• 4:16
  as a whole? Hodges, definitely just making new friends and getting closer
• 4:21
  to my teammates. Our chemistry has grown so much and the team
• 4:24
  bonding really helps that. And the support we give each other is
• 4:28
  just very important for our team and a key factor in our
• 4:31
  success. You've played girls basketball along with flag football. What does your
• 4:36
  future in sports look like after high school? Hodges, I am undecided
• 4:41
  right now for the sport, but I do see myself playing one
• 4:43
  or the other.