What Makes an Athlete of the Week?

From Lake Shore soccer player to Grosse Pointe South’s goaltender (and 98 student athletes in between), Patch has featured 100 Athletes of the Week on our sites throughout the last 3 1/2 months.

Our Athletes of the Week were nominated by fall and winter sport coaches, athletic directors and residents in the community.  The students represent 18 high schools in nine Patch communities including Macomb Township, Shelby-Utica, New Baltimore-Chesterfield, St. Clair Shores, Grosse Pointe, Dearborn, Wyandotte, Dexter and Trenton.

The honored students are high school athletes that have excelled on the field and/or in the classroom. The athletes have been highlighted by our Patches to acknowledge and applaud their accomplishments, leadership skills and passion.

We’ve asked each athlete five fun questions to get a glimpse of their favorite things, how they view themselves and what fires them up. Below are some of the brilliant and funny responses we received:

Please list three words that best describe you.

• Hardworking, Determined, Outgoing (10)
• Dedicated, Caring, Athletic (7)
• Friendly, Competitive (6)
• Funny (5)
• Honest, Driven, Enthusiastic, Laid-Back, Intelligent, Responsible, Fun (3)
• Leader, Nice, Passionate, Respectful, Tenacious, Confident, Emotional, Ambitious, Creative, Strong (2)

Unique responses:

• Kind-hearted ()  
• Fashionable ()
• Smoothy, Beautiful ()
• Short ()
• Priceless ()

What are your favorite hobbies outside of your sport?

• Hanging out with friends (21)
• Playing video games (8)
• Listening to music (6)
• Golfing, Playing baseball (5)
• Working out, Playing guitar, Reading, Riding jet skis (3)

Unique responses

• Telling jokes and making people smile ()
• Climbing trees ()
• Nothing, I live and breathe basketball ()
• Watching all the Red Wings games I can possibly watch (Bradley Ash-Dearborn Edsel Ford)

What is the newest song on your iPod/Best pregame music to get fired up?

• Lil Wayne, Eminem (6)
• Taylor Swift (6)
• Wiz Khalifa (5)
• Lady Gaga (4)

Best pre-competition meal/food?

• Pasta (8)
• Subway, Taco Bell, Granola bars (5)

Other interesting facts worth noting

• Toughest Athlete of the Week?  bowled half the season with a broken bowling hand!
• Our favorite response of all?  To the question, "What’s your New Year’s resolution?" responded, "My New Year's resolution is to stay awake and pay closer attention in chemistry class. I like the class, but for some reason, second hour I suffer from narcolepsy.”
• Highest number of Facebook recommends? (105).
• Most Athletes of the Week by Patch? Macomb (16), St. Clair Shores (14), Shelby-Utica (12).
• Boys vs. Girls total? Boys (57), Girls (43)
• Most Athletes of the Week by sport? Girls Basketball (15), Boys Hockey (14), Boys Swimming (12), Boys Basketball (9), Girls Bowling, Competitive Cheerleading (6)
• Every senior Athlete of the Week asked plans to attend college next year.

Every Athlete of the Week we met in person or communicated with directly was polite, courteous and respectful. 

We congratulate them all (as well as their parents and coaches) once again and look forward to starting all over again this spring! 

Please nominate your spring sports student athlete today at watkins.patch@yahoo.com.