Inglewood junior Caelyn Cambridge manages her life as a student athlete with confidence and drive.
“I’m awesome,” Cambridge said. “I sort of brag about myself because who else is gonna brag for you? You have to do it for yourself.”
Cambridge plays softball and basketball for the Sentinels. Basketball has been a sport that she always loved playing; she also wanted to try out softball. The coaches of the girls’ basketball team instilled in the players the importance of taking responsibility for their actions.
“Basically, it’s training for the real world. You’re late to practice, it’s equivalent to being late to your job,” Cambridge said. “They wanted to ensure to instill good values, make sure we’re well rounded.”
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The coaches held Cambridge accountable often; that was one of the factors that helped her improve.
“I increased my speed for sure, I got tougher, it built a lot of character for me,” she said. “I was a bit of a troubled kid at first, but I pushed through, and I was one of the best in the end.”
The basketball team also saw that Cambridge had leadership qualities and they gave her opportunities to be a leader.
“Our best player’s a senior, so they were looking at me, they were like “that’s you next year,”” Cambridge said. “They wanted me to lead in some games. They would have her sit out for a minute and have me take over and take the reins.”
Cambridge works hard to do well in everything that she does, however, it sometimes leads her to be too hard on herself and become frustrated.
“I put my heart and soul into it, so [if] I’m not performing at my absolute best, I might get a little bit mad,” Cambridge said. “It was difficult, but I stayed on it and I got way better.”
Cambridge knows how to prioritize her studies in a way that allows her the time to hone her athletic skills.
“Usually, I make sure to get everything done in class,” she said. “After that, it’s free time. I go get some extra practice in, I can stay later.”
Her favorite classes are Spanish and English. She noted how her teacher’s dedication to the subject matter has a positive impact on the quality of learning.
“They put so much of their heart into it, you can feel it,” Cambridge said. “I prefer a class where you know you can tell a teacher’s there because they care.”
Outside of playing for the Sentinels, Cambridge competes for the Dodgers Dream Team at Darby and Edward Vincent parks. Along with being an athlete, Cambridge can play seven different instruments.
“I play guitar, I play base guitar, I play piano, flute, drums, recorder, harmonica and I also sing,” she said. “I’m self-taught for all of those.”
In the future, Cambridge has several plans and goals. One of her goals is being an air traffic controller.
“I like to watch planes, I do that off my balcony,” she said. “I’m in the flight paths, I can look at it with my binoculars and I write down each airline so even my dreams are in the stars already.”
