Athlete of the Week: Kylee Van Egdom, Sioux Falls Christian
Family, friends and teammates have more impact on a life than most other forces. For this week's Athlete of the Week, Kylee Van Egdom, those types of people in her life drive her on and off the court.
Van Egdom, a basketball and volleyball athlete at Sioux Falls Christian High School, grew up in a household where sports were commonplace.
"I played sports when I was really little with my parents because we've always liked sports at my house," Van Egdom said.
From the household to organized leagues, the passion for volleyball and basketball continued to foster growth. By fourth grade, Van Egdom was routinely participating in different leagues to help satisfy her passion.
But family didn't have the only impact on Van Egdom's enjoyment of athletics.
"I've always liked sports a lot, getting to meet new people and play with your friends," Van Egdom said.
As she moved into high school and varsity competition, Van Egdom felt her skills improve, regularly, practicing and squaring off against state champions on the Sioux Falls Christian roster.
Those same talented teammates also served as leaders and helped develop Van Egdom into the athlete she is today.
"My freshman year, we had really good upperclassmen that just taught me a lot," Van Egdom said. "Shelby [Zomermaand] and Paige [De Jong] really encouraged me to work hard and just to develop my game as best I can."
That extra encouragement and practice has paid off for Van Egdom and Sioux Falls Christian.
"She does everything," said Sioux Falls Christian volleyball coach Darci Wassenaar. "Wherever she is on the court, she makes a difference for our team."
The volleyball and basketball careers for the sophomore from Sioux Falls Christian are still young, but they've had their fair share of highlights, most notably winning a state title as a freshman with the varsity volleyball squad.
"Winning state was really, really, really cool," Van Egdom said. "It was really fun to experience that and to play on such a big level against really good teams, so that was really cool."
When Van Egdom isn't in school or playing volleyball or basketball, she's probably hanging out with friends or watching Netflix.
Congrats to Kylee Van Egdom, this week's Athlete of the Week.