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CLAUDIA WILSON
SOPHOMORE – QUEEN CREEK HIGH SCHOOL
SPORTS: VOLLEYBALL
Without getting into all of the details, we know there is a lot to balance in your life right now, including your dad’s health, school, volleyball, and your own battle with Osgood-Schlatter disease and the pain it causes in your knees. How have you been able to balance all of it and even excel in school and on the volleyball court despite all that is currently going on?
The love I have for my family and the support we share as well as my positive outlook on life helps me keep a balance in my life. All the support and love is helping me get through this and is keeping me strong. I know my dad would want me to be strong, so I’m doing it for him, my myself, my family, and friends.
Give us a little background of your volleyball playing career. When you did you start playing and what about the sport makes you continue?
I’ve been playing club volleyball for 4 years. The last three years I’ve played for Club One. I started out as a setter. I grew taller so I moved to the middle position and then recently moved to an outside hitter. I have played many of the positions and love knowing more and more about volleyball. I have a deep love for the sport. Volleyball will always be a part of my life.
What are you most looking forward to during your next three years at QCHS?
I’m looking forward to our varsity volleyball team getting stronger throughout the years. I’m also looking forward to just having fun because we’re only in high school once so I want to make it memorable.
Finish this sentence: “My greatest athletic memory at QCHS is…”
Making varsity volleyball as a freshman. It was really nerve racking going in because the coaches don’t know you yet because you are a freshman. It was a relief and really motivating for me to get better and fight to get playing time on varsity.
What is your favorite sports movie and why?
My favorite sports movie is “The Blind Side” because this shows how much strength someone can have coming from such a bad life and how a sport can change that life. One can learn life lessons through sports at any age. This movie really inspires me to try my best and keep fighting because something good will soon come around.
Who is the one person you’d most like to meet and why?
One person I would really like to meet is Kerri Walsh Jennings. I would like to meet her because she is such a role model in life and in sand volleyball.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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