By Joe Slye, Gem of the Sound Sports Reporter
Kennedy Catholic Senior Avery Watkins Named 4A SBLive Washington Female Athlete of the Year!
Avery Watkins accomplished a lot during her senior year at Kennedy Catholic. She accomplished a lot more in her four-year career as a Lancer. She played in 3 sports, volleyball, basketball, and softball, as a varsity starter each year. She earned 12 varsity letters in the three sports. She was named to the all-4A NPSL girl’s basketball first team for four consecutive years and was voted twice as an honorable mention in volleyball and softball. To top it off, she accepted a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Hawaii. Avery won lots of recognition, all on teams that were good, not great. She was a team leader. Her commitment stood out. With just a few trips to district playoffs and only two state tournament berths, both in volleyball, Avery proved her versatility as a multi-sport athlete.
Avery accomplished a great deal athletically; in addition, she had many accomplishments outside of athletics, including being a National Honor Society member with a 3.4 GPA, student body president her senior year, and winner of two in-house Kennedy Catholic distinguished awards, the Carl J. Velling Award (senior girl student-athlete of the year) and Michael Batterberry Solidarity Award (student best demonstrating multi-cultural inclusion and celebration). Her participation and involvement in other school and community-related activities rounded out her nod as 4A SBLive Washington Female Athlete of the Year.
What is SBLive, and why is this award so special? SBLive (Scorebook Live WA) was formed about four years ago. With a presence in several states and looking to be in all states, Dan Dickau, Mike Colbrese, and Todd Milles are a few SBLive names who have ties to the state of Washington. SBLive wants to be the digital destination for high school sports fans and a technology partner for state associations, coaches, and administrators. The goal is to make it possible for fans to follow their favorite high school teams and players…just like they follow the pros.
This is the third year that SB Live Washington has presented the WaFd Bank Award to honor the senior male and female multi-sport athletes-of- of the- year for each of the six WIAA state classifications: 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A, 2B, 1B. Selection criteria include High School seniors who are all-league/all-state performers in two or more sports, the totality of their career, and administrator/coach/fan recommendation. A two- or three-sport athlete in high school is becoming rare these days. With the growth of club sports leagues, many athletes now focus on just one sport and play that sport year-round. Avery Watkins is a worthy recipient of this multi-sport award. To see more on the SBLive presentation of this award, go to:
