Layla Burton '25 Recruiting Profile

I first started playing basketball when I was 7 years old for a boys and girls club.  At that time, I was the only girl on the team.  My first AAU Team that I started playing with at the age of 10 was an all boys team.  I worked hard, if not harder than the boys on the team.  Because of my hard work, I was awarded the team Defensive Player of the Year award at the age of 9.  Since I began playing basketball at the age of 7, I fell in love with the sport and I have since set my goals to work hard academically and athletically so that I can some day play at the collegiate level.  I aspire to get an academic and/or athletic scholarship so that I can play basketball at the collegiate level while majoring in Psychology.  

I believe to be a part of a team, you have to be a team player and willing to work together with your teammates in order to achieve the team‘s shared goal.  I feel that I would make a good candidate for a college team because I am a team player.  I understand that everyone is an important piece to the puzzle.  I am respectful, very coachable, a hard worker on and off the court, a team player who supports and encourages their teammates on and off the court, and an unselfish player.  I feel these characteristics are very important to have not only as an athlete but also as a person.  

There are so many great and talented athletes out here today.  I think what makes me different and helps me to stand out is my character and unselfishness.  Character is very important to me.  Our reputation is what others see and how they think about us, but our character is who we truly are.  I am kind, compassionate, honest, respect myself and others, hard worker, reliable, trustworthy,  has integrity, self-motivated, responsible, and unselfish.  My character is what makes me a great person and athlete.  Athletically, I have strong ball handling skills and defensive skills.  I believe, I have good court vision and playing the point guard position you must have good court vision.  I work hard on offense and just as hard on defense.  Some players are left or right hand dominate but I can use both.   I try to lead by example and as a point guard, I look to facilitate scoring opportunities for my teammates.  I enjoy getting everyone involved.  As a team, we all have important roles to play.  I’m a patient player on the court, I don’t try to rush to make things happen.  I am a student athlete which means that I am a student first.  I understand that in order for me to reach my goal of playing basketball at the collegiate level, my academic success is very important.  So off the court, I try my best to work hard to maintain my grades.

”Life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving,” a quote from Einstein.  In order for me to have academic and athletic success, I must work hard and  keep moving!