Saturday, June 06, 2009
Radford's Gillespie has one busy weekend
Alex Gillespie and the rest of the Radford High School tennis team lost to Gate City on Friday in the Virginia High School League Group A semifinals. Gillespie will continue her quest for a state title today as a member of the soccer team.
Photos by MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times
Radford High School's Alex Gillespie (left) faces off against Gate City's Maria Byrd during a playoff game at Radford High School.
BLACKSBURG -- Radford High School senior Alex Gillespie lost her singles tennis match against Gate City in the state semifinals Friday at Virginia Tech.
But she will be back in the game -- a different game -- when she and the Bobcats play James River in the soccer semifinals at noon today.
Soccer coach Lee Boehling, who has coached Gillespie for four years, said it is not uncommon for students to play more than one sport at the same time, since at a small school there are so few athletes in any given season.
Coaches have to be willing to share, or they will risk losing an athlete. Gillespie has had to leave practice early or miss part of a game from time to time, but her coaches and athletics director do their best to balance schedules.
Boehling said Gillespie is great at managing her time. She doesn't get easily stressed, and she keeps up with her academics.
"She's pretty laid back," he said. "She's pretty in control."
Cecil Hickam, her tennis coach and former trigonometry teacher, praised Gillespie's ability to balance her sports teams with schoolwork.
He said any parent must be proud to have such a talented child. Both coaches said Gillespie is a great player and, better than that, a "great kid."
In addition to playing in multiple state playoffs this weekend, Radford's graduation was scheduled for Friday night as well.
In fact, Gillespie was so busy on Friday that she wasn't available for an interview.
Gillespie will be attending James Madison University in the fall, and according to Hickam, JMU is lucky to have her.
"There's no doubt she's going to be successful with whatever she does," he said.
-- Allison Chopin
