Hard work pays off.
Not that she needed it, but Lexi Kilcoin received affirmation of that adage when she was named the WHME TV-46 Student-Athlete of the Week on Aug. 17.
“I didn’t even know I was nominated until my athletic director told me. She said I had the lowest average score the first eight matches of the season,” Kilcoin said. “Everyone knows how the basketball team does and the football team does, so she wanted to show how the other sports have very good teams. I wasn’t even expecting it. It was really awesome because it just shows that hard work really does pay off.”
Kilcoin traveled to Northridge High School in Middlebury, Ind., on Aug. 25 to receive the award.
Indiana Football Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Nagle presented Kilcoin with the award at halftime of the Northridge game against her own school, Saint Joseph.
“We went down there and Bob Nagle interviewed us,” Kilcoin said. “It was a cool experience because I had never been interviewed like that, let alone getting an award like that.”
The interview was played during halftime of the TV-46’s game of the week.
“It was interesting,” Kilcoin said of watching herself on TV. “You’re always worried about saying the right thing. It was kind of weird, but kind of fun because, ‘Oh, I’m on TV.’”
Winning the Student-Athlete of the Week Award was even more significant as Kilcoin was the first female golfer to win the honor in the South Bend city schools.
“My dad has always instilled in me that every little thing counts,” Kilcoin said. “Sometimes it’s like, ‘Do I really have to do this or do I really have to do that?’ Then you win an award like this and you find out you’re the first female golfer to win this award in the city of South Bend and it’s a pretty cool thing. Everyone can win the award but not everyone can be the first. It’s kind of cool.”
That award serves as additional inspiration for Kilcoin both in the classroom and on the golf course.
“I’ve always known that hard work is something important, but sometimes it is hard to stick with it,” she said. “Winning that award and thinking back to what it took to do the work makes me want to work harder.”