Senior Delanie Albano, a dual sport and four-year varsity track athlete has overcome numerous hardships throughout her high school career, becoming an inspiration to her peers. She is an active member of the class executive board as historian, Student Council, and S.A.D.D. Delanie uses these experiences to guide her through the next important steps of her athletic career.
How many sports do you play at WHS, and how did you pick your sports?
I play two sports; volleyball and track. I have played volleyball since the fifth grade, I went to a volleyball camp with my friend that made me want to play. I played in sixth grade because a big group of my friends decided to do track for fun.
What do you do in both volleyball and track? What made you choose those positions?
In volleyball, I was a setter and right-side hitter. I was a setter in ninth grade because of the lack of people on the team with that skill. For track, I am a thrower, I throw shot put and discus. I found throwing really interesting and wanted to pursue it.
As a thrower, how do you think not having a coach for 2 years during WHS affected you?
Having no coach was really difficult, lots of the time I had to turn to upperclassmen and help each other out, but many times no one knew what to do for form. You couldn’t excel in what you were doing.
What motivates you to do well in practice every day?
To perform better, keep PRing and make it to states.
What are your biggest goals for the upcoming track season?
My biggest goal is to continue to learn the reverse and explosive movements in shotput and discus.
How do you prepare for nerve-wracking meets?
I practice my rotations with a towel. When I go into the ring I take a deep breath until I am ready to go.
With such an individual sport, how does your leadership play a role in the team?
When others are struggling, I do whatever it takes to calm their nerves or form. I am always there to help.
What hardships have you experienced over the years? And how did you overcome them?
My hardship is that I injured my PCL and I am still in a lot of pain. It was tough because I do and still have to sit out of many activities and it will never get better. It gets frustrating to watch my teammates do activities like explosive moments. I mentally and physically had to get over it, and had to learn new ways to not overexert my knee.
Is there anyone that inspires or mentors you to keep going?
Valarie Allman inspires me because she is always competitive and trying to do better. My mentor is Coach Ray. He was my coach for summer and winter, he believes in me and helped my form and is an all-around great coach.
Do you want to play in college? What makes you want to take the next step?
I want to keep going and get better, I want to pursue this when I get older.
