Head’s up

By Ken Hamwey/ Sports Correspondent

Friday, February 10, 2006

Kate Fox is truly inspiring.

    The Franklin High three-sport athlete is dedicated and motivated whether it’s playing soccer, basketball or lacrosse. She also uses those two attributes to excel in the classroom as an honor-roll student.

    Last week, the 5-foot-10 senior signed a letter of intent to attend Marist College where she’ll play soccer on scholarship at the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., school.

    None of the above may sound "inspiring" but consider this -- Fox suffers from dyslexia, a learning disability that forces her to process words and information for hours at a time.

    "Homework may take an average student two hours but for me it’s more like five hours to get the studying done," Fox said. "When I see words, they appear scrambled or backwards. When a teacher asks a question in the classroom, I need time to break down the words before I can provide an answer."

    For the last four years, Fox has attended a special reading class at Franklin High and has met with a tutor once a week.

    "Sometimes I get frustrated but I do what I have to," Fox said.

    That effort has enabled the 17-year-old to get A’s and B’s on her report card and attain honor-roll status.

    In the athletic arena, Fox’ effort is not only outstanding, but also instinctive.

    A four-year veteran in soccer, she was chosen the Panthers’ MVP last fall and was named to the Hockomock League all-star team. She also scored the winning goal in the second overtime to give Franklin a 1-0 victory over Newton North in the prelim game of the state tourney.

    "Soccer is my favorite sport," Fox said. "I like it because it’s fast and you have to react quickly. As a forward, I like to read the defense and pass where the opponent is vulnerable."

    Fox had 10 goals and 14 assists for coach Tom Geysen’s squad last fall.

    "I’m so pleased for Kate’s success," Geysen said. "She’s worked so hard over the four years with us and there’s no doubt we wouldn’t have done as well as we did without her. I moved her from forward to midfield most of the season and she adjusted very well."

Fox plays forward for the basketball team and is a midfielder in lacrosse.

    Fox also plays soccer year-round for a club team (Charles River United of Hopkinton), basically as a forward and goalie. She led the team to countless tourney triumphs and even traveled with the squad to England.

    Fox doesn’t include her MVP award, her all-star recognition or her winning goal in the tourney as her top thrills at Franklin. Her teammates and coach (Geysen) are what matters.

    "All those things are fine but just enjoying a close-knit spirit with my teammates and having a great coach really are what’s rewarding," Fox said.

    Aggressive in all three sports, Fox says: "I want to win, but if we lose and I give a maximum effort, there’s no disgrace."

    In spite of her dyslexia, Fox had college offers to attend Seton Hall, Union, St. Anselm’s, St. Joseph’s and Sacred Heart. Marist, however, is just right.

    "Marist has an excellent program for learning difficulties and I might even major in that area," Fox said.

    Fox has had her share of hurdles and barriers to overcome. A broken ankle in his junior year that forced her to the sidelines in all three sports at Franklin didn’t deter her progress. Or her return.

    Fox has been challenged often but she’s coped, maintained patience and worked diligently in both her academic and athletic life.

    Kate Fox doesn’t think she’s a role model.

    But she is, and Marist College will soon discover it has a gem in this young adult.

Article reprinted from the

The Call

Monday, January 9, 2006

SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Franklin’s Fox back on track this year

BILL KOCH, Call Sports Writer    01/09/2006

FRANKLIN -- For six months, Franklin High's Kate Fox was confined to the sidelines.

A three-sport athlete, Fox broke a bone in her left foot late during her junior season on the soccer field and was reduced to needing crutches and a walking boot just to get around. Here was a young woman who had known nothing but speed and agility while playing soccer as a striker and center midfielder. She also played basketball and lacrosse for the school and now she was stuck sitting in a chair next to her coaches, rooting for her teammates and longing just to be able to run with them again.

 "The injury was probably the biggest eye-opener," Fox said. "I'm not invincible. I get hurt. You've got to work through it. I could get injured at any time, so I might as well work my hardest. You've got to go all out."

Franklin girls basketball coach John Leighton noticed the change in Fox right away this season.

"I think that the injury really molded her," he said.

Now, just one year later, Fox has made her dreams of playing Division I college soccer come true just by signing her name on a piece of paper. After those months of rehab and suffering in silence, Fox enjoyed a terrific senior season on the pitch and recently signed a National Letter of Intent accepting a partial scholarship to play at Marist in the fall. She chose from a group of schools that also included Seton Hall, Saint Joseph's and Sacred Heart.

"It's always what I've wanted since I was 4," Fox said. "I've wanted it for so long. I never wanted to settle for anything less."

Fox can be found during the winter on the basketball court for the Panthers, where she is not the team's star. Leighton describes his lone senior as a "starter and a role player" who is willing to do just about anything to make the team successful. That drive and level of selflessness makes Fox The Call Female Scholar Athlete of the Week.

The Panthers are currently 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the tough Hockomock League, in no small part due to Fox's leadership. She's the one who has to gather the team together after tough defeats and snap them out of their slump. Fox has to do it despite not being the top player on the team and not always being able to lead by example with her work on the floor. She has to do it mentally more than physically, something that can be a tall order for just about anybody. According to Leighton, Fox has handled the challenge well and without much motivation from him.

"She took that responsibility on her own," Leighton said. "We had a couple of tough losses last week to Mansfield and Oliver Ames, and she was the one who got the kids together. She's always positive."

"It's hard, but we have a great group of girls," Fox said. "It's easy to connect with everyone. It's a young team, so it's easy for everyone to build. I think we're going to have a great season and great seasons to come."

Fox's determination is evident from the level of soccer she plays. She's traveled to England, Las Vegas, Florida and North Carolina while playing year-round for Charles River United and has done it all while taking care of her academic responsibilities easily. She's an honor student at Franklin and participates in the Best Buddies program doing peer mentoring. She is also very involved with her local church, doing community service and volunteer work.

How does she find the energy to keep up with everything? Fox had a simple answer, something that people could live their lives by.

"You just have to work hard," she said, "and you'll be able to go places."

Reach Bill Koch at wkoch@woonsocketcall.com

©The Call 2006

t Newton South yesterday. (John Thornton photo)