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Leto Athletes Awarded ‘Athlete of the Week’ Honors by Florida Orthopaedic Institute

By March 12, 2019June 4th, 2019Athlete of the Week
Florida Orthopaedic Institute

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March 12, 2019
BY: Florida Orthopaedic Institute

Leto Athletes Awarded ‘Athlete of the Week’ Honors by Florida Orthopaedic Institute

Tampa, FL – Mar. 12, 2019 – Florida Orthopaedic Institute (FOI) is excited to announce Skyler Gill and Anthony Torres from A.P. Leto High School as the ‘Athletes of the Week’ for the week ending March 8th, 2019.

Gill, a softball senior, was nominated by Athletic Director, Babita Artabasy, for overcoming adversity and excelling through perseverance.

“Skyler transferred to Leto from Plant City in October after experiencing some rough situations,” Artabasy said. “After overcoming her obstacles, she has been excelling at Leto ever since. She had 15 strikeouts against Tampa Bay Tech on 2/21. ”

Gill has set tremendous goals for herself and believes in the value of a good work ethic to achieve success.

“My athletic goal this year is to get a scholarship at one of the colleges that have an interest in me,” Gill said. “On the other hand, my personal goals are to become a better teacher and leader. I have set these goals for myself since the beginning of my softball career. Being a talented player doesn’t make you the best player if you fail to work hard and help lead your team. My dad always told me that ‘hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard’. I have always dreamed of furthering my softball career to the collegiate level and I pray and work hard every day so that I don’t let that dream slip through my fingers.”

Artabasy also nominated junior soccer player Torres, for being a multi-faceted athlete and being flexible with his roles on the field.

“Anthony was asked to play a position this year that he hadn’t in the past,” Artabasy said. “He has accepted this with open arms and has been a great asset to the team. He is also a straight ‘A’ student.”

Moving to Florida from Cuba more than a year ago, Torres acknowledges the barriers he faces to both academics and athletics. He chose to meet those barriers head on and pursue his ambitions.

“I started playing soccer at six years old on the streets of Cuba,” Torres said. “My dream has always been to be part of a team. There weren’t many teams in Cuba. After moving to Florida and learning that my school had a team, I immediately wanted to join and would do anything possible to make it happen. I realize that I can use the opportunities I have now to help me get into college and get a great education. I want to continue to play soccer on a collegiate level.”

Torres and Gill both advocate for pushing boundaries and never settling when success is right around the corner.

“If you want to be or do something special,” Torres said. “You have to work hard at it every day. You cannot give up if things get tough. You have to try ever harder! In the end, hard work will pay off.”

Gill finished, “’You didn’t come this far to only come this far.’ To me, this quote means that you did not work your butt off to get to a place or goal just to plateau after achieving what you thought you couldn’t achieve. I believe that you should never settle for where you are and you should always strive to be better than who you were yesterday.”

Florida Orthopaedic Institute’s Athlete of the Week campaign is designed to focus on student-athletes, recognizing them for their hard work and dedication both on and off the field. The Athlete of the Week award can be earned by displaying one of the following characteristics:

Team Player: Athletes who are nominated for excellence in team play are chosen by a coach who feels the athlete does his or her best to put direction into action, makes a significant contribution to the team and continuously works to improve his or her skills, attitude and training.

Leadership: Athletes who earn the award in recognition of excellent leadership must exemplify strong relationship building skills, show excellent initiative and serve as role models for his or her peers.

To view last week’s award winners, please follow this link.

Florida Orthopaedic Institute

Founded in 1989, Florida Orthopaedic Institute is Florida’s largest orthopedic group and provides expertise and treatment of orthopedic-related injuries and conditions, including adult reconstruction and arthritis, chiropractic services, foot and ankle, general orthopedics, hand and wrist, interventional spine, musculoskeletal oncology, orthopedic trauma, physical medicine and rehabilitation, physical and occupational therapy, sports medicine, shoulder and elbow, spine and chiropractic services, among others. The organization treats patients throughout its surgery centers in North Tampa and Citrus Park, two orthopaedic urgent care centers in South Tampa and Brandon, and 9 office locations in Bloomingdale, Brandon, Citrus Park, North Tampa, Northdale, Palm Harbor, South Tampa, Sun City Center and Wesley Chapel. For more information, please visit: FloridaOrtho.com and ‘like’ us on Facebook: facebook.com/Florida.Orthopaedic.Institute.

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