Washington-Wilkes’ Ally Hucke named Scholar Athlete of the Week

AUGUSTA, GA. (WJBF) – Ally is a softball and tennis star for the Tigers and was named 2022 Region Pitcher of the Year after leading her team to the Elite 8. In the classroom, she is in the top 5% of her graduating class as a member of the National Honors Society and the Interact Club. For her hard work in the classroom and on the field/court, Ally has been named this week’s WJBF Scholar Athlete.

Ally’s parents say she is an incredibly hard worker in everything she does. “She works hard in the classroom and on and off the field,” says Ally’s mom Jeri Pounds, “she went to pitching lessons since 4th grade so she’s always working.” Ally’s dad Cliff Pounds agrees noting many times where Ally would have to find extra time to study. “There have been a lot of times we had softball practice for 2 and a half hours, then get in the car for an hour, pitching lessons for an hour, then ride back home,” says Cliff, “she had times doing homework in the car to and from lessons, so she works really hard.”

Ally’s coaches admire her dedication as well and talked about the ways her leadership has benefited their teams. “I’ve known her since she was in 9th grade, says head softball coach DJ Martin, “you can just watch her every year she got better and better and she worked so hard. She wanted it and you can tell with the time she put on the mound and the time she dedicated to this team.” But Ally has definitely grown over her 4 years of high school and during that time she tried new things. “I was her softball coach in 9th grade, and it took me 3 months of convincing her to come out for my tennis team and she didn’t want to,” says tennis coach Lindsey Elias, “but she picked up a tennis racket and 2 weeks later she was the #4 man on my team because that’s her natural raw talent. It took a while for her to believe in herself, but she is now my #1 player and has been for 2 years.”

Ally will continue to play softball at Young Harris where she recently signed while studying early childhood education. A big congrats to Ally Hucke and her family!