Clocking in the Best

By Brianna Sinclair

We welcome a new school year, but we continue with the same column of Clocking in the Best. We get to know two players a little more than how they perform on the field, court or track and interesting things about them. This week we looked into football and the women’s volleyball team to learn more about Matt Palma and Francie Shaffer.
Coming from Cheshire Connecticut, Matt Palma started his senior year of Panther Football this past Saturday; a win against Castleton, 23-17. This 6’2’’ offensive lineman has been playing on the team since his freshman year. He has since become a piece of the offense team and continues to show wall-blocking performances each game. When he’s not wearing his number 65 jersey on the field, Palma is out studying away for his degree in Physical Education. Get to know more about Matt Palma:
What made you get into football?
“I was always fascinated by the sport and once I started playing in 3rd grade I was hooked.”

Why did you choose Plymouth State?
“I liked the football team and how nice the campus was and looked.”

How has playing football in college been for you?
“It has been fun, I really enjoy the challenges it faces for me.”

What is your favorite thing about Plymouth?
“The people.”

What is your favorite thing about football?
“My teammates who have now become some of my closest friends.”

What is your favorite memory in your football career?
“Winning the MASCAC.”

Who is a team you look forward to playing and why?
“Westconn because I am from Connecticut.”

Who is someone you admire/look up to?
“My dad.”

What are three things you’d take on a desert island?
“A hammock, fishing pole and box of matches.”

What is your favorite song? Movie? Food?
“My favorite song is Gloria, movie is Wedding crashers and food is chicken parm.”

What is your dream job?
“Highschool football coach”

Where do you think you’ll be in 5 years?
“Hopefully at some school coaching and teaching.”

Francie Shaffer finds herself far from home. The Frederick Colorado native chose Plymouth State to continue her volleyball career. The junior studies psychology and law philosophy and throws on her 25 jersey on game days. Her freshman year she tallied 160 kills even and finds herself at almost half of that this season. Her highest hitting percentage was scored last season, .173, and is currently at .230. Her dig count is also something to write home about, grabbing 24 her freshman year, 31 last year and standing at 16 this year. Not even a third way through the season, 10/34 games competed in so far, it’s safe to say Shaffer is going to show another dominating performance. Get to know more about Francie Shaffer:

What made you get into volleyball?
“…I did Tae Kwon Do when I was younger and then started playing basketball, but none of my friends did either of those and I was in that pre-teen mode where I just wanted to be with my friends as much as I could, so that’s why I decided to try volleyball since all of my friends played.”

Why did you choose Plymouth State?
“I chose Plymouth state for two main reasons. The first has to do with the fact that I chose a school that’s 2,000 miles away from home, and the other has to do with the fact that when I came for my recruit visit during my senior year of high school, I had this gut feeling that this was where I needed to be… I had wanted to go out of state for college… Plymouth was the only school that was recruiting me for my secondary position (middle hitter) rather than my primary position (outside hitter) …after spending two nights here, I knew that this was where I wanted to spend the next four years of my life.”

How has playing volleyball in college been for you?
“Playing volleyball in college has been such an incredible experience… I was immediately acquainted with a group of girls who I didn’t know would become some of my closest friends throughout the rest of college… that made the transition from high school to college very easy.”

What is your favorite thing about Plymouth?
“the school size is definitely my favorite… can’t forget about the beautiful scenery that makes the campus so pretty in the fall.”

What is your favorite thing about volleyball?
“Being able to be a part of a team sport and have teammates who are also some of my closest friends that I can always count on to have my back on and off the court.”

What is your favorite memory in your volleyball career?
“My freshman year preseason here at Plymouth, we were working on hitting at practice and when I went to hit a ball and was coming back down, the momentum of my body kept carrying me downwards and I ended up smacking my forehead against part of one of the poles that isn’t covered by the pad, which left me with a giant goose egg on my forehead for a day. It’s one of my favorite memories because I had a good laugh about it and this was the moment that my team got to see that I’m pretty tough and that I don’t get embarrassed easily since I can find amusement in the clumsy things I do like that.”

Who is a team you look forward to playing and why?
“I, as well as the rest of my team, are really looking forward to playing Keene this year. We get to play them at home and are hoping to get a huge crowd for that match. In the preseason poll, we were voted 7th out of 9th teams… beating our rival Keene (who was picked 3rd in the preseason poll) would be a huge accomplishment for us.”

Who is someone you admire/look up to?
“I admire my best friend’s mom Jami Revielle. She was a social studies teacher at my high school and has helped me immensely with everything in my life since I met her daughter in middle school. I had a very difficult high school volleyball career, to the point that I considered not playing anymore, and she was the one who pushed me and told me to keep going because she knew that I can and will make it in college ball… I want to be just like her going out of my way to help and push others to their full potential.

What are three things you’d take on a desert island?
“I would say that I would take music, a knife, and some sort of water filtration device that I can use to filter the ocean water so that I would be able to drink it.”

What is your favorite song? Movie? Food?
“My favorite song is Love It If We Made it by the 1975… I don’t really have a favorite movie, but one of my top favorites is The Pursuit of Happyness. My favorite food is any kind of Mexican food.”

What is your dream job?
“I recently changed my career plans to wanting to go to law school after graduation, but I am not entirely sure the specifics about that.”

Where do you think you’ll be in 5 years?
“I have no idea where I’m going to be at the end of this school year, so it’s hard to think of where I’m going to be in 5 years. I’m hoping in 5 years I will have found a stable job practicing law somewhere, in a city where I will be looking forward to starting the next chapter of my life in.”