By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — Los Fresnos Lady Falcons volleyball player Jennica Leal will continue her volleyball career at Dallas College North Lake.
“I am very excited,” she said Wednesday during a signing ceremony. “I feel that I have worked so hard, especially since middle school. I also did not think I wanted to play in college until the last game of my senior year. After that game, I just wanted to keep playing.”
Leal said the North Lake coach reminded her of coach Anissa Lucio, the coach of the Lady Falcons. During her speech, Leal thanked Lucio and wished she had another year with the volleyball coach at Los Fresnos.
“Jennica is an awesome player,” Lucio said. “I am so honored to have coached her, she is so coachable and very determined to get better. She always put the team first, and that is something you want in a student-athlete.”
Leal was the setter for the Lady Falcons, a selfless position at times, and an extremely important position offensively.
“She is going to be really successful in life,” Lucio said.
Academically, Leal is also a standout and has maintained a 4.0 GPA while at Los Fresnos. She plans to study kinesiology, with the hopes of becoming a coach.
“There are no words to describe how proud I am,” said Jennica’s mother Maria Leal. “(Leal) is very introverted, so the fact that she is doing this and stepping outside of her comfort zone to do it says a lot about her.”
The face of Leal’s father, Joe Leal, lit up when speaking about his daughter.
“I am looking forward to her future,” he said. “I know good things are coming. This is a huge steppingstone that will help her move on to greater things.”