Off the Reels

Welcome back to the Fall Edition of Off the Reels! This week I sat down with a four year varsity athlete at Springboro who is an important member of the girls soccer team. Meet SHS Soccer Captain Kaylee Pham… Soccer story: Kaylee started playing soccer at the age of three when her parents signed her up for a rec league. It didn’t take long before she fell in love with the sport and wanted to improve. Then, she started playing club soccer, later switched to a bigger club, and now is being recruited to play at the collegiate level.  Kaylee’s accomplishments: In addition to the fact that Kaylee made Varsity as a freshman, she has earned much recognition for her playing and leadership on and off the field. This includes being named 1st Team All-Conference, 2nd Team All-Dayton South, and the team Defensive Player of the Year.  She is also a two-year Captain of the team and a two-year member of the Panther Athletic Council. Professional player Kaylee looks up to: The professional so...

Welcome back to the Fall Edition of Off the Reels! This week, I am featuring a sophomore golfer from SHS! Meet Springboro High School Golfer Danielle Stinson… Golf story: Growing up, Danielle knew her dad played golf, but she found it boring to watch and was uninterested in even trying it. In sixth grade, Danielle quit softball, and her dad signed her up for a golf camp. To Danielle’s surprise, she found golf interesting during this camp. Just three years later, she earned her first Varsity letter as a freshman for Springboro. She consistently reaches the top scores on her team.  Danielle's high school accomplishments: It is evident that Danielle is going to earn so many more great achievements before her high school career is over. Some of Danielle’s accomplishments include making Varsity as a freshman, the Second All Team GWOC Award, and second and third place finishes at tournaments this summer. We can’t wait to see what amazing achievements lie ahead for Danielle! Danielle’s pe...

Welcome to the Fall Edition of Off the Reels! Follow along each week for my behind the scenes interviews with some of the top fall athletes at Springboro High School. To kick off the Fall Edition, I sat down with one of my teammates and a fellow Captain.  Meet Springboro High School Tennis Captain Claire Sullivan…  Tennis story: Soccer was one of the first sports Claire played, and she quit when she was eight years old. Always wanting to be an athlete, Claire decided to pick up another sport. Tennis ran in the family, as her mom and uncle both played, and that was all the convincing Claire needed to give it a shot! Since then, Claire has competed for the Panthers and as an individual. When she plays for the Panthers, Claire can be found at first doubles crushing her opponents with her net game. This is Claire’s fourth year as a Varsity player, and she is a two-time district qualifier.  High School match Claire is most proud of: Claire is most proud of winning a really tou...

Welcome back to the Spring Edition of Off the Reels! For the final interview piece of the spring athletes, I chose to feature someone who has competed at State every high school season he has played.  Meet Springboro High School Tennis Player Sai Dore…  Tennis story: Inspired by his cousins and grandfather, Sai first picked up a racket when he was four years old, but he quickly lost interest and considered tennis “boring.” He experimented with piano, soccer, swimming, and other activities to try to find something he enjoyed more. Three years later, he gave tennis another shot, and the countless practices, matches, and tournaments since have made him the great player he is today. This season, the Panthers went 10-1 overall and won the GWOC title led by Sai, who went undefeated in GWOC. He won all his matches at Sectionals and took first place. He won two matches at Districts and competed at State for his second time in two seasons. In a match spanning nearly three hours, Sai fe...

Welcome back to the Spring Edition of Off the Reels! This week, I am featuring an athlete of both the fall and spring seasons. Keep reading to learn more about one of Springboro’s best runners. Meet Springboro High School Cross Country & Track Runner Keegan Freyhof…  Track story: Keegan started competing in track and cross country as a seventh grader, and he hasn’t looked back since. The two primary reasons he joined the teams are because he loves running and because much of his family runs. In his words, “I’ve got some pretty fast cousins to look up to.” Since then, Keegan has definitely made a name for himself in the cross country and track programs at SHS. In the cross country 5K, Keegan’s best time this past season was 16:22. His PR mile time for track is 4:25. He set this time against Miamisburg early in his junior season and ran a 4:29.6 mile in GWOC where he placed fourth. He also holds the SHS school record in the 2K steeplechase with a time of 6:39.  Track versus ...

Welcome back to the Spring Edition of Off the Reels! This week, I am featuring a recent graduate of Springboro High School and a four year varsity player for the Panthers Softball team.  Meet Springboro High School Softball Shortstop Lizzy Davies… Softball story: Lizzy just wrapped up her fourth year on the Varsity Softball team. This season, she played shortstop, at which she started 23 of 24 games. Lizzy concluded her final high school season with an on base percentage of 0.200 and the second most stolen bases on the team. But how did she get here? When Lizzy was seven years old, her parents signed her up for a recreational league, but she lost interest. Later, Lizzy and her father were watching college softball on TV, and this fueled her interest in the sport again. Before long, she was back out on the diamond. What softball has taught Lizzy: In successes, failures, practices, and everything in between, there are always lessons that sports teaches us. This was no different for L...

Welcome back to the fifth week of the Spring Edition of Off the Reels! This week, I interviewed Sutton Case, Captain of the SHS Girls Lacrosse team.  Meet Springboro High School Lacrosse Captain Sutton Case… Lacrosse story: Sutton started playing lacrosse in first grade. She said, “I basically grew up with a lacrosse stick in my hand.” She told me that she also played soccer and basketball, but they paled in comparison to lacrosse. Sutton’s older brother, Titan, also started playing lacrosse in first grade and routinely asked her to practice with him. At first, she couldn’t keep up, but she wanted to be better than him, so this was her inspiration to start playing. Now it is eleven years later, and Sutton just wrapped up her junior season as a midfielder and Captain on the lacrosse team where she scored 46 goals with 16 assists and 89 draw controls and won First Team All Region and Most Valuable Player! Lessons from Lacrosse: One of the most valuable things about sports is how the...

Welcome back to the Spring Edition of Off the Reels! This week, I interviewed one of Springboro’s best from the diamond.  Meet Springboro High School Baseball Outfielder (and recent graduate) Ian Pennington… Baseball Story: Ian started playing baseball as soon as he was old enough to pick up a bat. His dad introduced him to baseball, basketball, and football, but baseball ended up being his favorite and was the sport he chose to keep playing. He played for the Panthers for his entire high school career, playing any positions in the outfield including his favorite position: Centerfield.  Ian’s favorite pro baseball team: Ian’s favorite professional team is our hometown team: the Cincinnati Reds! Pro player Ian looks up to: Growing up in southwest Ohio as a Reds fan and a baseball player meant that Ian went to a lot of Reds games through the years. One of his favorite players to watch is Joey Votto. Ian really admired Votto’s game and said, “his approach at the plate is somethin...

Welcome back to the Spring Edition of Off the Reels! This week, I interviewed another track and field athlete who made a big impact in just one year with the Panthers. Meet Springboro High School's Track & Field Athlete (and recent graduate) Jordan Espinoza... Track story: Jordan’s story on the track started in first grade when she competed for fun in the Junior Olympics at her elementary school. She beat all of the boys in her class. With this early win, she wanted to continue competing in track to see how far it would take her. During her middle school years, Jordan met more serious competition, traveling to other schools for meets. This was when she really fell in love with track and field. Jordan moved to Springboro from California just before her senior year. This season, she competed in the 100m, 200m, long jump, triple jump, and occasionally relays and the 400m for the Panthers.  Jordan’s track accomplishments: Jordan placed fourth in the long jump in the Greater Western...