The562’s coverage of Avalon Athletics is sponsored by Curtin Maritime.
Perfecting the skills of one high school sport is tough, let alone multiple—but few athletes understand that better than Aubree Figueroa.
The Avalon senior has refused to back down from any challenge, rising to the top of her teams in four different sports throughout her high school career. Figueroa most recently added basketball to her resume this past winter and now boasts First Team All-League honors in all four: basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball.
“This island is really small, and there’s not really much else to do here than play sports,” Figueroa explained. “If you’re not doing a sport then you’re probably working, but I just loved playing sports and staying active. It’s always given me something to do, and I don’t really mind not having much free time.”
Take it from her coaches, who not only admit she’s gifted athletically, but also point to her determination to learn and her willingness to be coached. Basketball is the latest example, the newest sport Figueroa added in her senior year. She hadn’t picked up a basketball since middle school before deciding to play again this past winter, and she admittedly struggled at first.
“I just felt like every other sport came so freely to me up until that point, and so I wanted to challenge myself for that reason to do more with myself,” she said. “I was new to basketball so I was still learning a lot, and in the beginning I did get frustrated with myself. My coach really took his time to explain stuff to me and he was a main part in making it easier on me.”
Figueroa was receptive to all the help from her new basketball coach and soon stepped in at point guard for the Lancers, a fitting role given the type of leader she is. She also served as the softball team’s leading pitcher and the volleyball team’s setter, taking on a top role in every sport she played while impacting those teams beyond just her athleticism.
“I usually don’t take a first-time senior, but it was just her maturity,” said Avalon girls’ basketball coach David Hart. “I told her she might not even play, and the fact that she came in and not only played but kept these girls together says a lot. She came in focused every single day and kept everyone accountable, most importantly herself. She’s so coachable and accountable that she ended up becoming a captain for my team.”
Much of her competitive nature is credited to her twin sister, Alyssa. The pair pushed each other to become the best athletes possible, and Figueroa says her sister’s success across every sport in middle school inspired her to work her hardest. Even though Alyssa was held back before they reached high school, Figueroa says she still looked up to her despite being a grade ahead.
The two were always placed in the same sports growing up by their mother, Evelyn, who raised them as a single parent. Figueroa never saw having a single parent as a negative and instead used it as motivation.
“It definitely made me the person I am today,” she said. “All I’ve always wanted to do was just make my mom feel proud. I haven’t always been the best student academic-wise, so I knew if there was something else I could be good at I would do it. So having my mom up at all my games watching me do my best and see me being the best athlete was really big for me growing up.”
Figueroa notably went back to her coaches and credited them all for her success. She also credits the Island, as well as the city of Avalon, for shaping who she’s become as she prepares to head off to Long Beach State next year, where she plans to stay in the sports world by majoring in sports administration.
“I’ve just learned to really be grateful for my surroundings. As I get ready to leave for college I’ve just really made it a point to live in the moment and take advantage of it, because time passes by so fast that sometimes you don’t even realize it,” she said. “This is a small community but they’ve still offered me so much, and I think there’s so much more to it than just a small island.”
She leaves Avalon as arguably one of the best athletes the school has ever seen, but it’s the traits behind that which will shape her for the rest of her life—even beyond sports.
“It’ll be really sad giving up sports, but I told myself at the beginning of this year that I didn’t want sports to determine who I am,” Figueroa said. “I want to push myself to do something outside of sports and learn how to get good at something new, and I want to give myself the chance to really focus on school and be the best student I can be.”
