By: Krissy Hetherington
The last week of every month, I will be highlighting one specific player based on work ethic & their benefit on the team. September’s Athlete Of The Month is Halle Patterson, ‘19, from Redwood’s Varsity Volleyball team (22-8). She was picked by her coach, Alana Montgomery, and seemed like the best fit for this title.
She is a 3 year varsity player as well as a captain for the 2018 season. Her coach says on her behalf, “She brings knowledge, leadership, and experience to this year’s new varsity players as well as mentoring the younger players on the team.” She serves as a great role model on and off the court and also excels in all aspects.
“Besides all of the time Halle spends in the gym, she is also academically gifted and really cares about her education.”
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Patterson is not only committed to volleyball but she proves to be a stellar student in the classrooms also. She works hard as a student athlete with rigorous courses and being a senior which means focusing on college soon too. She manages her time well and is able to come out to each practice working hard and constantly improving then showing up to every single game ready to play and do her job in order to bring home the W.
“Halle has always been eager to learn. She wants to play her position to the best of her ability and leads by example.
-Alana Montgomery
She’s had a great season this year and which is proved through her stats as well as her effort put into each and every game. She leads her team in Kill percentage and also has the most blocks. She is also in the Top 5 for Hitting Efficiency, Totals Kills and Blocks for the entire West Yosemite League. She not only stands out on the team but also throughout the league.
According to MaxPreps, a high school source used for coverage of statistics, scores, schedules, rosters, and more, Patterson has played a total of 75 sets, has 161 kills, a .243 hitting percentage, 15 solo blocks, and 65 team blocks.
Her favorite part about being on this specific team of girls is, “I love that this year’s group of girls has such a unique bond on and off the court. We genuinely all get along so it makes doing our job out on the court so much easier.” She enjoys spending any time she can with the girls and is able to be a team leader on the court as well.
As far as motivation goes, she is such a hard worker because she revolves around the idea of “team.” She said that it makes her want to give 100% for them so they know she’s out there working hard and can trust that she’s doing her very best.
Patterson does not plan to play volleyball past high school but is trying to enjoy her last season…ever. She said, “I’m sad that it’s going to be all over and I won’t play ever again, but I’ve played for seven years which means a total of fourteen seasons…I’ve had such a fun time and have made so many great memories that it just feels like the right time to bring it all to an end.
She is so excited to play these last few games with the girls and hopefully bring home a WYL title for her team as well as her school. She represents what it truly means to be a Redwood Ranger and continues to work hard in class and in her specific sport. Make sure to go out and support Halle Patterson along with Coach Montgomery an the rest of your lady Rangers as they push through the second half of their season.
This is a monthly column idea and will be published the last week or week after of every month. Hopefully for the next ones, I will do a vote for each sport nominee so stay tuned!
Krissy Hetherington
Krissy ('21) is a senior and this is her third year as Editor in Chief. She has been in Journalism since beginning of freshman year and has a strong passion for sports journalism. Outside of the Gigantea, Krissy is a part of the Cross Country, Basketball and Track teams. She is also in her third year as an intern writer for the Sun-Gazette. You can reach her by email at krist.he0076@vusd.us
Tags: central valley, college, leadership, league, maxpreps, rangers, Redwood, redwood high school, senior year, student athlete, team, varsity sports, visalia ca, volleyball, WYL
I liked how deep you went with this story. Keep it up!!