Basketball is just one part of Caitlin's all-around great game.

When athletes make the news, it's often only the stars of a team who grace the sports pages. But all athletes, no matter how successful, started small, usually on their school's j.v. team.

That's where you'll find Mars (Pa.) Area High School's Caitlin Wessel. The 5'11" sophomore forward is in her second year on the Fightin' Planets' team and is working hard to move her way up the basketball ladder toward varsity.

"She's only a sophomore, but she has nice size and good overall knowledge of the game," says her Head Coach Dana Petruska. "And even though she's not a prominent player yet, she puts a lot of time into the game. Everyday she comes to practice ready to practice. She's not somebody whose back you constantly have ride to get her to perform. And I think that's important. Some athletes are just really self-motivated, and I think she's one of them."

That same self-motivation is evident off the court, where Caitlin is also working to make a difference. In addition to the three other sports Wessel competes in (volleyball, softball, and swimming), she has excelled on the academic front, receiving numerous scholastic awards. If that weren't enough, Caitlin is also extremely active in her community and school.

For three years she has participated in the Adopt-A-Grandparent program through her church youth group, and last year she helped organize her community's Special Olympics events. She has also taken part in Habitat for Humanity projects, gives back to athletics by serving as a junior softball umpire in her community league, and at school, Caitlin serves as a peer mediator, helping fellow students negotiate through their disagreements. In fact, Wessel has showed so much initiative that, last year, a local newspaper listed her as a nominee for its Outstanding Young Citizens Award.

But according to Caitlin, the program that means the most to her is the latest one she's joined. "If I could only stay involved in one volunteerism project, it would probably be this new one I'm doing this year," she says. "I'm tutoring the elementary kids after school, and that's been a lot of fun. It's really nice because they look up to you, listen to you, and rely on you to know what you're doing and talking about. It's just nice to be able to help the younger kids coming up."

With all these obligations, one might wonder how Wessel can stick with basketball as well. But Caitlin says that basketball actually helps keep her from getting too overwhelmed by all of her other activities. "The great thing about basketball is you get to take your aggressions out. It's like a contact sport, only you don't get injured as much. But I love it because it's just so much fun to play."

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