TENNERTON — In continuing to bring you the best sports coverage in Upshur County, the My Buckhannon sports department is pleased to bring you another edition of our weekly exclusive — Raising the Jolly Roger With…

In ‘Raising the Jolly Roger With…’ the My Buckhannon sports department will interview a senior student-athlete from Buckhannon-Upshur to get to know them better and what makes them tick both on and off the field. Don’t settle for cheap knockoffs.

Our student-athlete this week is Kiara Woods …enjoy!

1. Please list all the sports you have played at B-U and what year you played them? I have played basketball and lacrosse since my freshman year.

2. What has been your favorite athletic moment at Buckhannon-Upshur that you participated in? It’s extremely difficult to pick one specific moment. Being a part of athletics at Buckhannon was an amazing experience I will cherish for the rest of my life.

3. Describe your toughest practice at Buckhannon-Upshur. What sport and who was the coach? My toughest practice at Buckhannon-Upshur would definitely be during middle school basketball. My dad has always been a tough coach, but at this specific practice, he decided a fair punishment was to make me run double. (For reference, we already ran the length of a game every practice, which is 24 minutes.)

4. Do you have a favorite saying from one of your head coaches? I love all of the inspiring quotes Coach Rob Kittle sends us. They make me laugh more than anything because you can tell he randomly pulls them off of Google images, but they’re truthful nonetheless. He stresses how working as a team is essential to success.

5. What was or is your favorite class you have taken at Buckhannon-Upshur and who taught it? Why was it your favorite? My favorite class was Digital Imaging previously taught by Mrs. Wamsley. Working with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop is something I’m very interested in and helped me explore several career options before I decided.

6. What is your favorite thing about being a Buccaneer? My favorite thing about being a Buccaneer is performing in front of an extremely supportive community. I love the amount of pride every member of this community has in being a Buccaneer and how much they give to the athletic program.

7. If you were asked to play another sport, what would it be and why? I would most likely play volleyball. Everyone asks why I don’t play it already and it has always interested me.

8. Who is your hero and why? I have taken many pieces of inspiration and wisdom from people, but I have never had one specific hero. I do, however, aspire to be a hero to my younger self, someone she would look up to.

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? I plan on becoming a physical therapist.

10. What are your initial plans after graduating this spring? I plan on attending Alderson Broaddus and majoring in exercise science. I also will be playing lacrosse.

11. What question do you hate to answer? Who is your hero?

12. Who is the best athlete in your family? Both of my parents are very athletic. My mom has always been a phenomenal runner and my dad an excellent basketball player. They have both pushed me to be the athlete I am today.

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot? If so, where? My favorite vacation spot is Salvo in the Outer Banks. It’s less populated than some of the upper island and a destination the Reynolds family and mine have traveled to for years.

14. What is your favorite food and one thing you won’t eat? I am the opposite of a picky eater. I love trying new foods. I don’t have a favorite, but there are also very few foods that I won’t try.

15. What advice would you give to a young athlete ready to start his/her time as a Buccaneer. It is very important to remember to have fun. Sports are meant to be enjoyable; they aren’t supposed to feel like a job. It is easy to get lost in all of the criticism and lose confidence, which in turn takes away the fun. Strength training and injury prevention are also huge. Even though missing my senior season isn’t something I could have prevented, it may help someone else play through theirs.