Virgin Islands native Megan Hodge, the daughter of St. Johnian Carmen Samuel and St. Thomian Mike Hodge, was named the 2005-06 Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year earlier this month.
Hodge, a 6-foot-3-inch senior at Riverside High School in Durham, N.C., topped more than 385,000 female volleyball players across the country. She was also a four-time Pac 6 All-Conference pick, a two-time conference player of the year and the Gatorade North Carolina player of the year following both her junior and senior seasons.p> Hodge, whose father has been her assistant coach for the past two-and-a-half-years, said she decided to play volleyball out of the blue.p> Started Playing “Randomly”
“I started playing randomly in the seventh grade,” she said. “I didn’t really have an inspiration for playing. I just decided to tryout one day.”p> It’s a good thing that she did tryout, both for her North Carolina high school and for the sport of volleyball.p> Hodge is now in the running for the distinguished Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year, which will be announced this summer.p> “I was very surprised to get the Gatorade national player of the year award,” she said. “It’s a great honor, and I’m so glad to be put in a category with today’s best athletes.”p> The impressive athlete, and future Olympian-hopeful, has accepted a scholarship to Penn State, which she will attend in the fall.p> Heading to Penn State
“I decided to go to Penn State because I felt the most comfortable there,” said Hodge. “I had a lot of fun on my visit and the girls there were great. I compared all of my other visits to Penn State.”p> “The campus, coaches and gym were also some helpful deciding factors,” she continued. p> Hodge hopes to win a NCAA title during her college years.p> “I want to win a title at Penn State,” she said. “After college, I would like to play professionally overseas. Eventually, I’d like to compete in the Olympics—that is definitely my ultimate goal.”p> Parental Support
In addition to her innate ability, Hodge said that her parents have been a factor in her athletic success.p> “Support from my parents has helped me through a lot,” she said. “I got my work ethic, values and general respect for people from my parents. They raised me right and have always told me to do the right thing.”p> “They helped me realize how hard it is to be good, and how much harder it is to be great,” Hodge continued. “They always believed in me in anything I did and continue to do so.”p> Look out for more great accomplishments in the future from this native Virgin Islander.