By GEORGE MAHL

DESTREHAN – When a significant number of people think of prep volleyball in the River Parishes, they think of Destrehan High School senior standout Atina Porter.

The member of the Lady Cats has led her team to several victories this season and is looking forward to a long playoff run.

Porter said she started playing volleyball at young age while attending Harry Hurst Middle School.

“I needed something to do in my spare time. I felt that volleyball was something challenging and athletic,” she said.

The all-star comes from an athletic family. Her father is Rufus Porter, a former National Football League linebacker with the Seattle Seahawks, the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“My entire family was involved in athletics. I guess you could say it was passed down to me and my cousins,” Atina Porter said.

She said volleyball gives her a rush of adrenaline and a feeling the hard work is paying off.

As a young child, Porter said she got inspiration from her father. She also said her mother put her on the right track to success at an early age.

“Not a day goes by that my mother doesn’t want me to improve. I guess she pushes me more than anybody,” Porter said.

As far as spending her free time, the Destrehan resident said she enjoys working out and eating.

“Unlike most girls, I really don’t like to shop unless its necessary. I would rather talk on the phone with junk food in my hand,” she said with a smile.

Porter said she is the most surprised person when it comes to how well she has performed on the court.

“I’m shocked. But I guess that’s why I go to practice,” she said.

The recent victory of the DHS squad over the players’ archrivals – Hahnville High School – was more than a win. Porter said the pressure was on the team from every student all the way up to the school’s administrators.

“If we would have lost to Hahnville, we would have had to hear about it for the next year. There was nothing that was going to stop us from beating Hahnville,” she said.

Currently, Porter is being recruited by several universities. The decision to attend which college will not be an easy one.

” I hear someone say that their school is better because of one thing, while somebody else tells me the same thing. To me, one little thing probably won’t influence my decision one way or another. It’s a long process because it means a lot,” Porter said.

One thing she said she would like to improve upon is her conditioning.

“Coach (Calvin) Ike (DHS head coach) took us to see LSU play UNO one day and I was surprised at how much bigger the players are than us. I said to myself, ‘Man I better start working out some more,'” she said.

As far as her long-term future, Porter said she would like to be in the entertainment industry.

“I would like to be on stage. Whether that’s singing or dancing it really doesn’t matter,” she said.

She also expressed a goal to be a member of the United States Olympic Volleyball Team and to compete for her country in 2004.

“If I could do that I would be the happiest person in the world,” she said.