BY TRINITY WAGNER
To be a player on the women’s basketball team at Fort Hays State University, Head Coach Tony Hobson and his staff search for athletes that show a strong work ethic, high degree of athleticism, skills on the court, and players with a desire to always improve.
“We also want players that want to be part of a winner, not someone who is worried about how many minutes they play or their individual stats,” Hobson said.
Cydney Bergmann, a popular name known among the students of FHSU and Hays community, is a junior guard for the FHSU WBB team. Bergmann began her basketball career as a seldom-used freshman to now a regular starter through the first 17 games of her junior year.
Unexpectedly, Bergmann’s season was cut short due to suffering a knee injury in the Northeastern game on February 13th.
“This is so disappointing because she was having such a great year for us and our team doing so well,” Hobson said. “We will certainly miss her, but will move on the best we can.”
This is an injury that she has never experienced before in her athletic career. Though first in shock with the news, Bergmann has regrouped and figured out her role on the team.
“Now, my job is to be the biggest cheerleader I can and come back next year stronger than before,” she said.
Though Bergmann’s injury caused a setback to her junior season, her journey from a freshman who played just 4.2 minutes per game to a player who started every game she played this season can be credited to her growth as a player.
“When I arrived freshman year, I was not the basketball player I am now. After playing what seemed like every sport for my whole life, all my time now revolved around just one,” Bergmann said. “This was super different for me as I’m sure it is for most college athletes.”
Hobson knew Bergmann was a strong athlete and believed if she was willing to put the work in to improve her skills that she could become an important part of their team.
“And she was,” Hobson said.
According to Bergmann, during her freshman year, Hobson had a huge impact on Bergmann’s game in basketball where she gained most of her learning experience. Continuing into her sophomore year, Hobson began to give her a few chances on the court.
“It seemed like every time he did, I would stay out there a little bit longer,” she said. “His trust in me increased more every time I went out, and my confidence in my abilities increased as well.”
So where exactly did Cydney cross over going from a good collegiate athlete to a great one? According to Bergmann, her breakthrough moment came a season ago in Florida.
“I don’t really know why that was the case, but I just feel like that was my turning point,” she said. “I think at that time, I finally started to realize what exactly I could do to help the team and what strengths I had to offer. Understanding my role was definitely something I had to figure out every year in order to really help my team as best as I could.”
Hobson said Bergmann is a fierce competitor and brings it to the court every day. She brings the toughness this team needs while being one of their top rebounders and best defensive players. Now into her junior season, Bergmann has gained more confidence when stepping on the court through her past season experiences.
This season she averaged 8 points and 6 rebounds a game. Hobson as well as many others are impressed with not only Bergmann’s success on the court but also in the classroom. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA every semester in her collegiate academics. When it comes to the balancing of being a student-athlete, Bergmann offers insightful advice to being a student-athlete.
“While I love being an athlete right now, I won’t always be one. Playing sports is my passion, but my career is my future. I think this has always been in the back of my mind, so I’ve never really had a problem prioritizing my schoolwork,” she said. “Being on the road every other week can definitely put stress on classes, but all of my professors are extremely flexible and willing to work with me.
“As far as balancing my time, it’s really pretty simple. I go to practice, lift weights, get treatment, attend meetings, and do whatever I need to for basketball. All my time outside of that is for attending class, doing my homework, and making sure I’m on top of my studies.”
A season of greatness and full of unexpected challenges, Bergmann is the definition of an outstanding athlete and student. Her success is not only great today but dates back to her hometown roots where her love for basketball began.
Bergmann’s basketball career started in her family’s backyard while growing up around her three siblings who also played the game of basketball. As a young athlete, Bergmann began playing biddy ball (basketball for kids ages 7-14) and was on a few local traveling teams as well.
Growing into her junior high years, she played in MAYB tournaments while playing for the Concordia Panthers Junior High basketball team. Fast-forward to her high school seasons, Bergmann was a varsity starter for every game from her freshman year up to her senior year.
In her high school basketball career, she was awarded all-league, Wichita Eagle 1st and 2nd team, Topeka Capital-Journal 1st and 2nd team, Sports in Kansas 1st and 2nd team, KBCA 1st team in basketball, and received the notable Paul Koehn Outstanding Senior Basketball Player Award. As if these accomplishments were not impressive enough, she finished her high school career ranked in the top ten all-time in points, assists, rebounds, and steals at Concordia High School.
Bergmann not only saw success on the basketball court through her high school career, but she was also an established athlete in volleyball and track. Some of her volleyball athletic awards include all-league, all-state 1st and 2nd team, all-state tournament team, and MaxPreps Volleyball Athlete of the Week in 2017. Her volleyball team also achieved 2nd place at state two years in a row.
“Those two-second place finishes were huge accomplishments for our team, and I have a lot of really great memories from those seasons,” Bergmann said.
As for track, she was a state qualifier all four years, broke the 4×100 meter relay school record, and during her junior year placed third in the 300-meter hurdles race. One of Bergmann’s favorite achievements in her track career was during her junior year.
“My junior year of track, three of my teammates along with myself placed fourth at state as a team. That was one of my most proud achievements – taking fourth place with only four girls,” she said.
The question is, why did this all-star athlete choose to pursue a collegiate career in basketball and not the other two sports?
“Deciding what sport to play in college was a hard decision to make. Track was never really in the picture because I didn’t enjoy it as much, but I did have to weigh the pros and cons for both volleyball and basketball,” Bergmann said. “I truly loved the game of volleyball, but ultimately, I decided it wasn’t something I was going to continue playing in college. I put a lot of time into it as far as competing on traveling teams during high school. However, I just felt that basketball was a better fit for me. It was my first true love in terms of sports.”
Since making this decision, Bergmann has flourished in developing her abilities on the court.
“I’m not sure I have anything extraordinary in terms of my strengths as an athlete. What I can say is I am definitely more athletic than I am skilled, and most people would probably say the same,” Bergmann said. “My athleticism (running, jumping, etc.) is all God-given so I can’t take any credit for that. The rest has just come from having a good attitude, good work ethic, great coaches, and even greater teammates.”
