Star Student Athlete: Mid-Hudson's Lily Anna Is 'A Leader'

MID-HUDSON VALLEY — We all know student athletes who also bring their A-game to other parts of their lives.

Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize these heroes making a difference in their communities. We’re working to let all your neighbors know the individual stories behind the leaderboard.

This submission comes from Tara Sovik-Bandel who nominated her daughter Lily Anna of Mid Hudson Valley.

Star student athlete’s name

Lily Anna

Star student athlete’s home state

New York

Star student athlete’s Patch town

Mid Hudson Valley

How do you know the star student athlete?

Mom here!

What sport does the star student athlete play?

Varsity Soccer, Travel Soccer, Winter and Spring Track

Why do you believe the star student athlete should be recognized?

Lily Anna has been running since she could stand. As a child with Hyperactivity and ADHD, we sought out soccer in preschool to give her the opportunity to move more often in purposeful ways, aka to stop climbing on and jumping off the furniture... Our family quickly became a soccer family and have gotten to know our Monroe Woodbury community through soccer. School, reading and traditional classroom structure was challenging for Lily initially, and over the years she has been well supported by special education in the district. The structure and expectations of dedication to her sports have generalized to her studies and she has literally worked her tail off to earn the grades to now carry AP and Honors courses as a HS junior. Coming from an "all over the place" 3rd grader who was still struggling to read, to now a leader in her sport, captain and mentor to youngers athletes, I see Lily Anna as a great choice for nomination.

What's one thing you want everyone to know about the star student athlete?

She works as hard, even harder off the field as she does on the field to reach her goals

Keep up the great work, Lily Anna!

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