Alexis is not exactly sure where she’s going in life, but you better believe she’s going to get there. (Photo by Nick Goralczyk)

WARSAW – She can take over a round of golf with her talent and driven attitude. She can take over a conversation with her expressions and infectious personality. She is Warsaw’s Alexis Manwaring, and she is one of a kind.

“Alexis is just so relaxed out on the course,” said Warsaw head coach Ray Davis. “It’s that calming affect that she brings to the team that makes her such a great player and teammate. When the younger girls play with her, they know she’s going to be calm and that helps settle them down. She really makes things fun for the whole team.”

Making things fun is an obvious byproduct of having fun and that is something Manwaring prides herself on. The charismatic senior obviously makes a name for herself on the course, but her interests and passions extend far beyond the landscapes of Stonehenge Golf and Country Club.

“I love longboarding,” remarked Manwaring with a big smile. “I go to the trails in Winona all the time and ride my longboards. One of my friends, Abby, she’s my longboarding buddy. We ride all the time.”

When she is not leading the Tigers on the course or riding the trails, Manwaring is busy being a big sister to her three brothers and making herself known throughout the Warsaw community.

Manwaring has made an impact for her school off the course by being an active member in the school’s Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter where last year she went to nationals in San Antonio, Texas. In addition she also spends time as a member of the school’s student council and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapter.

Like any typical Kosciusko County teen, Manwaring loves to spend time on the lake. Whether it be tubing, riding jet skis or just relaxing, the lake is like a second home for the senior.

As far as her golf season goes, Manwaring has her sights set on breaking the 80 threshold on 18 this year and hopefully advancing out of the sectional with her team. Ultimately, in terms of individual success, she wants to find herself in the IHSAA State Finals when all is said and done.

But one thing on Manwaring’s mind for the upcoming year in sports surprisingly has nothing to do with golf.

“I coach basketball at Lakeview middle school and it is so much fun,” Manwaring said. “I was the assistant coach last year and I plan on doing that again. It was awesome, it was great.

“I love the girls so much, they’re like my little sisters. I was the eighth grade assistant but I would go and work with the seventh graders as well. I bonded really well with all of them.”

Manwaring says basketball is one of her loves even though she no longer plays and that coaching keeps her close to the sport. So, just add coaching to the long list of things this young woman. As it turns out, the part-time coach wouldn’t mind getting a little bling in the process.

“The seventh graders lost in the championship last year,” Manwaring added. “They’re great kids and this year they’re out to get it and I think they will. I think both teams can bring home a championship, hey, why not?”

This self-described “daddy’s girl” says she has her parents to thank for her drive and ambition in life. From letting her suit up for pee wee football in third grade to doing all that she does now, Manwaring knows her parents have always had her back.

A team captain, longboarding enthusiast, invested coach, appreciative daughter, loving sister and the best friend you’ve not yet met. All of that, and more, is Alexis Manwaring, a not-so-typical American teenager that’s just along for the ride that life is taking her on.