Most high school athletes work hard to achieve both academic and athletic success. Some students might even take on playing for a club team as well as a high school team in order to improve their skill levels. However, there is only one student athlete who takes on two winter sports for the high school on top of year-round club team practices: senior Amanda Carney.
Carney participates in club gymnastics all year, and three seasons of high school athletics. In total, Carney does five sports: Fall and Winter Cheerleading, Walpole Gymnastics, Spring Track, and Club Gymnastics. The Winter is arguably the busiest time for Carney, as she competes on her Club Gymnastics team while also participating in Winter Cheerleading and Walpole Gymnastics.
Not only does Carney participate in more sports than anyone else, she amazingly finds success in all of them. On the Walpole High School team, she has been a leader on the gymnastics team since her freshman year, competing in State Individuals each year of her high school gymnastics career. Carney has made New England’s for high school gymnastics and has been the Bay State Champion of the All-Around. Her attitude and success for high school gymnastics have earned her captainship two years in a row. She is also a captain of both Fall and Winter Cheerleading and has been Most Valuable Cheerleader two years in a row. In addition, Carney has received All Scholastic Awards from both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. With this pressure of being the lynchpin to the success of two teams during the same season and with the added pressure of academics, Amanda amazingly never loses her composure. Walpole Gymnastics coach Wendy Lewis said, “Amanda easily adapts to any situation, in regards to gymnastics, without complaining or becoming flustered.”
Being active in any sport is a challenge, but participating in multiple sports at one time takes determination and great skill in time management: “I manage my time by trying to get most of my homework done at school in studies. I also try to eat a small snack in between activities to keep by body going and to have energy,” Carney said. While Carney has her priorities straight she does admit that being so busy with two or three practices a day can interfere with her daily life: “It stinks not being able to hang out with your friends because you have practice, and I get behind on school work sometimes.”
Although Carney admits that sacrificing parts of her social life because of practices or competitions can be very discouraging, the benefits of her hard work keep her motivated: “It’s all worth it when I look back on all my accomplishments and how it’s helping me for college.” Carney’s involvement in sports has prompted levels of responsibility and maturity different from those of her peers. Not only have Carney’s activities given her a sense of pride, but it also has shaped her personality. Carney said, “It also directed me into becoming interested in exercise science field which I plan to pursue in college.”
Working as hard as Carney does can prove to be too much for most people to handle. However, the long-term benefits of what she is doing now keep her motivated to stay involved in sports. Lewis said, “I first saw Amanda when she started gymnastics around 3 years old. I’ve seen her develop into a confident young lady with a bubbly personality over her career.” Carney’s activities have shaped her personality, and she is certain that it will give her “a different level of maturity and responsibility that [she] will be able to use throughout [her] life.”
