EASTMAN, Ga. — In Dodge County, one freshman Indian is staying busy -- no matter the season and no matter the sport.
Glenna Rae Whitley has only played a couple games with the Dodge County girls soccer team this year, but that's only because she was too busy hoopin’ in the GHSA basketball playoffs the week before.
“Like my dad says, it's the one that I'm playing currently,” Whitley said. “That's my favorite sport, and that's probably how it is. As long as I'm playing a sport, I love it.”
Whitley not only helped the Squaws to a Sweet 16 appearance, but also the first-ever flag football state championship in Dodge County last fall. Now, she’ll be looking for more of the same on the pitch this spring.
“She would leave one (sport) and go straight to the other and keep going,” said Dodge County girls soccer head coach Lori Williams. “She's always been an aspiration to my own children. I mean they want to be like Glenna Rae, even though she's younger, you know.”
Oh yeah, and she's doing it all as a freshman.
“She is a leader on the team and the others want to be like her,” said Williams. “We have a lot of young and new players this year, so she's been helping them out. She comes out here on Sundays. She puts the time in. She gives it effort.”
And while G-Rae is pretty new herself, the work ethic that she’s bringing to the table is anything but.
“Me, athletically, I'm always training in the gym and the gym will help with all of them,” said Whitley. “I'm trying to focus on soccer but also on the off-days I'm getting in shots with basketball and training with my speed for flag football. I come out here on Sundays and work on soccer too.”
It’s the same mentality when it comes to the books.
“I try to get all my work done in the classroom,” Whitley said. “I feel like it's teaching me to be more responsible as a young athlete."
“Teachers love her,” Williams added. “She's always the first one to get finished with her work, so if she needs to see me, she can come see me.”
Regardless of the sport, Glenna Rae is a leader through her play on the field or the court. Now that she's shown what she can do, that bar just got raised even higher. Even then, it's a challenge she'll be ready for.
“She's the first one to finish when they're running before practice,” Williams said. “She always gives it her all and she's 110% all the time.”
Glenna Rae rounded out her freshman season on the hardwood earning an all-region honorable mention recognition. The Lady Indians soccer team returns to action on Friday, March 11 against Jasper County.