The Dream Maker

This week’s TS athlete of the week is Julia Colby. She will be helping the Lady Vikings work towards another basketball State Title. Julia scored her 1,000th point on Friday night, against Portland. She also recently signed her letter of intent to play basketball at New York Technical Institute in Old Westbury.

TS: How has training at TS affected your performance?

JC: Training at TS over the years has made me a stronger and more explosive player, which has allowed me to bring a more aggressive style of play to the court.

TS: What attributes as a leader have you gained over the years of training at TS?

JC: Training at TS has made me more confident.

TS: When did you realize you had the potential to play basketball at a D2 college level?

JC: Sophomore year when I received interest from some D2 schools.

TS: How has training mentally prepared you for big games such as a State Championship?

JC: It has taught me how to have a stronger mindset and to work with my teammates through hard obstacles.

TS: How do you go into your senior year basketball season, knowing you have a chance to win back-to-back State Championships? JC: I’m going into my senior year working harder than I did the year before, to have another opportunity to win back-to-back.

TS: How does being an athlete make you a better person?

JC: I think that being an athlete makes me a better person because it keeps me motivated to try and be the best I can be in all aspects of life.

TS: Who has influenced you to continue to play basketball throughout college? JC: When I was younger I used to watch my sister play, and I instantly loved the game. Once I got into middle school, I knew that I would like to play during college.

TS: Do you get nervous before games? If so, what do you do to calm the heat? JC: I still get a little nervous before every game, but as I’m warming up the nervousness goes away.

TS: While playing basketball year round, what is your recovery routine and how do you take care of yourself?

JC: After my workouts I always rest and ice anything that is sore.

TS: With a future transition to New York, how do you feel about leaving Oxford Hills?

JC: I’m sad about not being with all of my friends and leaving this community but I’m also excited to get the experience of being in a different state.

TS: What do you plan to do after college? Do you have any intent of moving back to Oxford Hills?

JC: I’m not sure if I’m going to move back to Oxford Hills when I graduate. I’m going to see how I like living in another state first.

TS: What does scoring 1,000 points mean to you? Why is it important?

JC: It means a lot, it’s a huge accomplishment that I’ve worked really hard for the past four years. I’ve been really lucky to have amazing coaches and teammates to help me reach this goal.

TS: At what point did scoring 1,000 points become a goal of yours?

JC: Scoring 1,000 points became a goal of mine in 4th grade.

TS: Has there been any unexpected obstacles over your high school career that you have had to overcome?

JC: Luckily I haven’t had any injuries that have taken me out of regular season games.

TS: When you finally reached 1,000 points, the game was stopped to recognize your remarkable achievement, and you were gifted the game ball. Did stopping the game for personal recognition, slow down the momentum? JC: I think everybody was really supportive of the accomplishment but we all knew we still had a job to do. Portland is a very athletic team and letting off the intensity would’ve been detrimental to the outcome. I think the excitement and energy of the night was really only increased after the pressure of reaching 1000 was released.

TS: Knowing that you would most likely score the 8 points you needed to reach 1,000, how do you not let it distract you from staying focused and beating Portland?

JC: Obviously I really wanted to reach the 1000 point mark but I think I was able to stay focused by trying to take off the pressure. The main goal of the night was to win the game so getting to 1000 was really an afterthought. I knew I had the rest of the season to get there, so if it happened that game then great, and if not then I had to stay focused on securing the win.