Northville Patch's Whiz Kid: Avery Allman

: Avery Allman, 16

School: Junior at

Accomplishment:  Being selected as starting goalie for the girl's hockey team as a junior.

Key to Awesomeness: Allman wears many different hats, all of which require a lot of her time. Her trick?

"It’s just learning how to manage your time, which I’m still working on," she said. "It’s just motivation to know that high school's going to pay off when I go to college."

Allman is a member of the National Honor's Society, studies at least 10 hours a week and works a part-time job. In her free time, she plays piano and indluges her love of hockey, which she learned to play for the first time as a freshman.

"I like the competition," she said.

That's why she's willing to play two games a week plus attend practice to hone her skills. She also went to junior varsity and varsity practices in her freshman and sophomore years, went to goalie camps and generally tried to get in shape, she said. Her biggest thrill came when she learned the effort earned her a spot as the starting goalie for her team. 

"I worked really hard. I’m really proud of it," she said, adding that many people don't know the high school has a club hockey team.

"They’re usually really surprised. They say 'We didn’t know there was a girls hockey team,'" she recalled. "A lot of people tell me that I don’t look like I play hockey."

After she graduates from high school, Allman plans to attend college but doesn't have her heart set on any particular one yet. But she does know she'd like to pursue her interest in English literature.