She doesn’t like to brag on herself, so we’ll do it for her

When Kaprina Goodwin found out that a school board member was putting together an article on her for the Colville Statesman-Examiner, she went straight to Northport volleyball coach Terry Carlson.

Goodwin wanted to know if Carlson was putting together a story, and if so, if it was mostly about her.

“She wanted to make sure it was about the whole team, not just her,” Carlson said. “That’s the biggest thing with Kaprina – she’s extremely humble.”

She’s also extremely talented. A standout volleyball, basketball and track star, the Northport senior has every reason not to be humble.

But she is shy to even talk about herself over the phone.

She’d rather talk about her team.

“They are awesome,” she said. “We have skill and personality to go along with it, and I really just love my team. This year has been so awesome for us. We play so well together.”

Goodwin has the ultimate resume – athletically and academically.

The 6-foot outside hitter leads the undefeated Mustangs volleyball team in kills, passed her 1,000 career-point mark as a junior last season in basketball and collected State 1B titles in all four events she competed in during track season last year – long jump, triple jump, 100- and 300-meter hurdles.

She’s also boasts a 3.9 GPA, is a top 10 state finalist for the Wendy’s High Heisman Award (state winners, one boy and one girl, will be announced Monday), and has orally committed to play her favorite sport – volleyball – at Gonzaga University next year, where Carlson believes she will fit right in.

“She’s very hard working, she listens to what you tell her to do and does it,” Carlson said. “In games she’ll listen to where I’m telling her to hit and find the holes. She’s a good thinker.”

“I’ve had three years of really hard-working volleyball players, but the biggest thing (about Kaprina) is that she has the physical as well as mental ability, and not just in volleyball. She’s a star at everything she does.”

The most important things in Goodwin’s life, however, don’t involve the spotlight. Continuing to play her favorite sport, being close to home so her parents can still watch her matches, and finding time in between a crazy schedule to relax are what Goodwin values.

Up next for Goodwin and the Mustangs is a match against Odessa on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Northwest Christian. The winner will earn a No. 1 seed to the State 1B tournament on Nov. 8-9 at the Yakima SunDome.