Camellia- A Great Teammate

Camellia is a very good teammate- she gets it as far as supporting her team and her teammates. But I thought it would be better for an actual teammate to write about Camellia as a teammate.

The following was written by Kaylee Miller:

Camellia is such a good teammate because she is the definition of a good friend. I’ve always thought a good friend is someone who is kind, caring, and supportive of your successes. Camellia is just that; she is the person who would jump up and down for any small success you may have! She is a diligent worker in every aspect of her life, and that includes basketball. 

Out of every teammate I’ve ever had, she is the most diligent person when it comes to watching film and being “game prepared.” She was always the person to have the film up before games or know exactly what the other teams plays were.

She is a great teammate because she leads by example. Even if Coach Massey or Coach Barshinger were not talking to her specifically, she would listen intently to improve her game as well. 

She sets an example by doing the little things, like never taking shortcuts at a practice or in the weight room, keeping track of workouts in her streaks book (and working hard to meet those goals,) and giving it a 100% in practice no matter what.

There are a million good things to say about Camellia, but the most important is that she is a good teammate because she is genuine. She genuinely supports all other teammates and is always willing to put the team first, regardless of what it might mean for her stats or successes. She is the true definition of a team player!! 

Here is my Q/A with Camellia…

When did you first start playing basketball? 

I went to the summer camps in the summer when I was a little kid but I really didn’t start playing until I was in 7th grade. I decided to try out for the team because I had a couple of friends that were planning on playing to. 

Since you started playing basketball, what are some of your favorite memories?

I’ve had plenty of good memories, but this year had been my absolute favorite. I love cheering on my team and being supportive to my teammates. I remember this past year I had a rebound and I could hear my team cheering for me. It made me feel really ecstatic. I couldn’t stop smiling. 

What do you hope teammates would say about you?

I would hope that they think that I am a supportive and kind person. Kaylee Miller is a great role model and I’ve looked up to her because of her massive amount of positive energy. I want to always be optimistic and bring her energy back next year.

As far as basketball, what do you want to work on during the off-season?

I know I need to work on ball handling and becoming more comfortable with the basketball. Lately I’ve added in the ball handling workout to my personal one to help me become used to dribbling and so on. I will also be working on developing stronger post moves and a better inside shot. 

You play tennis on the high school team. What got you hooked to go out for tennis?

When I was getting ready to go to GHS I had no intention of joining tennis. I was ready to start marching band and I didn’t think I’d have the time. My Mom received an email from Coach Scherpe inquiring if I was planning on joining tennis. When I was younger I went to hit the ball with my Dad once in a while but I never actually played for a long period of time. I decided to come out and showed up on the first day of tryouts. After the first year I didn’t really care much for tennis but then that summer I started to work more and practice with my Dad. I became much better and I’m always improving. Playing with my Dad and the old guys helped a lot. This past season Scherpe put me in number 1 doubles and I played with two different girls. We had a couple of wins but it was rough. When I played singles I was able to nail down some wins. When we did 6(singles) and 3 (doubles) I played number 3 singles. I have really grown to love tennis as a sport and I love to play it too. 

Are you more into singles or doubles?

I like singles better. I’m hoping to be playing singles next year but we’ll see if our season is cut short because of the virus. In singles the only person I have to worry about is myself and it’s a major mind game. I want to get started on learning more advanced strategies. 

Coach Scherpe is your coach in tennis. Does she ever mellow out?

Scherpe always has a fiery attitude and that’s not ever going to go away it makes her who she is. 

This past summer you were selected to go to HOBY youth program. How did you get picked? What was it like? What impact did it have on you?

Since I was top 30% of my class I was offered the chance to apply. Our school sends 3 students each year and we had to fill out an application with two essays. Out of the applicants from our school they picked me and 2 other students. It is a 4 day camp and we learned about personal leadership along with ways to give back to our communities. The experience was marvelous. I met many students from across the state and they were all very positive about the change we could make in the world. The experience was able to give me a different mindset and when the seminar finished I wanted to do something to make a change.

You are a great student. To achieve in the classroom the way that you do, you obviously are very intelligent. But as I have gotten to know you, I think you possess some "skills" and some "habits" that allow you to achieve the way you do in the classroom. If you were going to give tips on being a great student, what would they be?

Well I would say to be a good student is about the mindset. I make sure that I am listening and taking down notes while my teacher is talking so that I can learn to the best of my ability. Number one would be to ask good questions. Be inquisitive about your learning because that is the only way you’re going to grow. Number two is to finish homework every night and ask questions in the morning. For calculus and physics I have to make sure my homework is done because by the next day our class has moved on in continuing the topic and the base knowledge was from the day before. During sport seasons I have to do my homework on the bus or when I get home because that is the only way I can get it done. Number 3 is to do something productive in your free time. I make sure that when I have free time I try to do something that engages the brain. Reading and creating something new are great ways to engage the mind. Number 4 is to do more than you have to. I would always go above and beyond to attempt harder questions and answer the teacher in class to engage with the lesson. Number 5 is to make eye contact with the teacher. That way the teacher knows that your are engaged and paying attention. 

You are very disciplined as far as your diet. Would you describe your diet? Why do you choose the diet you do? Do you have any weakness that you give into with your diet?

I don’t eat pork or beef. Some people just say they don’t eat red meat and so that’s what I have adopted. My reasons for this are mostly a personal choice. I want to cut down on my meat consumption. 41% of U.S. land is used for livestock and of that percentage 70% is for cows. Much of the meat in stores is also from CAFOs(concentrated animal feeding operations) and they are injected growth hormones so that the animals will grow quicker to be harvested faster. They are also fed antibiotics to prevent the animals from getting sick. Poultry takes less land but they are also raised in CAFOs. Meat production is one of the leading contributors of carbon emissions which hurts the environment. In the past three years that I have been on this diet I only once cheated and ate lamb kabobs and pork egg rolls (at different times) but that would be the only times I diverged from my diet.  

At this point, what are some of your options as far as college? 

I am looking at smaller liberal arts colleges. I want a rigorous academic course load and I am also hoping to play tennis. I like Carleton, Bowdoin, Swarthmore, and MIT. I have been looking at colleges in the ACM and I am considering Luther College as well. 

What are thoughts you have about what you would want to study in college?

I want to study something in the STEM fields. I love mathematics but I don’t know what collegiate level math holds in store.  I don’t want to do tons of theory like proving line segments with multiple theorems. I do like physics and asking why certain things happen. I’ve also been looking at Environmental Policy but I don’t know if I’ll like law. I haven’t decided yet and here’s hoping I will figure it out in the coming years. 

Ten years from now, do you have thoughts on what you would like to be doing?

I would want to be doing something to make a difference. I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing but whatever it is I’ll enjoy it. 

If you became totally in charge of America tomorrow, what law would you make immediately?

In the situation we are in at this moment, I would pass a law to give every family a stable income to live on until we can control the virus.

If you could invite three people (living or dead) to supper, who would you invite and why?

I would want to invite Naomi Osaka because her demeanor is so sweet and she is extremely inspirational. She is an amazing tennis playing and I love to watch her play. I would also want to have Albert Einstein because I would want to pick his brain and see what he knows. I would also invite Isaac Newton and hope to learn something about how he created calculus in his time during quarantine.