Larry Anderson, local FAMILY Magazine contributing writer,
likes to spotlight "unheralded heroes" in our community and
this spotlight is nothing short of a great review of a talented
young lady to watch in the future.
The
TV announcers call her, "The Bulldog". Her teammates call
her, "Tank". This writer is suggesting calling her any positive
nickname that ends in "Ator". Let's try a few. How about Dominator
or Motivator? Or maybe, Creator, Communicator, Agitator, Terminator,
Operator, Dictator? We've got to come up with a nickname that
is a better fit than, "The Bulldog".
Kelsey,
a junior point guard for the Penn High School Lady Kingsman
basketball team the past three seasons, has been a major contributor
in the programs rise in the State power rankings. Coach Mike
Starretts' Lady Kingsman were W19 - L3 overall and W7 - L1
during the 2007-2008 Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) season,
and ranked as high as 5th in the IBCA poll. As a junior, Kelsey
averaged 19 points, 5 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 3 steals for
the Lady Kingsman. They finished the NIC season in 2nd place
behind the 2008 state runner-up South Bend Washington Panthers.
On
offense, Kelsey is the Operator, Communicator, Creator and
Motivator. As the Operator, she was a coach on the floor.
Coach Starrett called the plays from the bench, but empowered
Kelsey to read the defense in transition and make changes
when necessary. When Kelsey spotted what could be a weakness
in the opposition's defense, she became the Creator and Communicator.
Kelsey shared that all of her teammates communicated very
well with each other both vocally and by their style of play
which resulted in high percentage shots and follow-up offensive
rebounds. Kelsey and her teammates' success was a result of
a great deal of respect for each other. Their superior court
awareness combined with unselfish (Team) play was keys to
their success. Always willing to go to the open teammate or
the hot hand, they placed team goals above self goals. During
any game, any teammate could rise up in a critical situation
with a big play.
On
defense, Kelsey is the Dominator, the Agitator, or even the
Dictator! Her hustle and in your face defensive tenacity usually
drew her the toughest defensive assignments. The opponent's
frustration with Kelsey and her teammate's awareness and rotation
on defense resulted in many turnovers and fast break points.
Kelsey averaged 3 steals per game. She noted that Penn played
excellent help defense and rotated to cover for each other
when she or a teammate took a chance to make a steal. If the
offense was playing below their capabilities, the defense
stepped it up to Dictate the pace of the game and keep the
score down.
Kelsey
shared that the coaches and all of her teammates were supportive
and great Motivators on both offense and defense. When mistakes
were made, there were always encouraging pats on the back
or a few minutes on the bench to get refocused. While sportsmanship
was highly stressed by Coach Starrett and his staff, Kelsey
and her teammates policed themselves on the floor to minimize
flared tempers that result in technical fouls and unnecessary
player fouls. The Penn Ladies played with a great deal of
respect for their opponents.
As
for Kelsey's future, there is a common Denominator. There
are a lot of Division One colleges interested in her academic
and basketball abilities after graduation from Penn High School.
Prior to April, 2008, colleges could only watch and communicate
by mail. Right now Kelsey's focus is on winning the NIC and
an Indiana State Championship for Penn in 2008-2009. However,
it is difficult not to notice interest from the Big Ten, SEC,
ACC and Big East. She would love to be able to play relatively
close to home, but the right fit for academics will play the
major role in her decision process.
OH!
And when it comes to academics, Kelsey is not a Procrastinator!
She carries a 3.85 GPA on 4.0 system that will factor well
for her when selecting the right academic program at the college
level. Still a junior, Kelsey still has time and is currently
undecided on her college major and career goals.
Kelsey
recognizes her starting teammates, Lily Svete, Alex Dunfee,
Sarah Strachan, Emily Johnson and all of bench teammates as
great team players and friends. Their respect and friendship
for each other will weigh heavily for their success in the
future. This Prognosticator (sorry) is predicting a great
future for all.
