BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — This week's First Student Super 7 Athlete of the Week is not only one of the brightest stars in all of Section VI, but the Division I hopeful also finds time to give back to the next generation.
Iroquois junior Kendall Hulsman stands above her competition. At 6'8' tall, she literally towers over everyone on the court.
“She can play. She’s got ability, and I’ve never had anyone that big and could play so well," coach Stephen Sokolski said.
Hulsman enters her fourth season playing Varsity for Iroquois as one of Section VI’s brightest stars. But learning how to utilize that height to her advantage didn’t always come easily.
“I felt like the main thing was a lot of coordination early on. I wasn’t the most coordinated person," Hulsman said.
But once Hulsman got that down, she became a force on the court. Averaging close to 25 points and 20 rebounds a game, she just recently surpassed 1,000 career rebounds.
WATCH: First Student Super 7 Athlete of the Week: Iroquois' Kendall Hulsman
“I mean, she owns the boards out there. She scores 26 a game and pulls down 18 (rebounds) a game," Sokolski said.
“Rebounding is always something you can control and how much effort you put into that because you might be having a bad day if your shots aren’t falling, but you can control your effort, and rebounding is mostly effort," Hulsman said.
Control the controllables. That’s a rare mindset for such a young up-and-coming player to have. Which is why Hulsman volunteers her time to share that perspective on the game with the next generation.
“So we have every Saturday, we call them the ‘Super Hawks’, they come in. We have stations, and we go around doing shooting, passing, defense and rebounding. It’s really cool to see the younger girls. I think it's second through sixth grade," Hulsman said.
With Division I schools already recruiting the Western New York standout, we have a pretty good feeling Hulsman is on the right track.
“The sky’s the limit," Sokolski said.
