Ramona High School Female Athlete of the Year: Emily Vandervort

This week the

Ramona Sentinel

is featuring the 2012 male and female athletes of the year at Ramona High School. Upcoming articles will appear on the Bulldogs of the Year and the Scholar Athletes of the Year.

Students at Mountain Valley Academy are eligible for the awards as they compete for RHS teams. Ramona High School coaches nominated and voted on the awards. Athletic and scholastic achievements, citizenship and character are all taken into consideration in all of the awards.

EmilyVandervort

By Bill Tamburrino

Emily Vandervort is one of the most versatile and skilled student/athletes to ever attend Ramona High School.

For her efforts Vandervort has been honored as the Ramona High School 2012 Female Athlete of the Year.

Vandervort considers herself a student first. When asked earlier in the school year which award she would most like to earn she didn’t hesitate in answering, “Student Athlete of the Year. I work very hard on my academics.”

She was close. Vandervort achieved a 4.36 grade point average in college preparatory, honors and advanced placement courses. She was also nominated for Female Bulldog of the Year by all of her coaches.

When not competing Vandervort always has smile. Behind that smile there is the heart of a champion and skills seldom matched by a student/athlete.

Vandervort has earned varsity letters in four sports. She played three team sports and one individual sport at Ramona High School. She earned four letters playing soccer for Tom Charbonneau. She earned three letters in softball for coaches Mike Schuler and Antoinette Rodriguez. Vandervort went out for lacrosse as a senior and lettered for Coach Jim Bliss. She earned three varsity letters in golf from John Rathbun.

When asked her favorite sport, she responded, “The one I am playing when I am playing.”

One of her coaches said, “Emily Vandervort is the absolute best representative of RHS sports. She has the best combination of athletic skills, academic achievement and outstanding character that I can imagine.”

The rest of the coaches echoed those comments. Another coach said, “Emily is the complete example of an outstanding student athlete.”

She has received the Coaches’ Award in soccer and softball.

Vandervort is going to attend the University of California at San Diego in the fall and major in biology. She hopes to become a research scientist.

She also hopes to play intramural sports while at UCSD. And, she says that she will one day be a coach, adding, “especially if I have kids.”

“The best aspect of playing sports at Ramona High School was being on teams and working toward a common goal. The best lesson that I learned from sports is to try hard at everything,” said the athlete.

Vandervort said her parents, Susan and Rod, have “constantly supported me in everything I do. There is no way that I could have been as successful in academics and athletics without them.”

When asked what advice she would give her little sister, Megan, or any freshman entering RHS about playing sports Vandervort said, “Remember play hard and have fun. Playing sports should make you happy.”

Vandervort has earned 11 varsity letters in four varsity sports. She has had fun and always has a smile to prove it.