Sabrina Woods, Teen Phenom

• Captain of the HS East soccer team last fall.  
• Just broke a school record for the high jump at 4'10". 
• Graduating next June with 11 varsity letters (soccer, softball and track).
• Has a 4.0 average with over 150 hours of community service. 
• A five-time scholar athlete recipient. 
• A member of the Italian honor society. 
• On the high honor roll every marking period since she was a freshman in high school. 
• Considering going to medical school. 
• Oh, and she has modeled.

Is it possible that one student could have accomplished all these things?

Yes. Sabrina Woods is that girl, and she is a junior at Hills East.

"If there were more kids like her, the world would be a better place," said Donald Herr, health and physical education teacher at HS East, as well as their athlete trainer. 

"She is a great kid with a phenomenal work ethic," added Herr. "She is dedicated and hard working, and when she hits a milestone, she doesn't stop. She starts working on the next milestone."

"She's a very unusual kid," her mom, Maggie Woods, said, "very motivated. In fact, she has motivational plaques all over her room." 

When asked for examples, she quoted her two favorites: 

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

"If you can dream it, you can do it."--Walt Disney.

Her mom said that Sabrina started playing soccer when she was about 4 years old. Sabrina herself said that "soccer is my passion, although I love all sports." And she claims to have tried them all. She has a younger brother, Stephen, who is a sophomore and 15 months younger than Sabrina, who excels at baseball, according to Sabrina. 

Sabrina would love to play soccer for a Division 1 school, where she may study to become a doctor. "Science is definitely my favorite subject. I may do research in a lab." 

Although varsity softball is starting up now, she hasn't stopped playing soccer. Sabrina also plays for a premier soccer team and has started to travel with them to tournament showcases around the country, where Division 1 scouts come to watch the players.

"She is an all-around great kid, a collegiate caliber player. She could definitely play for a Division 1 soccer program," Herr said. 

Matt Mayo is an earth science teacher at HS East and is also the soccer coach. Last year was his first year coaching the soccer team, and since soccer is a fall sport, so far he's coached Sabrina for only one season.

"She was the natural leader of the group," Mayo said, "even though she was a junior. The team looked up to her. She was one of the hardest workers in the group. She even organized off-field events. She was a leader at practice, on the field and in games. She even organized summer workouts, in the offseason."

Mayo said that Sabrina was one of only two girls selected as All League last year. "For a junior to get that award is pretty great," he said.

She was also All League for winter track's high jump. Laura Anderson, ASL teacher at HS East, is also the girls varsity track coach. "Sabrina has only done winter track last year and this past year. I am trying to encourage her to do spring track; however, she enjoys playing varsity softball, which is also in the spring.  She definitely excels at the high jump. At the League Championship Meet on Jan 30th she topped a personal best and set a Hills East girls track team best of 4'10"."

Dean of Students Kevin Hill, who is also the advisor to the Varsity Club of which Sabrina is vice president, said, "She always has a smile on her face. She is a fantastic person. I've been here 34 years and Sabrina is one of the top kids to walk through these halls."