Leaders of the team

Most leaders lead vocally, they encourage, they motivate and they instruct. Others lead by example.

At the Webb Toyota Lady Bronco Invitational, a handful of leaders showed what kind of players there are in girls' basketball.

Kirtland Central's Olivia Harris and Taradena Mitchell lead in similar yet distinctive ways.

Harris, a senior point guard, leads with her offensive ability but mostly with her instruction.

Harris said it wasn't until this year that she realized the importance of her role as a leader.

"I guess it's important because they (younger players) need someone to turn to," Harris said. "It kinda didn't hit me until this year until I thought about it, now that I'm a senior it kind of fell on me. I'm trying to do a good job of being a leader."

So is Taradena Mitchell, a junior, who usually leads the team in points but mostly leads by example.

"I guess it's great having everyone look up to me," Mitchell said. "I look up to the seniors on the team too. I watch what they do. I guess it somewhat inspires me to do what they're doing and having the other players look up to what I'm doing.

"I'm learning a lot," she said. "I've already experienced everything, so when I'm coming to be a senior I know what to do and what to expect."

On the Thoreau girls' basketball team everyone is a leader. Of the 11 players on the team 10 are seniors and one is a junior. In a sense they are all leaders to each other.

Thoreau head coach Valerie Antone said two of her leaders, Alisha House and Justine Miller, are great examples of leaders.

       "(House) doesn't say much but when she goes in there, man, she's a terror," Antone said. "She's fighting the big girls for rebounds, she's giving it her all to where it physically hurts her because she's working so hard.

"She's the first one to tell the ladies, 'come on you can do this.' She's kind of a little echo of all the things we need to remember as a team," Antone said.

Miller, a four-year varsity team member, displays a rare kind of leadership.

"She's kind of the adult," Antone said. "She's the mature one among the players. She will speak out when she feels the need to step up and speak out.

"Other than that she'll lead by example, and she always says it's my fault," Antone said. "She always critiques herself first, then she'll kind of be like, 'It's your turn to step up to the plate.'"

In Shiprock, Courtney Benally and Arnetia Begay are two of the leaders.

Shiprock head coach Brady Rivers said Benally, now a senior, for the last three years served as a point guard.

"She's worked herself into it," he said. "She's one of the captains. She's an overall good person. Everyone on the team likes her. She's kinda quiet, doesn't score a lot of points but she's a good leader."

Arnetia Begay is a sophomore who has made big improvements that led to a starting position on the team.

"Earlier in the year she struggled a little bit," Rivers said. "She works hard, gets rebounds, she's one of those girls kind of like Mishauna that kind of does a lot of little things that don't show up. She runs the offense well."

Begay considers herself to be a leader and a learner. She takes well to being taught new things. And leadership to her is all about setting a good example.

"To be a leader on a team one would have to stay positive and encourage," she said. "It makes me feel pretty good and more confident about my game. Being a leader is making the grades and practicing hard in practice and doing what the coaches expect of me."

Back to top ^