By Derrick Smith

Goals are things that everyone has set for themselves at some point in their life. Some people set goals for their family, while others set goals for themselves. Athletes are no different- setting goals for practice, game preparation, and their season. Mindy Wildcat of Varnum says that her daily goal is pretty simple, but it helps her every day.

“I want to be a better player than the day before,” she stated. “Reminding myself of that every day keeps me motivated to keep putting in the work. Motivation is important but it also takes dedication and time. I put in hours of practice, both with my team and on my own.”

Mindy is a junior at Varnum High School where she plays basketball and softball. Throughout her career, she had had a number of different people that she has looked up to. But she says that out of all of them, her family has always been there for her.

“My mom is my biggest influencer,” she stated. “My sister Mikayla and my brother Duane are my biggest role models. They all push me to be my best on the court, in the field, and in the school. I would also have to say that the NBA’s Trae Young is someone that I look up to. He is an all-around stud at basketball. He does not care what others think about him”

One key to her and her team’s success has been putting the last game behind her and keeping working and moving forward. 

“We make it a point to approach every game the same way,” she said. “The next game is the most important and biggest game to us because it is our next game. We have a few friendly rivals, but we just want to try to win them all. None more important than the other.”

Along with her sports, Mindy also serves as a junior class officer and a member of the student council.