Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly

By Pat Neumuth Freeman Staff BROOKFIELD — Eight years ago, Dan Wandrey was watching a Junior Lancers girls basketball game when one player stood out above the rest. "Girls tend to be a little eas- ier to identify younger because they grow and mature early — even though she wasn't mature beyond her years," recalled Wandrey, who was the Brookfield Central High School girls coach for 16 years before accepting the boys coaching job for the upcoming season. "You could just tell she had all the skills at that age to play basketball. She had the size and a unique ability to handle the ball, pass, shoot and do all that stuff." Fast-forward to today and Lydia Rohde still has that "it factor" in basketball. Rohde capped her senior season on the hardwood as a first-team all-state pick, first-team all- conference pick and was selected the Greater Metro Conference's Shooter of the Year. Rohde is the school record holder in career assists, career 3-pointers made, 3- pointers made in a season and career 3-point and free-throw percentages. Rohde ranks sec- ond all-time in career points with 954. She averaged 14.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as a senior. Rohde dedicated the majori- ty of her time working on her basketball game, but she's not a one-sport specialist. Rohde used soccer as a way to stay fit for basketball. In her "off sport," Rohde garnered hon- orable mention all-state hon- ors and was a first-team All- GMC selection. That multi-sport success helped Rohde be selected The Freeman's 2013-14 Athlete of the Year. "She was pretty much a powerhouse in the middle of the field for us," Brookfield Central soccer coach Dan Makal said. "This year she primarily played defensive midfielder, and she anchored the defense." Coaches seemed to agree that while she is a talented athlete, Rohde's in-game IQ is what makes her a supreme talent. Makal said Rohde could see things on the field that most couldn't because she's a multi-sport athlete. Wandrey said the 5-foot-10 point guard always made good decisions. The type of player Rohde is makes her a respected player to opposing coaches, but she was also a thorn in their sides. "The biggest thing she had going for her was her leader- ship," Brookfield East basket- ball coach Michael Goodman said. "She knew the impor- tant time to take it to the hoop or the time to dish it out to somebody else. "I can remember very strongly from the game we actually beat them, she was the only one we were worried about down the stretch. Everyone else was worried about making a mistake because it was tight. She just took it to the rim and put them on their back. She's got that perseverance to put them on their back." Leadership is learned, and for Rohde it was no different. She said she was nervous in her first game on varsity as a freshman, but her home life prepared her for playing at the highest level right away. Rohde has three brothers — one older and two younger. "I like having brothers because they'd beat up on me, I guess," Rohde said. "That really helped a lot because they were really competitive and it made me competitive." It was mainly her older brother, Nate, who could push her around on the pavement outside their house. Rohde said she can still beat her younger brothers Sam and Andrew — who will be a sophomore and fifth-grader, respectively. She takes a lot of pride that she can beat her younger brothers, because they play together a lot. She will get less time to play basketball with her brothers in the years to come. Rohde arrived on campus at North- western University in early July, where she is prepping for the upcoming basketball sea- son as a walk-on. But even when Rohde was home during her high school years, it was tough to imagine her having any time outside of organized basketball in the winter and summer — and soccer in the fall and spring. "If she was ever (tired), she never showed it," Makal said when asked if Rohde ever seemed overworked. "If she was tired, she's the type of kid that would never complain about it. She always put her teammates before herself." Soccer played an important role in Rohde's basketball career. The two crossover well with spacing, angles and defensive principles. More importantly, soccer kept Rohde in shape for the basket- ball season. "I feel like everyone plays soccer as a kid, but I really enjoyed it. I played on a com- petitive team when I was young, and it made me really like it," Rohde said. "Sticking with it made it a nice break from basketball. As I got through high school, I'd do less and less (soccer), but I would make it as much as I could." Rohde said she will miss playing soccer. She liked how there are more players on the soccer field because it made it more of a team effort com- pared to how individualistic basketball can be at times. Makal said if Rohde would have dedicated herself to soc- cer, he thought she could have been a Division I player. "She's the type of player you wished you had on your team no matter what sport it is," Makal said. "She knows how to do things the right way. I think Lydia can achieve any- thing if she really wants it. Maybe she won't get the min- utes (at Northwestern), but the work ethic that she has is hard to match. I don't see her not succeeding at Northwest- ern." Email: pneumuth@conleynet.com Page 6A/Freeman Brookfield & Elm Grove SEPTEMBER 2014 Find reliable services, products and professionals inside our 2014 Fall Health & Wellness Directory. This one-stop, easy-to-use directory is a helpful resource fi lled with health-related articles and local directories. Coming in the October edition. Brookfield & Elm Grove T H I S M O N T H A Healthier YOU! 239839003 ARTISTAND DISPLAY 9 015 WEST BURLEIGH 414 442-910 0 artistanddisplay.com CELEBRATING 78 YEARS MWF 10-6:30 ∫ TUE & THUR 10-8PM ∫ SAT 10-5 ∫ SUN 12-4 LEARN BASIC DRAWING SKILLS WITH PAMELA SCESNIAK MEETS 5 TIMES INCLUDES SUPPLIES 5 TUESDAY AFTERNOONS 2:00 TO 3:30 or 5 TUESDAY EVENINGS 6:30 TO 8PM SEPT 9 THRU OCT 7 $105.00 BASIC CLASS WITH PAMELA SCESNIAK INTRODUCES YOU TO A VARIETY OF BASIC ACRYLIC TECHNIQUES FROM GLAZES TO HEAVY IMPASTO MEETS 5 TIMES INCLUDES SUPPLIES 5 THURSDAY 1:30 TO 3:30 or 5 THURS EVE 6:00 TO 8:00PM SEPT 11 THRU OCT 9 $140.00 INTRO TO ACRYLIC BASIC DRAWING EXPERIMENT WITH A VARIETY OF MEDIUMS & TECHNIQUES. MEETS 5 TIMES WITH PAMELA SCESNIAK INCLUDES SUPPLIES 5 WED MORNINGS 10:30AM TO 12:30PM SEPT 10 THRU OCT 8 $128.00 ART DEMOS EVERY SAT & SUNDAY 1 TO 3 FREE PAINT A UNIQUE ACRYLIC PORTRAIT OF YOUR PET WITH PAMELA SCESNIAK. AGES 10 THRU ADULT. GREAT FAMILY CLASS INCLUDES SUPPLIES SUNDAY OCT 12 12:30 TO 3PM $39.00 ABSTRACT ART ZENTANGLES LEARN ABOUT THIS ART FORM OF DRAWING REPETITIVE PATTERNS AS A WAY OF MEDITATION.THE DESIGNS DEVELOP INTO SOMETHING UNIQUE AND BEAUTIFUL WITH CZT TEACHERS DON McCOLLUM & JOYCE BLOCK INCLUDES SUPPLIES MONDAY EVE OCT 13 6:00 TO 8PM $39.95 AFTERSCHOOL ART FOR KIDS AGES 8-13 CARTOON 5 TUESDAYS ∫ 4:15 TO 5:45 SEPT 30 THRU OCT 28 $90.00 INCLUDES SUPPLIES DRAWING & PAINTING 5 TUESDAYS ∫ 4:15 TO 5:45 NOV 4 THRU DEC 2 $99.00 INCLUDES SUPPLIES MEET ARTIST & URBAN SKETCHER DON COLLEY DON RETURNS TO SHOW YOU HIS AMAZING SKETCHES AND INSPIRE YOU WITH TIPS ON HOW HE USES FABER CASTELL DRAWING SUPPLIES SAT SEPT 6 1 TO 3PM PET PORTRAIT SALE ON ART SUPPLIES THRU OCTOBER 19 FREE DEMO Shown: Chicken Cashew Salad Based on purchase at regular menu price. Please no substitutions. Not valid with any other offer. Value 1/200 cent. Limit one coupon per person per visit. Valid only at SDUWLFLSDWLQJ&XOYHU·VUHVWDXUDQWV([SLUHV6WRUH Brookfield - 21300 W. Capitol Dr & 3705 N. 124th St Elm Grove - 15280 W. Bluemound Rd Show own: Double Deluxe ButterBurger® Based on purchase at regular menu price. Please no substitutions. Not valid with any other offer. Value 1/200 cent. Limit one coupon per person per visit. Valid only at SDUWLFLSDWLQJ&XOYHU·VUHVWDXUDQWV([SLUHV6WRUH Brookfield - 21300 W. Capitol Dr & 3705 N. 124th St Elm Grove - 15280 W. Bluemound Rd Shown: 2-Scoop Raspberry Sundae Based on purchase at regular menu price. Please no substitutions. Not valid with any other offer. Value 1/200 cent. Limit one coupon per person per visit. Valid only at SDUWLFLSDWLQJ&XOYHU·VUHVWDXUDQWV([SLUHV6WRUH Brookfield - 21300 W. Capitol Dr & 3705 N. 124th St Elm Grove - 15280 W. Bluemound Rd Shown: Mini ni Cookie Dough Concrete Mixer Based on purchase at regular menu price. Please no substitutions. Not valid with any other offer. Value 1/200 cent. Limit one coupon per person per visit. Valid only at SDUWLFLSDWLQJ&XOYHU·VUHVWDXUDQWV([SLUHV6WRUH Brookfield - 21300 W. Capitol Dr & 3705 N. 124th St Elm Grove - 15280 W. Bluemound Rd 2 3 5 9 2 5 0 0 1 At a glance Who: Lydia Rohde What: Brookfield Central High School graduate who was select- ed The Freeman's 2013-14 Ath- lete of the Year Age: 18 Family: father, Kevin; mother, Sharon; brothers, Nate, who attends Marquette University; Sam, who will be a sophomore at Central, and Andrew, who will be a fifth-grader. Basketball accomplishments: Rohde was a first-team All- Greater Metro Conference pick and a first-team all-state selection as a senior. She is the school's career record holder for 3-point and free-throw percentages, 3- pointers made and assists. Her 954 career points rank second all-time at Central. Soccer accomplishments: Rohde received honorable men- tion all-state honors and was a first-team All-GMC selection as a senior. Future: Rohde will play basket- ball at Northwestern University Central grad an all-state pick in basketball, soccer 2013-14 FREEMAN FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: LYDIA ROHDE, BROOKFIELD CENTRAL Rohde's talent noticeable early on Freeman file photo Brookfield Central graduate Lydia Rohde holds several school records following four years with the varsity basketball team.

• Cover