Female Gamer of the Year to Senior, Mia Duterte of the Winfield High School
Teays Physical Therapy Center, Inc. and The Putnam Herald are pleased to present this year’s Female Gamer of the Year to Senior, Mia Duterte of the Winfield High School soccer and track & field team.
Winfield General Mia Duterte finished out a fantastic senior year. The soccer and track athlete led both of her teams to conclude great seasons. Finishing up her soccer career she was awarded first team all-conference, first team all-region, second team all-state, and was invited to play at the North versus South game. During her track career, Duterte was a 4-time team state champion, shuttle hurdle state champion, 300 hurdles runner up, 4x4 8th place, and 100 high hurdles 6th place.
Duterte learned many valuable lessons from her time playing sports that she will now carry over into her academic and adult life. The best advice that Mia has received during her athletic career is “15 minutes early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable”. This has taught Duterte to be early and prepared for everything she does in life. Being a part of a team has taught Mia the importance of working together as a team to achieve one goal which she can use in many aspects of her life. The most important thing Duterte has learned from playing sports is “You either win or you learn.” Advice that Mia has for underclassmen is “Don’t give up, it's always hard at the beginning and try to be involved in multiple sports.”
When asking Mia how she thinks her teammates and coaches would describe her she said hardworking and a leader which is exactly how her coaches described her. “Mia epitomizes the fact that the difference between being good and being great are the little things. Everyone that is good does the big things right. The few great ones do the little things better than anyone else. When I first saw Mia Run in middle school, I knew immediately that she was going to be good. After I saw her through a few workouts I knew she was going to be great!
The tougher the better for her. She has this special type of grit and determination that is priceless! One practice Coach had the boys and girls doing a workout together where you basically just keep running until you give up. An hour and 10 minutes later Mia was still going strong crushing everyone. It was very motivating for me. She is fast, and being fast will help you win a race or a game. She is crazy tough! Being tough will help you in life! You combine her talent with her work ethic, insane toughness and the fact that she is a natural leader, and you become an awesome Champion! She is a very special young Lady!” Ron Arthur. Head soccer coach Jade Lewis had this to say about Mia “Mia is one of a kind! Exceptionally hard worker! Succeeds at everything she does! She is a multi-sport athlete, succeeding on the field as well as on the track! She is a wonderful leader and will continue to lead throughout her life! She will be missed and irreplaceable!”
To her coaches, Duterte had this to say about her final year at Winfield: “I want to thank everyone that helped me get to the peak of my athletic career. First, I'd like to thank my Dad for helping me set goals, working out with me, supporting me, and doing everything to build me into the person I am today. Next, I'd like to thank all my coaches. First my soccer coaches Andy Harrison and Adam Arthur with FC Alliance who fixed my game of soccer and made me an asset to my high school team. Jade Lewis, my High School coach, developed me into a versatile player. Next, I’d like to recognize my track coaches. First, I’d like to start with Ron Arthur who introduced the sport to me and taught me the importance of hard work. Coach Tidd for helping my technicality and speed. Coach Bailey for challenging me and Coach Lester for pushing me each Monday practice. #TurtlePower!! Finally, Coach Osborne, my hurdle coach, taught me how to hurdle my first year and made me a top performer at the State level. Not only did she help me athletically, but she also taught me the importance of confidence. Again, thank you to each person that helped me get to this point of my life. All Glory Goes to God!! Once a General, always a General!” Following high school, Duterte will be pursuing her degree in Occupational Therapy at West Virginia University.
MEGAN SCARBERRY, MS, CPT, CNC POTENTIAL PLUS INSTRUCTOR AT TEAYS PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER INC.