ELMA, N.Y. (WIVB) – Iroqouis senior Sydney Kosnik has taken her leadership skills to the next level while pursuing her love of field hockey.

“I love battling for the ball and just taking it down the field and just being in my element. It’s different than my general persona on the sideline so it kind of gives me an outlet to really go all out,” Sydney told News 4 Sports.

On top of being a starter at midfield for Iroqouis varsity field hockey, Sydney also excels in the classroom and maintains a 4.0 GPA which makes her our March female scholar athlete.

“Managing your schedule is really important. I just try and get done bits and pieces every day and then that’ll accumulate over time so it’s an easier workload for each day,” Sydney said.

“She was what I would call your perfect teammate,” Iroqouis field hockey coach Pete Tonsoline said.

“Very caring, would do anything you would ask, never complained was just I’m there, and I think she led by her actions more than her verbal presence and players saw that.”

Sydney also has a passion for art and her work was discovered online by an author who asked her to do the illustrations for a published children’s book called “My Big Floofy Feet.”

“It’s hard to get an illustration gig so I feel very grateful that the author found me,” Sydney said.

Sydney wants to become a psychiatrist and plans to study bio medical sciences and psychology next year at UB.