Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Keira Kleidon has been successful both in the classroom and in athletics, despite the challenge of balancing her time.
“Before I started high school, I sat down with my parents and we discussed that it would be wise if I took a study hall my freshman and sophomore years,” Kleidon said. “I knew early in my career that sports were going to take up all my time after school, so every day I was sure to get as much work done as I could in my study halls.”
The strategy worked as Kleidon has fared very well in her classes while playing multiple sports. She has been on the varsity girls soccer and volleyball teams the last three seasons and also played varsity girls basketball her first two years.
“Honestly, my whole sophomore year was great,” said Kleidon, who will play volleyball collegiately at the University of Buffalo. “At that point I was a part of three varsity sports and each and every program was so different. I loved being with the older girls on every team, and I got especially close with the ones who played two of the three sports I was a part of.”
Here’s what else Kleidon, one of this week’s Wednesday Journal Spotlight Student-Athletes, had to say:
How soccer is faring this year with new coach Lauren Zallis: “As a team, we started the season off losing a couple of winnable matches, and everyone was kind of in low spirits. After some adjustments and position changes, we are starting to transform our season. … Playing for Coach Zallis has been great — she knows so much about the game, but more importantly she cares so much about us.”
Lessons learned at OPRF: “How to handle adversity. In every single program I’ve been part of, there’s been something to overcome. Whether it was a problem with the coaches, teammates, or myself, I always pushed through.”
Favorite food: “I really like Mexican and Italian food.”
Favorite music: Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, and Tame Impala.
In her free time: “I typically spend my free time hanging out with my friends.”
Famous person she’d like to meet: “Jennifer Lawrence because she’s funny and nice.”
Biggest issue teens face: “I think a lot of pressure is put on kids at such a young age and this can ruin their love for sports. Coaches have a bigger impact than they might think, and even one thing they say or do will have a deep impact on their players. Coaches want kids who play multiple sports to always choose their sport, but for me and many other kids, we need every opportunity we can get because we’re trying to get recruited for our main sport.
“This causes stress because our teammates and coaches on both teams need us and that leads to young kids making big decisions. I struggle a lot with mental health, and always expect more from myself. … My mental health was always put second; I’m needed on my teams for success. But I do find that on the weekends [when] I don’t have sports, I like to relax at home, and this really helps me reset and settle down.”
Three words that describe her: “Loyal, hardworking, and driven.”
