Every month, the High Performance Center holds a contest where they select one male and one female athlete to be named the Athlete of the Month.
The contest is currently run by the HPC team, which includes Director of Sports Performance Jessen Houston, Adjunct Coach Joshua Harris and Sports Performance Specialists Ramiro Mendez and Katherine Zarembski.
“The purpose is to recognize what our students embody when [they] come in and to incentivize hard work in the HPC,” Houston said.
According to Houston, the award aligns with Greenhill’s core values and other athletically related values including discipline and teamwork.
At the end of each month, the HPC team collectively meets and discusses which athletes demonstrated the HPC’s values. At the end of the month, they select their winners.
Senior Garrett Koerner is one of the student-athletes who has received the award.
“The main thing was really just always being there for all the lifts and just being consistent,” Koerner said.
HPC coaches say Koerner’s dedication and leadership led to him being selected.
“I didn’t really know the award was a thing,” Koerner said. “I was not really competing to win it, but there is always some competition in the HPC [for me].”
While the contest has been going on for nearly five years, it recently gained students’ attention through the HPC’s Instagram account.
Koerner suggests that the award is not given to people who work out the hardest, but to those who display dedication and good values.
“I do not think that I was the hardest worker in the gym, which made me surprised when I won the award,” Koerner said. “I guess it was just demonstrating constant effort along with good attendance.”
With the new school year just beginning, the HPC coaches have started implementing new ways to recognize the athletes nominated for this award.
“We will meet with the teams before their practice and read the reasons they were nominees for the award, and have a celebratory moment,” Houston said.
According to Houston, this recognition will start for the next Hornet of the Month and they hope it will bring comradery to the teams.
“We want to recognize the students that demonstrate great leadership, accountability and school spirit,” Houston said.
