As she closes out her eighth-grade year and her time at Baird , she has competed in countless meets and games and is well prepared for competition as she moves on to Bullard High School .

Fresno Unified offers 15 sports for middle school students throughout the academic year involving more than 6,600 students . Sports are part of Fresno Unified ’ s efforts to make sure students are connected to their schools , peers , teachers , and staff beyond the classroom . country , followed by soccer , basketball and softball . She began playing softball at age 4 ( mom Cassi Brangham Maxey played for Stanford University ) and soccer at 5 , but basketball became her favorite once she tried it in sixth grade .

“ It ’ s just so fast-paced ,” Nora said .

While sports take up much of her time , Nora also loves to play board games and cards with her family and freeze tag with cousins .

In fact , in 2014 , Fresno Unified began tracking student engagement in activities beyond the classroom and keeping the data in ATLAS , the district ’ s student information system that also houses grades , attendance , behavior , and demographics . The goal is to have 100 % of students engaged in arts , activities , or athletics .

Nora said she has loved her years at Baird not only for the sports , but because of its emphasis on languages . She has enjoyed learning Spanish and will be ready for Spanish III as a freshman next year .

She intends to become bilingual noting , “ It will help me with jobs in the future .”

Keith Ramirez , the varsity girls ’ soccer coach at Baird , said Nora stands out on the field and in the classroom .

“ Nora plays and excels in four sports and is a 4.0 student . Her character is beyond reproach , and she is an excellent teammate ,” Ramirez said .

Baird Middle School eighth grader Nora Maxey gets around a Sequoia Middle

School player during a game earlier this year .

The cycle of sports for Nora is cross