D9Sports.com and EYT Media are doing a series of player profiles on returning high-school athletes this summer. The year in school listed by the athlete is the year the athlete is entering this fall.
NOTE – This is the final player profile of the summer. Thanks to all of the athletes for their willingness to do these previews. Also, special thanks to Paul Burdick and Mike Schnelle for providing a lot of the photos for these profiles. Check out Burdick’s work here and Schnelle’s work here.
EMMA FOX – Junior – A-C Valley
Daughter of: Stacey and Ray Fox
Sports Played: Golf, Basketball, Competitive Spirit, Track & Field
2015-16 Highlights: Fox was a member of A-C Valley’s District 9 championship Co-Ed Competitive Spirit team that advanced to the PIAA semifinals. She also played 14 games for the Lady Falcons basketball team scoring her first varsity basket in the process while also dishing out eight assists and coming away with seven rebounds. In track & field she finished second in District 9 and qualified for the PIAA Championships in the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 16.50 while also taking third in the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 49.24 while running legs on A-C Valley’s third-place 4×100-meter relay team (51.59) and seventh-place 4×400-meter relay team.
Post High School Goals: Emma plan on attending college to be a dermatologist. She hasn’t selected a school yet being that she is only a junior and is just beginning the process of looking at schools. She is considering running track or cheering in college.
Q&A With Emma Fox
D9Sports: Do you have a favorite sport, and if so why?
EF: I enjoy participating in all of the sports I play but I enjoy competitive cheer and track the most because I feel that I have had the greatest success in these two sports. I won district medals and competed at states in both of these sports. I’m aware that most people don’t consider cheerleading a sport, but when you jump, lift and tumble for two minutes and thirty seconds I have come to realize that I exert just as much energy and athletic ability in cheerleading as I do in any other sport.
D9: What is your best high-school related sports memory and why?
EF: My favorite high school related sports memory is when I won my first District 9 medal as a freshman in competitive cheer. From then on I made it my goal to win as many District 9 medals as I could. So far, I have been fortunate enough to receive another medal in cheerleading and five more in track. I hope to continue this throughout my high school career.
D9: Has there been a coach and/or teacher who has influenced you the most in your high-school career to this point, and if so, why?
EF: My mom has influenced me the most as a coach. She is my coach in both cheerleading and track. My mom is always encouraging me and is always thinking of ways to make me and my teammates better even when we aren’t at practice. My mom has influenced me in a parental aspect as well. From a young age my mom and dad have helped me build a great work ethic.
D9: What do you like best about playing sports in high school?
EF: I am a competitive person and sports allow me to compete in various ways. But I also enjoy the bond that it creates between my teammates. During track season this past year, I ran on two relay teams (4×100 and 4×400) and both teams had an extraordinary bond with the 4×100 breaking a 26-year-old school record at A-C Valley and the 4×400 learning to rely on each other, making our team stronger.
D9: What is the hardest part about playing sports in high school?
EF: The hardest part for me is managing my time between sports and maintaining good grades.
D9: How much offseason work do you put into your sports?
EF: I put in a lot of offseason work. During the summer, I am going to open gyms in both golf and basketball as well as playing on my own. I also attended a cheerleading camp, where I have been named NCA’s Top All-American two years in a row. I also attend speed training year round.
D9: What is your favorite subject in school?
EF: Biology
D9: What do you like to do for fun when you aren’t playing sports?
EF: I enjoy chilling like a villain and having fun with my friends.
D9: What are your goals for the upcoming school year both sports wise and academically?
EF: Sports-wise, I have goals of winning a district championship in track and repeating as champions in cheerleading. I also have goals of making it to states in both. In track this past season I made states in the 100 m hurdles. This year I have goals of making it in all of four events and showing proudly representing A-C Valley at states. Academically, I have goals of maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.
