A LONG, SUCCESSFUL TRIP IT'S BEEN; AFTER DEATH OF FATHER, MARTIN'S MADE THE MOST OF SCHOOL.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer It happened in an instant. A tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Aly Martin was 14 years old when her father was killed in a plane crash on his way home from a routine business trip and, just like that, one of the most important people in her young life was gone. It was the toughest of lessons but one that has made her stronger. She not only overcame the personal loss but has developed into one of the nation's top student-athletes. The Lawrence (Wisc.) University graduate has been nominated for the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. Scholar Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year
``He plays a part in just about everything I do,'' said the former three-sport star at Paraclete High. ``I kind of hold myself to a standard that I think he would have had for me at this point.'' Undoubtedly he would have approved of all she's accomplished. Martin recently returned to her Palmdale home with a college diploma from Lawrence, a liberal arts liberal arts, term originally used to designate the arts or studies suited to freemen. It was applied in the Middle Ages to seven branches of learning, the trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, and the quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. school of about 1,200 students in Appleton, and the respect of every coach, player and teacher she has met. In her four years there, Martin was everything a student-athlete is supposed to be. She captained the basketball and softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' teams, maintained a 3.66 GPA GPA abbr. grade point average Noun 1. GPA - a measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted in government and received the Ruth Bateman award for ``excellence in scholarship, athletic ability and leadership.'' ``I just tried to experience as much as I could while I was there,'' Martin said. ``Athletics were like a benefit, something cool that I could do while I was there. But I was there to get a degree.'' Martin attributes her openness to new experience -there aren't many 18-year-old kids who would leave sunny California for Wisconsin - to the lessons she learned following her father's death. ``I try not to take things for granted. I realize that your time is limited and that you've got to enjoy everything you've got, especially people,'' Martin said. And so, when she went on a self-described independent kick at the end of high school, Martin didn't think twice about leaving home for Lawrence. In spite of incredulous in·cred·u·lous adj. 1. Skeptical; disbelieving: incredulous of stories about flying saucers. 2. Expressive of disbelief: an incredulous stare. reactions of friends and family, she's convinced it was the right decision. In addition to her academic honors, Martin led the softball team to three Midwest Conference The Midwest Conference is a College Athletic Conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the midwestern United States in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. championships while claiming numerous school records: career stolen bases (67), hits in a season (47), and total career runs (110). She was named to the Division III All-Great Lakes Region team after her senior season. But for Martin, records and statistics are secondary. ``The biggest thing that I got from (sports) is the camaraderie ca·ma·ra·der·ie n. Goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends; comradeship. [French, from camarade, comrade, from Old French, roommate; see comrade. ,'' Martin said.``I don't always remember all the games or the practices. But I'll always remember the little things like being together with the girls on the team.'' She also created memories for those around her. ``She's the type of kid who can do a lot of things very well,'' Lawrence softball coach Kim Tatro said. ``A lot of times you think of a great student as kind of nerdy, but Aly definitely wasn't like that. She had a great personality and great academic success. I think that whatever she puts her mind to she'll be successful at.'' The next thing Martin plans to put her mind to is as unorthodox as her choice of colleges. ``I'm looking into the Air Force officer-training program,'' Martin said. ``The lifestyle appeals to me. It's a good chance to see different parts of the country and different parts of the world.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Aly Martin returned from her four years at Lawrence with a handful of honors, including an award for athletic and academic excellence. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion