PALATINE, Ill. – Most days can get pretty long for Monica Hinderer (Rolling Meadows, Ill., The Willows Academy).  On a typical day, she attends a few classes in the morning before getting some rest before her first practice of the day, with the women's soccer team.  From there, Hinderer heads to the gym for a workout with the women's basketball team.
 
“I'm taking 17 hours while juggling two teams,” Hinderer said.  “Sometimes it's overwhelming but I really like it.”
 
That schedule will settle down soon as the soccer season winds down, but Hinderer's extra work has been the women's soccer team's gain.  The goalkeeper has been a consistent presence as the team's last line of defense and her impact on the team is the reason she has been selected as Harper College's eighth Athlete of the Week.
 
“She's consistent,” said head coach Dwayne Cruz.  “When she comes to practice, she works hard every day,” Cruz said.  “Her work rate is consistent every week.  That's been huge for us because she brings it every day.  I never worry if she's going to be there to play.”
 
The plan all along was for Hinderer to play her first-love, basketball, in the winter.  Sancha Ogden (Hanover Park, Ill., Hoffman Estates) and Mitshi Ishioka (Carlsbad, Calif., Carlsbad), who both played for the women's basketball team last season and joined the women's soccer team this season, were happy to interfere with those plans.
 
“I emailed (women's basketball coach Nichole Jones) and started working with the team over the summer,” Hinderer said.  “(Ogden) team said the soccer team needed a goalie.  I made a comment about how I used to play and they got me to come out.  My first day meeting the team was the first game.  I didn't have a practice or anything so it was nerve wracking.  I didn't know names.”
 
Getting a three-sport star in high school has been a coup for the soccer team.  At The Willows Academy in Des Plaines, Hinderer played volleyball, basketball and soccer and was a four-year letter winner in basketball and soccer.  In soccer, she earned All-Conference honorable mention as a junior, leading her team to a third place finish in the state in Class 1A, and also was an All-Conference selection in her senior year.
 
For the Hawks this season, Hinderer doesn't have the flashiest numbers but those don't exactly tell the entire story.  Playing a player or two down in most games leads to unmarked players and increased opportunities for opponents.  Hinderer had an exceptional game in the team's 2-1 victory over College of DuPage on Oct. 10.
 
“In blowouts, she has kept us from getting pummeled,” Cruz said.  “She's done her job.  She is going to be a key part of us winning the region.”
 
Hinderer's height has meant she has played goalkeeper and center almost exclusively on athletic teams.  But she has used that gift to her advantage in snaring shots and grabbing rebounds.
 
“Typically we have goalkeepers that have trouble with balls in the air, like balls that are served over the keepers head.  Because of basketball, she does not make those mistakes,” Cruz said.  “It's very hard to get keepers that can read balls out of the air, and she is very good at that.  That's something that has been huge and been a factor for us.”
 
Hinderer is also expected to be a key player for this season's women's basketball team.  As a freshman in high school, she was an All-Conference honorable mention, and Hinderer only kept building from there.  In her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, she was All-Conference and also added an All-State Second Team selection in her final year.
 
“I am looking forward to this year,” Hinderer said.  “I know they had a rough season last year so I'm really hoping we can turn that around this year.”
 
“Basketball was something that my dad and I could connect on,” Hinderer continued.  “I just love basketball and felt like it was where I did the most for my team and had the most success.
 
But before Hinderer replaces her cleats with high-tops, she and the rest of the Hawks have some unfinished business to attend to.  Harper opens postseason play tomorrow in the Region IV semifinals at Joliet Junior College at 3:00 PM.  In two meetings this season, the Wolves have defeated the Hawks 4-2 and 5-0.
 
“Joliet significantly underestimates us considering we haven't had a full team while playing them or people have been playing injured,” Hinderer said.  “So I think now we have our full team and have all of this momentum and I think it could be a surprise attack.”