Madison Chase
Lake City High School
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nichols Photography
For Lake City High School senior Madison Chase, the breaks are few and far between. The three-sport athlete competed in volleyball in the fall, is in the midst of her senior season of basketball and will turn her attention to the tennis court come spring. While passionate about each sport, balancing commitments to each team is something she had to learn quickly.
“To overcome that, I worked extra hard at each sport to make sure I didn’t fall behind on any of them,” she said.
Madison has played basketball since the second grade, school and club volleyball since middle school, and tennis throughout high school. During this time, she not only trained for three different sports but also different positions within each team.
“In middle school I played point guard, and when I went to high school, I was moved to a post position. I played that for about three years, and this year I’ve switched between guard and post. Needing to know the different positions has sometimes been a struggle, but my coaches have helped me a lot,” she said.
A very competitive person, Madison says she very much enjoys competing in so many different ways. She’s also learned to keep her cool when things don’t go exactly according to plan.
“One life lesson I have learned is that you can’t control a lot of things in life, but one thing you can control is how you act. If a ref makes a call you don’t agree with, you can either get mad about it and let that affect you, or you can shake it off and do better the next play,” she said.
Madison is enrolled in the dual credit program at North Idaho College, so she will graduate high school with an associate degree in hand. She’s also looking forward to competing once again in the State Business Professionals of America (BPA) gathering. In the fall she plans on enrolling at Boise State, where she won’t be playing at the collegiate level but plans on continuing to stay active through intramural sports. As someone who enjoys math and numbers, she plans on studying accounting and is considering law school sometime in the future as well.
Looking back, Madison is very thankful for all that athletics has provided her. “I enjoy sports a lot because being part of a team is a very fun experience. My teammates have always been fun to play with, and I’ve made some of my best friends from the teams I have been on.”
Drew Roberts Coeur d’Alene High School
Photo courtesy of Boomers Photography
To wrestle amongst the best it takes a serious commitment to the sport. Early morning training sessions, long stretches in the gym and a regulated diet are just a few of the sacrifices these athletes make. For junior Drew Roberts, it’s all worth it.
Just 17 years old, Drew has already accomplished plenty on the mat. He’s an Idaho State Champion wrestler, twice a Tri-State Champion, and twice a National Fargo All American in freestyle. Evidenced by these accomplishments, Drew doesn’t get bested on the mat often, but when he does he uses the loss as motivation the next time around. “Losing would be the biggest challenge; coming back, getting better and improving so it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
Drew enjoys wrestling because of how tough it is not only physically but mentally as well. Having the strength and skills to beat an opponent is just part of the equation. Having a sharp mind on when to utilize takedowns, play defensive or adjust your strategy mid-match is equally important. “I love the competition against another person. I love how it’s one on one and also a team sport as well,” said Drew.
It would be easy for Drew to rest on what he has already achieved, but that’s not the type of person he is. His goal is to continue to improve week to week and to eventually land an academic and athletic scholarship from a Division I program so he can continue competing in college while at the same time challenge himself in the classroom. He can see a future in which he studies exercise science and sports training as he enjoys not just his own training sessions but training and coaching other athletes as well.
Drew knows that to reach his goals he will need to continue to have a hard work ethic, discipline, and to never give up if he gets beat or knocked down.
“You have to get back up and go again at your best,” said Drew. “The biggest lesson would be that hard work will pay off in the end when you see the results from all of the time, discipline and effort.”