SUBWAY FEATURED STUDENT: JOELYN FERNANDEZ, ST. MICHAEL’S

Joelyn Fernandez comes from a family of athletes.

“Everyone does sports in my family,” she said.  “My dad is the football coach at St. Michael’s. My sister Jocelyn played college basketball in Weatherford Texas.  My brother played football, my mom played softball in college.  My two older sisters both played basketball, they both ran track.”

Sometimes it’s tough for Joelyn to keep up.  “It’s tough because they’re all good, every single one of them.  I just push to be the best.”  So far, Joelyn’s done pretty well.  She helped St. Michael’s win a state volleyball title in the fall, capping off a 23-2 record. “It was honestly so much fun,” she recalls.  “We were a family.  We had a really great coach (Valerie Sandoval) and she encouraged us to be the best and it was so much fun.”

“It took a lot of hard work. We worked every single day for two hours.  Every Saturday we were in the gym in the morning working.  We ran two miles every day or go on long runs.  It was rough, but it paid off.”

This winter she suits up for the basketball team.  “Right when we came into basketball season I was in shape, but not basketball shape. We had two-a-days starting basketball. It was rough, I was tired, I was drained but it keeps me going and not get lazy.”

In the spring, her focus will turn to track.  As if competing in three sports and keeping up with her family wasn’t enough, Joelyn is also involved in student council.  When she wraps up her high school career, she would like to study sports medicine or forensic science.