Sarah Howdeshell '19 Recruiting Profile

    Ever since I started playing sports I was taught that I had to work extremely hard to be where I wanted to be.  After attending Doug Bruno Camp for 4 years, I learned about writing my goals down. The first goal I wrote down was that I wanted to play college basketball.  I wrote down everything I had to do, and the path I would take to get there.  I had always been a post because I was taller than everyone, however, I stopped growing at 5'9" and by freshman year many people had caught up to me.  This made me realize that if I wanted to be a successful player, I would have to work on my guard skills. Spring after freshman year, I began going to the gym almost everyday with my dad, working on my outside shot and ball handling.  That summer I put in endless hours, waking up at 5:30am to go to weightlifting and conditioning, then straight to coaching summer camps and my high school camp.  After that I would either go to the gym to shoot more, go to a summer league game, or go to a training with my travel coach.  In the fall, before high school season, I attended open gyms two days a week, early morning shooting practices, and after school weightlifting.  As a result of these long hours, I began to see improvement. However, due to my highly competitive high school, I was placed on my JV team my sophomore year.  At first I was very disappointed because I thought that after all my hard work, I would be on varsity, but after talking to my coach, I began to see the benefits.  My coach made me captain and explained to me that I needed to work on my confidence, and that this team would allow me to do that.  After going through two seasons, freshman year and sophomore year, as being a captain, I have without a doubt improved my leadership skills and my confidence. I also was the first person pulled up to varsity when someone got hurt or when they needed an extra player, both freshman and sophomore year.  Now, as I have continued my routine of going to the gym, I have definitely seen my hard work paying off.  

    The skills and traits I have learned from basketball not only have helped me on the court, but in my school and involvement in the community as well.  Playing sports has trained me to always push myself and to take challenges head on.  This has reflected in my grades as I am taking all AP and honors classes and I have maintained a 4.6 GPA.  I also have been on high honor roll since 6th grade. School has always been my top priority.  No matter how late I get home or how long it takes me to study, I do whatever it takes to keep my grades up.  Also, I love to help out in the community and to get involved as much as possible.  I have been involved in numerous activities including track (placing 6th in JV conference for shot put), CG Buddies (working with the special needs kids), Student Council, Link Crew (helping the freshman), piano, coaching 5th and 6th graders, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Interact (a volunteer club), and a volunteer program at the hospital.  Ever since I was little, I have loved helping people and putting in any extra time to do what I can to make a difference.  In the future, I would like to take my love of helping others to the next level by going into the medical field to become a pediatric oncologist. This career would allow me to help people, specifically kids. In other words, I always am keeping busy doing the things I love, playing basketball, getting involved in the community, and excelling in school.  I will be graduating in 2019, and I am looking forward to taking on every opportunity that comes my way.