The Journey of a Player

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 By Erin DeGrate 

Overall, I think I had a wonderful season for it to be my first year on the varsity level after I was crowned Newcomer of the Year despite a sprained ligament that kept me sidelined for five games and made us miss the playoffs. On January 20, the China Spring center and I were going up for a rebound, and she kneed me in my knee, and I fell to the floor. Every time I tried to move my knee, there was a sharp pain. When I went to the doctor, he told me that I was going to be out for 2-3 weeks, and I just started crying because I didn’t want to be out that long, not playing with my team. After two weeks of sitting out, I came back for the last two games, but we still lost to China Spring and Gatesville and missed the playoffs in a tiebreaker to the Lady Hornets. I finished the season with 84 blocked shots, 151 offensive rebounds, and 268 defensive rebounds for a total of 16.8 a game (all of which led local players), 416 points (16.6 per game), 33 steals, nine assists, and 73 turnovers. My dad inspired me to play basketball, and I started playing with the TAAF Waco Lady Panthers for the City of Waco at the Bledsoe Community Center when I was seven years old. I started off as an under-average player, meaning that I was not very talented, I wasn’t very good at shooting, passing, dribbling. I kept working hard and not giving up. “The first thing comes to mind is that she was clumsy and uncoordinated, but a very special player to coach,” one of my former Lady Panther coaches, Chelmon Davis, said. “From then to now she has truly blossomed into a great player with certainly a great future ahead of her.” Later, I got better and better by working a little harder and putting in extra work. Coach Davis always pulled me aside and did some extra drills with me. In my first game I played, I didn’t do well, and after that, I wanted to quit and never set foot on a basketball court again. But I didn’t give up; I kept pushing myself. From then on, I just never gave up, even when I came in contact with a few better players whom I had to guard. Now that I have developed my talent at basketball, I LOVE the sport. My specific plan after high school is most likely to be at Baylor, playing for Coach Kim Mulkey because I have wanted to play for her since seventh grade. Among all my memories, my favorite is when I had my first varsity game, and I was scared because I was starting, but Faith Gibson gave me a hug and told me to do my thing, don’t let them get in my head, and play hard. My favorite teacher is Mr. Funderburk, because when I’m having a bad day when I go to his class, he tells a joke or says something funny to make me smile. My advice to the other students is to push themselves to the LIMIT and don’t give up when they think they can’t do something. A difficulty I’ve overcome is my relationship to Coach Petty--he used to get under my skin when he used to yell and scream at me, telling me to push and go harder and do this and that, but now I know that he just wanted the best for me and for me to pursue my dreams. My most embarrassing moment is when I got hurt at China Spring when I was crying on the floor, but my funniest moment is when Faith got kicked in the groin against Lorena, and I was like “What happened?” She said, “She kicked me in my front side.” I am very proud of what I’ve got, but I know I could have done better, after being hurt at the end of the season. I want next season to be double what it was this year by averaging 20 points and 20 rebounds every game and at least 10 blocks. To reach these goals, I plan to work longer and harder than I did this year in off-season and play with my select team this summer. I’m going to hustle more and improve my post game, free throws, and my vertical jump. I also need to be able to handle the pressure and be able to step up to be a leader on and off the court. My plan is not to give up when it gets hard on me, and I am going to polish my skills so that when I do get into the game, I can finish all my easy shots and be able to run up and down the court better. Every time I get the ball, I’m going to work hard and think about the goals I’m trying to achieve. My other former Panther Coach Juliett Jones said, “Erin started playing with the Waco Lady Panthers when she was seven years old. Because she was so much bigger than other girls, sometimes she would allow them to drive because she didn’t want to hurt them. When she was eight, she and Faith Dimerson led the team to a Texas Amateur Athletic Federation State Championship. “From then to now she has grown tremendously. I always knew she would be something special because not only was she a good player, but she also was very smart, and her mom supported her no matter what. I wish her the best of luck in the future, and I am so proud of her.”