FEATURED ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Nick Winders, Cloverdale

Nick Winders is a senior football, basketball and baseball player at Cloverdale.

———

Banner Graphic: How important are sports in your life?

Nick Winders: “I’ve played sports all my life. I’ve played football, basketball and baseball every year I’ve been able to. The most important thing I’ve gotten from sports is teamwork; that’s really what I thrive off of. That’s really all I want to do. Practices are fun to me. The sports I play are ones I love, and practices are just to get better so we can do well in the games.”

BG: Talk about how each sport has gone for you.

NW: “In football, we didn’t start out too well in my freshman year. It’s hard being smaller. We came out strong my senior year and had a great year. We got the “bucket,” which is a great achievement. In basketball, winning three straight sectional championships is amazing. No one in Cloverdale history has ever done it four times, and Jalen and have a chance to do that this year. It’s been a great opportunity to play with these guys. I’ve always loved football more, and that’s what I want to do with my life.”

BG: What was it like to have your dad [Tom] as your head coach this year?

NW: “It was cool to play for him. He’s really always coached me my entire life, and it was great for him to be the head coach in my senior year. He’s always been hard on me. I would never want that...... for the head coach to be easy on his son. I get it on and off the field, and that’s fine.”

BG: What are you plans for after high school?

NW: “I was recently accepted to Indiana State, but I’m working on Marian right now. I want to go to Marian to play football and major in education [high school math] and coach after that.”

BG: What other school activities do you do?

NW: “I’m in yearbook right now, and I like helping with that. Sports take up a lot of my time, and I don’t have time to do a lot of other things.”

BG: Have any particular teachers or classes helped you more than most?

NW: “My math teachers have really helped out going one-on-one with me. It gets harder every year, and they’ve been great to help me with whatever I need. That’s why I really like match.”

BG: What is your greatest fear?

NW: “Getting injured and not being able to play sports. Just thinking about being able to do everything in my senior year.... I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t play.”

BG: What are things you like to do outside of school?

NW: “I love to fish, but I’m not very good at it. I used to hunt, but once I got into sports I gave up doing that. I sleep a lot. I just eat and watch TV. ‘Last Man Standing’ is my favorite show.”

BG: What is something you have never done that you would like to do someday?

NW: “I’d like to travel. I haven’t really been into it too much, but getting to learn more about other cultures would be great. I don’t really have a certain place I’d like to go right now. Maybe France. It looks really beautiful and I’d like to go there. There are tons of other places. Maybe Hawaii.”

BG: What are your favorite and least favorite foods?

NW: “My favorite food would have to be pizza. I love Casey’s pizza. My least favorite would have to be all types of veggies. Like the little carrots that have ridges on top of them. I just can’t get over those.”

BG: Do you have any special skills that people may not know about?

NW: “I’m pretty good at whistling. I’m not sure why. I’m not a loud whistler, but I’m pretty good at whistling tones in songs.”

BG: Do you have any specific goals for the rest of the year, besides winning the fourth straight basketball sectional?

NW: “I’d like to keep my grades up and get my GPA a little higher. I just want to help my teams win, and to help the younger guys to get better so that after our senior class is gone they can keep having success and it’s fun to come back and watch their games.”

BG: What has your overall Cloverdale experience been like?

NW: “When I was a freshmen, I never really thought about being a senior. Each year, it just kept getting closer and closer and I started counting down the games on how many I have left. It’s gone by really fast. I wish it could last a little longer. I love Cloverdale. It’s been a great home to me and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

BG: Do you see yourself coming back to Putnam County after college, or do you have desires to go live elsewhere?

NW: “I really love small towns. I really don’t want to go into a big town, where it doesn’t really flow for me. I’m a very impatient person, and big cities wouldn’t work very well for me. I really like it in Cloverdale, and this will probably be my hometown when I get older.”