Luke Sobota's instructors in kindergarten discovered how giftedhe was when they had students memorize Bible verses. While the restof the class finished one workbook during the year, Luke wentthrough three.
By the time he reached second grade, his teacher told his parentsthat Luke was blessed with a photographic memory.
But Darleen Sobota, Luke's mother, wasn't content with raising anacademic whiz kid. She taught him to embrace sports, believing he'dlearn more life lessons in athletics than he would by keeping hisnose in a book.
A former marathon runner who graduated from the Air ForceAcademy, Darleen Sobota began reading the Dayton Daily News sportssection to Luke when he was 4 years old, and he's invested just asmuch of himself in athletics as he has in academics.
Soccer, swimming
Ranked No. 1 in a senior class of about 650 at Beavercreek HighSchool with a 4.66 grade-point average, Luke was captain of the swimteam for the Beavers and was a defender and midfielder on the boysDivision I state runnerup soccer team last fall.
'You have to be balanced,' he said. 'If you get too obsessed withacademics, you might get overwhelmed and stressed out. And if youget too obsessed with sports, you'll forget about academics.'
Luke said he appreciates more than ever that early nudge towardsports.
'I'm really glad we got to the state final in soccer,' he said.'It was tons of fun, the whole entire journey. I know there weresome guys thinking about not coming back this year (seniors whodidn't think they'd play). But everyone is glad they did because itwas such an amazing experience.'
Darleen Sobota can't help but see the growth in Luke from histime in swimming and soccer.
'As he's gone through sports, we say he's learned the game oflife. ... He was given a lot of responsibility (as a former teamcaptain). He learned leadership. He learned a lot of timemanagement,' she said.
That time management skill has come in handy for Luke in anotherarea of his life: making room in his schedule for his girlfriend,Greeneview co-valedictorian Kylie Cook. Despite attending separateschools, the two have been dating since eighth grade and have helpedeach other in their studies.
Cook -- who played softball as a freshman and sophomore beforegiving it up to get a job to pay for a car -- has mastered Englishand history, while Sobota breezes through math and science.
'She edits my papers,' he said.
'And he puts math for me in simpler terms,' she noted.
Off to Ohio State
Cook and Sobota will attend Ohio State this fall and each hasearned about $9,000 in academic scholarships, which essentially willcover tuition. He'll major in chemical engineering and she injournalism.
They'll live on separate floors in Siebert Hall, an honors dorm,and they've already picked out roommates -- choosing a pair ofBeavercreek grads who share their love for sports.
'Luke said, 'I can't be in an honors dorm where all they want todo is talk about academics and study. I need someone who isbalanced,' ' Darleen Sobota said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or atdharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
