By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

After playing six sports in her St. Cloud High School career and earning 16 career varsity letters, Diana Martinez closes the book on that part of her career.

It’s a good time to do that, as the next chapter is about to start — Monday.

That’s when one of the Bulldogs’ most versatile athletes of all time begins conditioning drills at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, where she recently signed a scholarship to play soccer and basketball.

Her attitude toward early-season conditioning is unique, much like her approach to sports while in high school — she’s good at everything.

“I’m looking forward to conditioning, I actually love it,” Martinez said. “The coaches there were kind of surprised to hear someone say that.”

Martinez signed rather late in the going for an outgoing high school senior because of the number of offers she got, in a number of sports.

“My mom didn’t want me to sign until the summer, because she didn’t want me to jump at the first offer I got, and we both wanted to weigh all options,” she said.

Tennessee Temple is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association.

Kenrick Liburd will coach both programs Martinez plays for.

A handful of Florida schools sought her for track — Martinez threw the shot put and discus for four years and went to multiple state track meets. She played soccer her first three years – that sport is her true love – but she said schools backed off when she chose not to play her senior year. Instead, she lettered in basketball for the first time.

Martinez also played four years of flag football, three years of boys varsity football (she was the first female to score in the county with a PAT against Osceola in 2007) and softball for part of her senior year. She averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs basketball team under Coach Shanel Davidson.

As St. Cloud’s lone senior, she earned a spot on the inaugural county East-West All-Star Game March 27. Martinez scored 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds in a 43-40 East win. She was named the game’s MVP.

Tennessee Temple coaches were in attendance. They weren’t the only ones impressed with Martinez and her (what should have been raw) talents. Osceola Coach Barner Cooks, who founded the event, about jumped out of his skin.

“The more I learn about her the more I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” he said. “She’s the best athlete in the county, and my mind wants to think about the player she’d be if she just played basketball.”

When Martinez visited the Chattanooga school in June, she said she played in a scrimmage that included some of TTU’s assistant coaches.

“One of them said, ‘You can’t stop her on a drive, we need to have her here,’” she said. “They said they were impressed with my athleticism.”

Martinez said she must develop her basketball skills to compete at the college level.

“I need to develop an outside game, and I know I need better court vision, but being used to soccer, the court’s so much smaller so it’s easy to know where everyone is.

“They’re going to have five seniors, so I’ll probably be on the bench a lot at first, which is fine. I will get to learn.”

Davidson said it was important for Martinez, with her wealth of athletic talent, to sign a college scholarship somewhere.

“I knew just being a college student wouldn’t work for her,” she said. “As a basketball player, she was learning her shot over the course of the season, and the ones she missed, she got many of her own rebounds.

“Her first year there will definitely be a learning experience. She won’t play as much inside as she did here. She will have to learn to play as a ball-handler.”

Martinez said that, even though they only worked together for one year, Davidson was probably the most responsible for getting her to the next level.

“Before, I’d just goofed off with it. I was just a rebounder, I’d kick it out to people who’d been playing all their lives,” she said. Playing in the all-star game with great players made me realize how much fun it is.

“Coach has been like a big sister to me, she worked extra with me on my game at lunch and helped me with my signing.”

Basketball season will start in the winter – right after the fall soccer season.

“(TTU) brought me in to play basketball, but then they heard about my soccer stats,” she said. “Since I signed, my old soccer coaches have been calling, telling me that of everyone I played with around here, I’m the one who should be playing soccer at the next level.”

She said that the coaching staff would put her in the mix to earn the starting center midfield spot, the same position she played in her last two years at St. Cloud. The Lady Bulldogs won the Orange Belt Conference title each of her three years on the pitch.

Martinez said she worked out a little bit with a soccer ball before visiting TTU, expecting to knock rust off her game, and found none.

“I wasn’t sure if the skill level would be there, but my shot and my footwork were just like I remember,” she said. “I’ll always find room for improvement. I need to get faster.”

Martinez knows that being a multi-sport college athlete won’t be easy, but she said she won’t have to look far for a reference on how to do it.

“I met my roommate and she’ll be playing soccer and basketball, too,” she said.