Emma Shaffer '19 Recruiting Profile

Playing college basketball has been a dream of mine since I started playing in the second grade. My mother played collegiate basketball at Bucknell University. I appreciate that she coached my team in grade school and continues to teach me a lot about the game. I want to attend a college that will help further my academic and athletic development. I would like to major in business since my favorite subject is math and I like to problem solve. These skills will help me on and off the court, as I have a strong passion to learn, work hard and develop every day.

When I started playing basketball, I fell in love with the game. I know I want to play basketball as long as I can. In order to achieve this goal, I put in as much time and effort as I can, and then some more. I practice anywhere from 12-15 hours a week year-round. Due to the large time spent at basketball, I have learned to be disciplined and to budget my time wisely to ensure I allocate appropriate effort to academic and other activities. I have been able to maintain over a 3.8 GPA.

Playing the center position is as important as any other position. I like to be the one who rebounds the ball and outlet to the guards to start the offense. On defense, one of my key jobs is to make sure there is help side support. If the guards get beat, I can step over and help them. I help by pressing the post and making sure they do not score easily. The most important thing to me is having my teammates trust in me. I have to make sure they know I will be in the spot they expect me to be in and can count on me on and off the court. Being a freshman last year at Ursuline Academy, I had to meet all new teammates and bond with them. Being able to communicate and play unselfishly helped me to connect with them quickly and build strong relationships. That resulted in us working together as a team, which helped us win games and get regional runner-up in the state tournament.

Outside of basketball, I enjoy cooking. In October 2015, I got diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Although this initially felt like a big adversity, I quickly learned as much as I could about the disease and developed ways to adapt my food choices and cooking techniques. I like to cook because I can find good recipes that I enjoy making and that are gluten free. Cooking also helps me to explore new options and take risks. I like trying new things and being able to have many choices no matter what I am doing or working to achieve. I also enjoy reading. I like learning about different people and the activities in which they participate. A couple of my favorite books are The Hunger Games and The Fault In Our Stars. I feel like reading helps you expand your imagination and explore different ways to assess situations in real life.