Not just once. Not just twice. But three times, Moa Best of E.J. King has been chosen as her school’s girls Athlete of the Year.

The senior, who stands barely 5-foot-3, was a giant on the basketball and tennis courts during her four years in Cobra uniform.

Best captured the Far East Division II tennis singles title last October, on the heels of her Far East overall title in 2023. As a guard, she helped lead King to two straight Far East D-II basketball tournament titles.

“She’s a hard worker,” said her father McKinzy Best, Moa’s coach in

those sports as well as softball. “Her drive is to be the best she can be. It doesn’t matter what sport. She has that no-quit mentality. She’s going to work hard and give it her all for a chance to be the best.”

Best is not the only girls athlete who’s been named Athlete of the Year multiple times at their respective schools.

Ny’Kale Penn, a senior and All-Far East basketball and soccer selection, has been named Guam High’s girls Athlete of the Year for the second straight year.

And Erica Haas, a senior who’s been named All-Far East multiple times in volleyball, basketball and softball, is Yokota’s girls Athlete of the Year, following her selection for the same award two years ago.

“I feel happy about it,” Moa Best said of when she learned of the honor. “It feels like all my work throughout the year has paid off.”

It takes work, she said, to earn an Athlete of the Year award, much less post the gaudy statistics and earning trophies along the way.

“I went through obstacles, we played harder teams, some of the losses helped us and the camps I’ve attended” over the last few summers, Best said. “It pays off, and you get what you earn. All the hard work I did at those camps pays off.”

It takes a coach, perhaps sometimes one’s father, who knows when to step on the gas and when to ease off. Conversations courtside, over the dinner table, even at family outings, it’s been that way for four years.

“Her mentality is the same, regardless” of the sport, the opponent or the tournament, McKinzy Best said. “She’s there to do her best. She’s very fearless.”

It takes a team, even in an individual discipline such as tennis, Moa Best said. Players to boost and push each other, trying to bring out the best in themselves and the team.

“The main thing is having my peers there,” Best said. “I always have my peers, my friends, my teammates next to me. Having them there is my motivation, to practice and work harder.”

It also takes a strong demeanor on the court, but courtliness and diplomacy off it, player and coach say. While they may be rivals on the field of play, athletes from other teams are quick to share a burger and soft drink and conversation with her.

“She’s very polite,” McKinzy Best said. “A lot of her competitors are her friends off the court, whether Yokota, Perry, Zama, Kinnick, Yokota; they believe in friendship. But on the court? Let’s bring it.”

Though her DODEA playing career has ended, her hopes to maybe return as a teacher are just beginning. Best plans next to attend International Christian University in Tokyo to study math and education “so I can become a teacher,” she said.

Perhaps come back to Sasebo and coach the Cobras?

“That’s one of my hopes,” Best said.

2024-25 DODEA-Pacific high school Athletes of the Year by school:

Daegu – Nicholas Faubion, senior, cross country, wrestling, track and field; Kellis Eisenhauer, senior, cheerleading, drill team, softball.

Robert D. Edgren – Anthony Mulhall, sophomore, cross country, wrestling, track and field; Kaleiana Alonzo, junior, volleyball, soccer.

Guam High – Christopher Angoco, senior, wrestling, track and field; Ny’Kale Penn, senior (repeat selection), basketball, soccer.

Humphreys – Aley Auna, senior, cross country, track and field; Kayla Collins, senior, cross country, soccer.

Kadena – Neil Kentish, senior, football, track and field; Jenna Cook, senior, volleyball, basketball (Far East Division I champion), track and field.

E.J. King – Damian Perez, senior, cross country, soccer; Moa Best, senior (three-time selection), tennis (two-time Far East individual Division II champion), basketball (two-time Far East D-II championship), softball.

Nile C. Kinnick – Arashi Blocton, senior, football, basketball (Far East D-I championship), baseball; Leona Turner, senior, volleyball, basketball, track and field.

Kubasaki – Carlos Cadet, football (Far East D-I champion), lacrosse, track and field; Yuri Biggins, junior, volleyball (Far East D-I Best Hitter), track and field.

Osan – M.J. Siebert, senior, volleyball, basketball, track and field, baseball; Clarice Lee, senior, volleyball, soccer.

Matthew C. Perry – Kameron Ramos, junior, football, basketball, soccer; Sasha Malone, senior, tennis (Far East D-II team champion), girls soccer (Far East D-II champion).

Yokota – Casey Bumpers, senior, football (Far East D-II championship), baseball; Erica Haas, senior (two-time selection), volleyball, basketball, softball (three-time Far East D-II champion).

Zama – Adrian Santiago-Cruz, senior, football, basketball, soccer; Juliet Bitor, senior, volleyball, basketball, soccer.