Leigha Kaftanic: Morton High School

 

LK: Always

 

Softball, tennis, cheerleading, volleyball, basketball… everything I could possibly play.

 

When I was a little kid. My mom actually taught me how to play volleyball when I was five or six. We're the same number!

 

Volleyball has always been a passion of mine. I love the team atmosphere. I play volleyball better than everything else.

 

There's a lot of running in volleyball. Not only that, but it's more physical.

 

Coach calls me ‘grandma.' [laughs] I think of myself more as a big sister.

 

I took time off because I finally got into a respiratory therapy program and I really wanted to focus on graduating more than anything else. We were doing six classes in clinical, so it was just impossible to play.

 

Absolutely. If I would have played volleyball, I probably would have been dead tired.

 

It requires a lot of sleep. You have to sacrifice some things, but work is definitely not one of them, so you end up sacrificing sleep or going out with your friends. I'm 21 and I'd like to go out with my friends on the weekends, but if I have a volleyball tournament I can't.

 

Actually, I disagree with most of it.

 

For example, I dislike the fact that he makes us weight lift. I agree with weight lifting generally, but I think we need to build basic skills so that when we work out we can make them better. But if we just work out we don't have those basic skills yet.

 

We do calisthenics. We run and do a lot of arm stretching. We work a lot on our legs because we have to be able to jump.

 

There isn't a very big difference; I'm not going to lie to you. I thought college would be more advanced but it really isn't. It is the littlest transition, you can't even tell.

 

Heart… The players need to connect with one another, and the coach needs to connect with the players.

 

Do we connect? Absolutely. You need to connect on more levels than one. Not only as players on a team, but more like ‘sisters.' You need to hang out outside of practice too.

 

I always knew I wanted to do something medical. Respiratory therapy is just the first program I got into.

 

I love it. I'm glad I'm doing this instead of nursing, where you're stuck with one or two patients. With respiratory therapy you work all around the hospital.

 

You work with ventilators and any patients with lung problems, like asthma or bronchitis.

 

I'm such a germaphobe. [laughs] I wash my hands constantly. I don't even realize I'm doing it.

 

Focus. You have to have ambition, you have to have goals. If you don't set any for yourself, you're not going to do anything. Procrastination is not your friend; sleep is.

 

Absolutely not.

 

No, no. I do not regret anything that I have chosen to do. Everything has been a blessing and college has been the time of my life. I really wish I would have stayed at Ball State though.

 

I started at Ball State in 05 and I came here in 07, so I was there for two years. It was the best time of my life. This atmosphere is completely different. I would get to know everyone in my classes at Ball State… We'd trade notes and stuff like that. Here you only get to know one or two people a class.

 

Money. I've lived in Hammond all my life, but I moved away because my parents made me. Plus I wanted to experience college life. I couldn't find a job down there though, so I had to come back. I've been working at the same place since I was 15.

 

Dairy Queen. [laughs] Yep, I manage the Diary Queen.

 

I don't even know. I don't really eat that healthy. I eat a lot of pop and a lot of candy.

 

Tough choice. I'd say it's probably spaghetti.

 

I don't have free time. If I were to have free time, I would spend a lot more time with my friends. We'd take road trips, go shopping, or go camping.

 

Shakamak. And I love Turkey Run. Turkey Run is my favorite.

 

Wisconsin Dells was a good time; we went to a lot of water parks. We went skiing in South Carolina. We went to Texas to see my cousin get married. We went to Florida a lot.

 

I didn't ski; I went snowboarding and fell on my butt a lot. I was pretty good at ice skating though. That was fun.

 

I love "Talladega Nights." I'm a fan of comedies; I really hate scary movies.

 

Move to either Florida or Texas. I'm already looking at houses because I graduate in December.

 

It's hot there. I hate the winter.

 

It's not just the weather here; it's the region in general. I'm bored with it. I want to get out of here and try something else.

 

School is obviously the most important thing. You can't stress that enough. College isn't very different from high school, but you have to act like everybody is more advanced than you are and that will make you a better player. You have to think that you are going to lose all the time, so that you're really surprised when you win. It's a different mentality than high school. In high school I didn't really care if we won or lost, but in college you have to prepare yourself. High school is more of a team thing, where you all worked on one theme. I'd like to see future coaching that focused on everyone working on their own, individual basis. You have to suck it up and bring your game. Slacking off is not an option. If you really do not want to play, don't play.

 

Nah, I'll keep that personal. [Laughs]

**Written by The Northwest Phoenix Editor-in-Chief: Don Sjoerdsma