D9Sports.com/EYT Media is 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.
(Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)
GABRIELLE SCHMADER – JUNIOR – NORTH CLARION
Daughter of: Kyle and Heather Schmader
Sports Played: Volleyball, Basketball, Track & Field
Family Members Playing/Played Sports: She is one of many from her family to play sports. She believes all of her closest relatives played sports at one time in the lifetime.
2017-18 Highlights: She helped North Clarion to the District 9 Class 1A basketball titles and a perfect regular-season record. The She-Wolves went 28-1 overall and advanced to the second round of the PIAA playoffs. Schmader averaged 5.0 points per game and scored a career-high 20 points in a victory at Karns City.
Post-High School Plans: If the opportunity arose for her to play a sport in college, she says she would highly consider it. She plans on attending college and going into pediatrics, possibly nursing or dental hygiene.
Q&A With Gabby Schmader
D9Sports: What is your favorite sport to participate in and why?
GS: I’m very competitive and I love all the sports I participate in but if I had to choose I would have to say basketball. Not only is the sport amazing but we have this bond as a team that loves to be together and fight together. Not only that, we having coaches that makes us laugh and push us to do better and not give up and never say we can’t do it.
D9Sports: What is your favorite memory, moment, game from playing high school sports?
GS: There have been so many amazing moments in the two years of playing, but my favorite memory has to be when we went through the first round of states undefeated.
D9Sports: Why do you play high school sports?
GS: I play sports not just to stay fit but to share a bond with my friends doing something we love together and pushing each other along the way.
D9Sports: Who has had the most influence on your athletic career and why?
GS: My dad has had the most influence on my athletic career. Ever since I was young, he was there to help me practice, and he was there to coach me. But the one thing I know he’s always done for me is that when I’m down on myself he’s told me I’m stronger than I think and that I can’t give up.
D9Sports: Do you remember the first sport you played and did you like it right away or did it grow on you?
GS: The first sport I remember playing was YMCA basketball. I liked the sport right away but now I love it and still get to play with the girls I started with.
D9Sports: Do you have a favorite number for a uniform? If so, what is the story behind that number?
GS: My uniform number is 12. That number was my cousin Abbie’s she is a very strong girl who never gave up. I strive to be like her even tho she’s got me with the height difference.
D9Sports: What would someone who doesn’t know you be surprised to find out about you?
GS: If someone were to have just met me I think they would be shocked that I use to be a cheerleader and do gymnastics.
D9Sports: If you could eat dinner with anyone famous (living or dead) who would it be and why?
GS: I would want to eat dinner with Donald Trump because he is the president and that would be cool.
D9Sports: Iphone or Android or Neither and why?
GS: I have an iPhone but my dad has had an android for many years now and hasn’t scratched it but I dropped my two inches and I have a chip in my screen.
D9Sports: What is your go-to Social Media and why?
GS: Twitter. I feel you are able to spread information more quickly to others.
D9Sports: What do you like most about high school and why?
GS: I like being able to be with my friends all the time during school helping each other with work and being there.
D9Sports: What do you like least about high school and why?
GS: My least favorite thing about high school is drama.
D9Sports: What question do you wish I would have asked you? And what is the answer to it?
GS: I wish you would have asked me how I feel when I step on the court. No matter what game it is, I get the same feelings every time I step foot on the court. I’m nervous but yet I’m pumped. I’ve always been told if you are not the slightest bit nervous then you are never really prepared for what’s about to happen.
