Seventh in a Series

A new school, new goals for Young Achiever

Last spring, 11-year-old Logan North was one of four elementary kids named a 2003 St. Louis Young Achiever of the Year. This year, he's in middle school and is facing a whole new set of challenges and goals.

He's now a sixth-grader at Barnwell Middle School in St. Charles County. He said he's had to step up his effort in both school and sports at his new school.

For one thing, Logan said class work "is a lot tougher in middle school." And he's trying to excel in some new activities.

He's also making a sports comeback from knee surgery and a stress fracture in his leg.

But, Logan is optimistic. He said his knee and leg are healthy again and, with hard work, he's getting along well with school work.

(Since the Achiever award announcement last spring, Young Saint Louis.com has been running a series of profiles on elementary and middle school. To read the original story from May, 2003, click here.

(For the June profile of Kristen Delia, click here. For the July profile of Meghan Biotnott, click here. For the August profile of Alexander Ecklund, click here. For the September profile of Mark Counsil, click here.

(For Julia Epplin-Zapf's October profile, click here. and for November's profile of Ryan Nikodem, click here.)

Logan already has achieved two of his new goals. He's playing alto saxophone in Barnwell's beginning band. Also, he's earned a spot on the school newspaper staff.

His first article for the newspaper was a review of the movie, "Finding Nemo." Logan said he liked the movie a lot. He added, "I wrote that when I was watching the movie, I felt like I was in the oceans, swimming with the little fishies"

In sports, Logan has been selected for the Busch Soccer Club's 12 and under team. That's a special honor because his team will defending champions in next year's Missouri Cup tournament.

He also wants to get back into the form that let him by a winner in state and national track meets. He entered the national AAU Olympics track and field meet last February, but didn't excel.

He competed although it was only a month after knee surgery to eliminate a bump on a bone. The bump caused irritation to his ligaments and tendons. Now, he admits, "I competed but I shouldn't have."

He took the summer off from sports to give himself a chance to heal. In addition, the knee problem led to a stress fracture in his lower leg.

The fact that he's made the Busch Soccer Club's select team this fall is proof that he's well on the mend. Logan plays midfielder. Busch select teams are regularly among the best in the state.

In earlier track competition, Logan did a little bit of everything. He was a winner in sprints, distance races and in the long jump.

He won the Holly Huntington Award at the 2002 U.S. Track and Field metro-area meet. He won the 1500-meter race and the long jump. He was third in the 100-meet dash.

This year, he's cutting back on his running and concentrating on the long jump. He said he especially likes the field event because he has had some excellent coaching.

Logan said, "It's all about timing and speed. You have to hit the board at just the right time and at top speed."

He hopes to add another sport this year. He's trying out for basketball team in the Duchesne High School feeder program. Practices already have started.

Concerning his school work, Logan wants to maintain his straight-A grades. He's tested out as proficient in math, social studies, science and communication arts whenever the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests are given.

He said geography is his favorite subject and math his most challenging one.

However, he's optimistic to can meet his goal of straight-A's through high school.

As for a career, Logan said he'd like to be a professional soccer player. However, he acknowledges that might be tough. So, he's working on an alternate plan.

Although he hasn't identified a college yet, he said he'd like to major in physics. He isn't sure whether he likes the theoretical or practical side of physics.