New Coach, Strong Captain and Young Players: Girls Varsity Basketball Rebuilds

by Matilda Molina and Daliyah Abdel Rehim

January 3, 2020

Kim Kelly, an English teacher and coach of the Girls Varsity Soccer team has started coaching basketball once again. From 2003 to 2015, she coached the Girls Varsity Basketball team but she stopped to spend time with her twin boys. Kim loves coaching basketball plus it reminds her of her father. 

She is a coach to an amazing team right now. She stated, “I’m really excited by the team because it's going to be a building year and there’s going to be some bumps in the road and it’s small.”  She loves is the new freshmen on the team. “Young energy,” she said. They have now faced high school teams which will be hard for them throughout the season, but right now they are 1-1. Both were rough games, but they managed to win one of them and they felt great after knowing they won their very first game. 

Not only has there been a change in the coach, but there has been a constant change of the team. Throughout, the three years that I have been in high school, the Girls Varsity Basketball team has changed dramatically each year. However, the only consistent thing throughout all three years is Promise Boyd, the captain of the team. 

She has seen the team change and develop in drastic ways every year. However, that has never discouraged her from playing and being sensational on the court. As captain, she has learned a lot about team leadership as she knows that she is the example her new teammates are looking at. This year the team consists of primarily freshmen. This means that they are all new to highschool basketball, and Promise knows that she is their prime example of what it means to be a good basketball player. “I know that I have to lead these ladies into the best basketball players they can be! To show them that they need to know that playing basketball comes with sportsmanship, respect, gratitude, and with kindness.” Promise is able to completely capture the concept as a perfect player on and off the court and she is constantly doing whatever she can to show these young players what basketball really is like. 

She teaches them that a team has to be strong off the court to be able to prosper on the court. She has taught everyone to have trust in the team and to trust everyone on the court. She motivated to play by knowing her ability to use basketball as her outlet to get rid of any stress or anger. In a sense she uses basketball as an escape out of everyday life and does not ever let what is going on around her to impact her on the court. She is an amazing leader and an absolute inspiration on the court. 

Girls basketball is usually overlooked as the majority of spectators are only present during boys games. But the way Promise and the team play is something that should not be missed. They are a talented group of young women who are not getting the recognition they deserve. So next time there is a girls game, do not be afraid to come and watch the amazingly beautiful game these girls will put on.