Extra Effort: Union Pines senior Tyne Ross balances sports, success

Union Pines High School senior Tyne Ross has plenty of fans.

"Watch Tyne Ross and you'll see how awesome she is," head volleyball coach Felicia Marks said.

"She's every coach's dream athlete," head girls tennis coach David Wall added.

That might have something to do with how much she challenged herself this fall.

"Overwhelming to me and a lot of athletes I think, but Tyne handles all that pressure very well," Wall said.

Ross plays two sports, volleyball and tennis, which is normally not too big of a deal, except they're played in the same season.

"I just decided, this is my last year, I'm a senior, I might as well play both," Ross laughed.

That's a huge time commitment and logistically, a little hard to pull off, especially when matches overlap.

"So she comes running in the gym in her tennis uniform, grabs her volleyball jersey out of the tub, changes and she's on the court," Marks laughed.

"It was kind of hectic, I was kind of nervous at first, but I was like, you know I'm going to take it one day at a time, it'll all be okay, it'll all work out," Ross said.

She's heading to North Carolina A&T on a volleyball scholarship and in tennis she didn't lose a single set in the regular season.

"Managing everything is really extra effort for sure," Marks said.

"Being able to play these two sports this year, it really shows how supportive this community is. My coaches and my athletic director and my parents, just showing all their support," Ross said.

The feeling is mutual.

"She is kind and caring, compassionate and willing to help do anything you ask of her and that's rare," Wall said.

And that's why Tyne Ross is this week's winner of the Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award.