“The magic in life is finding what it is that you love… When you find that thing that you love then life makes sense… For me it was basketball.” – Kobe Bryant

Nicole Storck found her favorite sport when she was five years old. She started playing basketball 12 years ago and has never stopped loving it since then. Being an athlete for her means hard work and grit put in to achieve the goals she has as a person and to help carry the team. “It is an extreme honor to be able to play basketball at the level in which I do today and it is not something that I regret one bit,” she says. She loves the team aspect of the sport as well as the game in general. Storck says that as a team they are always having fun while trying to compete at their highest level possible; they make sure to push each other to be the best that they can be.

Storck says that she gets motivation from her inner drive to be better and work harder than  everyone else out on the court. “I feel as if a lot of my motivation also stems from my love of the sports as well.”

The person who inspires Storck to continue pursuing this sport is God. She says he’s gives her this amazing talent in the first place and she feels honored to be able to have the ability to play basketball and have fun while doing so.

As an athlete, Storck has a dream team is Team USA. She explains that the reason is because everyone at that level is good and has worked to get there, however she does not have any aspirations of playing at that level ever.  “The community and teams and experience just looks like it would be so much fun!” she says.

Storck’s dream is to compete at state in the next two years because it would be such a huge accomplishment as a team to change the banner in the gym from 1996 to 2022 and have another achievement up there.

When asked the question, “What would you say to your younger self?” Storck answered, “I would have to say to stick with it and don’t ever doubt yourself or your abilities because one day you will be great and will get recognized for all of the hard work you put into the sport.”

She advises the little kids who want to play basketball to never give up! Stick with the process and you will continue to grow. Storck says, “No matter how boring, hard, or struggling it can get, always remember it’s what makes basketball fun!”