Latest / Illinois Valley - Shaw Local / The Times Athlete of the Week: Marquette girls volleyball’s Kelsey Cuchra
Transcript
- 0:05The Times Athlete of the Week. Marquette girls volleyball Kelsey Coutra. This
- 0:13article is being read by an automated voice brought to you by
- 0:16Everlett. With eighty six votes cast for her in an online contest,
- 0:22Marquette Girls volleyball player Kesley Kutra is the Times Athlete of the
- 0:26Week, sponsored by SoQ and Grassers Plumbing and Heating Inc. One of
- 0:30a number of Crusaders to have a big weekend as Marquette won
- 0:32the Fieldcrest Knight invite, Cutra put down 32 kills and 17 stuff
- 0:37blocks as the crew went 5 0. She won on a ballot
- 0:41that also featured Ailey Harstad, Ottawa Girls Cross Country, Rob Tinson, Earlville
- 0:45Boys Soccer, and Bresden Simons, Flanagan Cornell slash Woodland Football. Weekly ballots
- 0:52go online Mondays and are accessible via Facebook, The Times Sports, and
- 0:56Twitter at JPedalty with voting going through midday Wednesday. Were is a
- 1:01QA with this week's winner. Do you have any nicknames? Kutra, Kelso.
- 1:06I've been called this since last season. Not completely sure where it
- 1:10came from, but it's the team's favorite. How old were you when
- 1:13you started playing volleyball and what got you into the sport? Poutra.
- 1:19I started playing when I was in fourth grade, so when I
- 1:21was nine. I started playing because my mom, she played, coached, refed,
- 1:26and has done such a lot for the game, which is why
- 1:29I am so passionate about it as well. And my sister did
- 1:32it, so naturally I had to try it also. What do you
- 1:35like about playing multiple sports instead of specializing in one? Kutra. The
- 1:40thing I love. Most about playing both softball and volleyball is how
- 1:44different but similar they are. They're very different in the skills of
- 1:47the game but similar mentally. The high intensity games, the feeling of
- 1:51winning, all similar feelings I love, but different enough to not get
- 1:56stressed out of one or the other. It gives a good balance
- 1:59of not focusing on one or the other all year round. It's
- 2:03like a break away from softball without taking a break. Which sport
- 2:07is your favorite to play and why? Kutra Softball. I love volleyball,
- 2:14don't get me wrong, but softball has my full heart. Softball is
- 2:17one of the things my sister and I have always had in
- 2:19common. We both have played for as long as I could remember.
- 2:23Waking up early on weekends to go spend the weekend playing with
- 2:26my sister, a game I love with The people I love all
- 2:29around. It has given me many friends and lessons I could not
- 2:32live without. What are a few of your favorite gyms you've had
- 2:36the chance to play volleyball in over the years? Kutra. Always Bader.
- 2:41The energy and excitement in there is incomparable. A few other favorites
- 2:45are Seneca and this year at Peru Parkside vs. Saint Bede. I
- 2:48love a loud gym. It makes everything so exciting and fun. What
- 2:53movie would you say you've seen more than any other? About how
- 2:56many times? Coutra Probably the Sandlot. I couldn't tell you how many
- 3:01times I have watched it. It's a movie that my family has
- 3:04always watched, especially since we are a baseball softball family. It's a
- 3:08comfort movie that brings back memories of movie nights as a kid.
- 3:12Which of your teammates cracks you up the most? Kutra. I'd say
- 3:17it's the whole team. There is never a dull moment. We're always
- 3:20laughing at something. Your and your teammates are going out for dinner
- 3:24to celebrate a big win. Where are you going and what are
- 3:28you ordering? Kutra. Chipotle, my order would be a bowl with brown
- 3:32rice, chicken, pico, cheese, and sour cream with a Fanta. I love
- 3:36Chipotle. Seasonal question. What was you favorite Halloween costume you've ever worn?
- 3:42Coutre, probably my Cinderella costume from like first grade. I haven't been
- 3:47trick-or-treating since like forever ago, but it was something I loved to
- 3:50do with my sister. We always had a competition to see who
- 3:54could get the most candy. Is there something about you that people
- 3:58who only know you through sports might find surprising? Kutra, I am
- 4:03going to graduate in the spring with an associate of science degree.
- 4:07Do you have any plans yet for life after high school? Do
- 4:10they involve sports? Kutra, I plan to attend college to study pre-med
- 4:16and play softball. I haven't quite decided where that will be, but
- 4:19time will tell.