Q&A: Longmont’s Sydney Wetterstrom on playing three sports, and her senior season
Athletes like Sydney Wetterstrom don’t come around very often. And in today’s world focused on sport-specialization, her type is becoming increasingly rare.
Wetterstrom, a senior at Longmont, is a three-sport athlete. Well, more accurately, she’s a three-sport star.
She’s committed to Michigan for volleyball, was a second-team all-state pick in 4A girls basketball last season, and also competed in three events at the state track meeting — placing second in the triple jump.
We caught up with Wetterstrom on Thursday.
Q: Senior year’s got to kind of feel different for you. Can you pinpoint what it is?
Sydney Wetterstrom: It feels different in the sense that it’s your last year. Every year prior to this, you’re like, “I can look forward to next year.” Like, if something were to go wrong, “Oh I always have next year.”
But this is my last year, and just knowing that after this I have a new start, and I know that I want to leave my legacy and some tradition for Longmont High School — the idea that you never give up and you’re always doing that extra repetition to get better. And just making sure that girls who come after me know that it’s an honor to play with the Trojan on your jersey.
It’s different because it is the last one. In year’s prior, I’ve given it everything I’ve got, but this year, I’m just going to really be scrappy and give it even more.
Q: Are you going to continue to play volleyball, basketball and track this season?
Wetterstrom: Yes. I actually had a tough decision. I played for a club team down in Monument, and in year’s past, they’ve allowed me to play multiple sports and they’ve worked with the schedule, but this year, they said, “It’s either volleyball or you don’t play for us.” And knowing that I am a three-sport athlete, and I take pride in that, I said, “I’m sorry, I can’t play for you if you’re going to restrict me like that.”
So I’m playing for a club about 25 minutes apart with a great coach and a great team, and I’m going to get the best that I can out of that. So that was a really tough decision for me.
Q: You’ve played on varsity for all three sports every year since you were a freshman. Your brother [Forrest Wetterstrom, a 2013 Longmont grad] did that as well, didn’t he?
Wetterstrom: He was varsity for everything except football his freshman year, when he was on JV. He did play some varsity playoff games.
Q: So that’s kind of a nice family legacy you guys have going there.
Wetterstrom: Yeah, and I have a younger sister who’s going to be a freshman this year. She has big shoes to fill, but she’s a tough kid and she’ll get it. Even if she doesn’t, she’s her own person and she should have her own thing.
Q: As far as volleyball goes, you guys have coach (Holli) Stetson back after a year away. How has that been?
Wetterstrom: It’s been really good. She sets the standard really high, even in open gyms where it’s a relaxed playing situation. But she just has that attitude and that mentality where we win, and we don’t get beat. It’s different to lose a game, but you should never get beat. Does that make sense?
If you give it your all and you lose, that’s acceptable, but if you are making silly mistakes and not fixing it and not adjusting, and you get beat, that’s where we need to take a step back and look at our goals and see how we need to improve on that.
I love coach Stetson, I think she’s an amazing coach. She has a really calm presence on the court, which I really admire. And she knows how to pump people up without being in their face and without being an aggressor.
Q: Do you guys have goals or ambitions for the season?
Wetterstrom: I think we could win regionals and make it to state. We have really good girls this year, and I think everyone has that mentality and that chip on their shoulder from last year. We want to win and we need to prove ourselves.
Q: You committed to Michigan last summer. How has it been not having to deal with the whole recruiting aspect?
Wetterstrom: Oh, I still deal with recruiting. (Laughs) I’ve gotten offers for basketball and track. Volleyball people kind of say, “Oh, I can’t really touch you,” but basketball people are like, “Hey, if that doesn’t work out, you can still come here.”
Q: Well, that’s got to be humbling and an honor that they’re still after you.
Wetterstrom: Oh, yes, it is. I really like knowing that I have opportunities elsewhere. Not that I’m looking forward to going anywhere but Michigan. I love Michigan. That’s where my heart is. It’s an amazing school. But you never know what’s going to happen. Say a family member gets sick and you need to stay home? It’s just nice knowing that you have options.
Q: Was it tough for your to choose to stick with only volleyball in college?
Wetterstrom: Yeah, it was tough, but I think I’ll have more success with that, for sure. And after college, there are more opportunities to play volleyball professionally. Not really in the States, but you can go overseas and travel. It’s just something that’s a great addition for that.
Q: You already mentioned last season, and losing in the regional round. What lessons do you guys take away from that season?
Wetterstrom: I think last year, we didn’t take advantage of practice. Our team chemistry wasn’t all there, and I think this year, we’re a lot more forgiving. Last year, we were kind of sensitive.
With a new coach [Thomas Hunter, now the coach at Poudre], we didn’t know what he expected from us or how to interpret him. And he did an amazing job, he taught me some great technical things. He’s an amazing, high-level coach. But I think we weren’t ready for that high of a level, in the group of girls. We were very inexperienced. I don’t think many people played club, and if they did play volleyball, it wasn’t their first priority.
Q: But going through that last year, aside from the motivation, some of those inexperienced girls will learn from playing at a regional.
Wetterstrom: Yeah, and I think the vibe I get from this year is totally different. I feel like we’re way more supportive this year even though the season hasn’t even started. It just seems like everyone is really trying to help each other, and we just see where a problem is on the court and adjust really well.
