ST. GEORGE — Desert Hills High School senior Julia Jacobsen excels at both volleyball and basketball, but she doesn’t choose a favorite. She’s all-in for both, it just depends on the season.
In this episode of “Performance Player of the Week,” Jacobsen joined host Mark Musgrave at the Thunderdome, the home volleyball and basketball floor at Desert Hills High School to talk about her success on and off both courts.
Learn more about “Performance Player of the Week” Julia Jacobsen in the media player at the top of this report.
Jacobsen’s favorite professional athlete is Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry.
“I just like how he’s always having fun when he’s playing,” Jacobsen said. “That’s something I try to do. I try to have fun when I’m out on the court.”
In her everyday life, she said she really looks up to her parents.
“They are just so kind and they are really good at making time for the important stuff even though they have such busy lives with so many kids,” Jacobsen said, adding that her parents are so supportive and come to all of her games.
On the volleyball court, Jacobsen is part of the flow of every point at her position as a middle blocker.
“I think my greatest strength is my court sense,” she said. “I can always see what’s going on around me, and I have a really good idea what I should do next. In the middle of the game, knowing what’s going on around me is really important.”
Being a part of both Thunder volleyball and basketball teams is a point of pride for Jacobsen.
“Last year we won region in both volleyball and basketball, so that was really exciting,” Jacobsen said. “This year we just barely won region in volleyball, and I’m looking forward to hopefully doing it in basketball again, too.”
No one is perfect, and Jacobsen said both her volleyball and basketball coaches would say there’s an area in which she could improve.
“I think they would tell me to be more aggressive sometimes,” she said. “I tend to be more passive and go in the background when I need to take more charge and step up a little bit.”
Jacobsen is a great example of a student-athlete, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average while earning all-region honors in two sports.
She said she has a piece of advice for young Thunder athletes.
“My favorite quote is, ‘Attitude is everything.’ And I think that’s so important in sports,” Jacobsen said. “If you have a good attitude you’re more coachable, you’re a better teammate, everything flows better for the team.”
Jacobsen looks forward to the upcoming basketball season and finishing out her senior year, then she said she hopes to go to Brigham Young University.
“My sister is there already, and we plan on having some pretty good intramural teams,” she said.
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