Meet the Athlete: Kayla Branstad

Published 10:47 am Thursday, December 26, 2013

Northwood-Kensett forward aims for a state championship --Drew Claussen

Northwood-Kensett forward aims for a state championship –Drew Claussen

Q: What year are you in school?

A: Senior.

 

Q: What school do you attend?

A: Northwood-Kensett.

 

Q: Who is your immediate family?

A: I live with my mom, Tanya, and little brother, Trey. My dad, John, lives in Nora Springs, Iowa, and my older sister, Allie, lives in Boone, Iowa.

 

Q: What sports are you involved in?

A: I do track, softball, volleyball and I did cheerleading for football. Last year, I played basketball and cheered for the boys, too.

 

Q: What is your favorite part of playing basketball?

A: Looking at the scoreboard and knowing that what we worked for is showing, not only in excitement but in numbers too.

 

Q: What has playing basketball taught you?

A: You learn so much when you play. If you try hard you will succeed in life. Even if we don’t win at the end of the day, I still have a good time.

 

Q: What number are you?

A: No. 45.

 

Q: How did you get started in basketball?

A: We did the little league stuff. It was kind of the thing where here at Northwood we’re so small that if one person does a sport, everyone does it. So I just kind of stuck it out.

 

Q: What sports did your family members play?

A: My sister played volleyball.

 

Q: What are your sports-related goals?

A: I want to win at least one championship, and we came so close in state cheerleading. We got third because of one deduction, otherwise we would have won. That’s something I’ve wanted throughout high school, I just want my name on a banner. We did get a trophy for volleyball, which was really rewarding. It would also be really nice to go as far as we did last year in basketball (the regional finals).

 

Q: What are your college plans?

A: I decided to go to the University of Iowa.

 

Q: Who is your favorite professional athlete? Why?

A: I really like Rajon Rondo. I’ve always liked the Celtics. But my boyfriend is a really big fan of LeBron James and I’ve been watching a lot of them, especially when the Heat play the Celtics.

 

Q: What is your favorite school subject?

A: I’ve always really liked history.

 

Q: Who is your favorite teacher?

A: Lee Okerlund. He’s a math teacher. I couldn’t imagine him not being in my schedule because he’s so helpful in everything, not only math. If there’s one teacher that you want to learn a life lesson from, it’s him.

Q: What are your hobbies?

A: I really like the competition cheerleading. I’m a lifeguard at the pool and have another job, too. I’m also in our mentoring program. It’s kind of like a big sister thing. I used to be in knitting club.

 

Q: What is your dream job?

A: I really want to go into the medical field to do speech and hearing pathology like a speech therapist. That’s something that I want to major in.

 

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Spaghetti.

 

Q: What is an interesting fact about you?

A: I’m kind of wild, you never really know what you’re going to get.

 

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