When most students stop playing a sport, they normally don’t go back to it, and especially not for one year. But this year, senior Reagan (Ronnie) Wilson decided to come back for one more year of basketball with her teammates and friends.
“I didn’t want to spend the last bit of my high school career without a team like that,” said Wilson.
During her junior year, Wilson struggled with confidence and internal pressure and felt like she wasn’t contributing to the team, so she took the winter season off.
“I got a very much needed break. I started doing a lot more activities besides sports,” said Wilson. “I feel like just cutting off one thing reduced stress, gave me a minute to breathe and to relax.”
Coming back from an off-season may feel a little weird, but Wilson feels like she’s picking up where she left off her sophomore year.
“I have the same relationship with all the girls on the team,” Wilson said. “I feel like I know everybody pretty well, like I never stopped playing with them.”
Fellow senior Haley Kube is excited to see Wilson play again.
“The confidence everyone struggles with, especially in basketball,” said Kube. “And so her being willing to go back into a sport that I know she’s not super confident in, it really makes me happy to see her overcome the challenge and just sacrifice everything for the team.”
Another one of Wilson’s teammates, senior Maura Tichota, is also excited that Wilson is back on the team.
“When I was a freshman, I always ran to the corner where she sat because her and Bella both would cheer me on,” said Tichota. “So I’m excited for this year to have her back, and it’ll be good to play with her again.”
Wilson has already jumped back into the seniors’ role of being a role model for younger players.
“Ronnie is a great asset to our team,” said girls basketball coach Clay Carlton. “She brings the spirit of the team up with her goofy personality. She also gives us a great look during practices with her strong knowledge of the game.”
Wilson is used to being a source of energy for her team, whether that’s basketball, volleyball, cheer or fine arts.
“I’m hyped for every aspect of everything that I do. Sports probably more than others just because there’s more opportunity for it,” said Wilson. “But I would say I get pretty loud during the one act show, during practice and the actual show at competitions.”
Wilson says that the reason she is motivated to have a lot of energy is because it doesn’t require any talent to be loud and to make other people feel cheered on.
“I know that it feels good to be cheered on or have people support you, so I try to do that for other people as well,” said Wilson.
Wilson’s teammates notice the effect of her cheering and energy.
“Ronnie’s energy motivates me while I’m playing because she always has my back, and just knowing that there’s someone that’s always confident in my abilities and always trusts me to do the right thing, it really brings confidence in myself,” Kube said. “I know if I’m down, there’s always gonna be someone to pick me up.”
Tichota agreed that Wilson’s energy motivated her during the volleyball season.
“She just made it so much more enjoyable to play. It’s like always having someone there for you,” said Tichota.
Wilson hopes that younger students will see what she does to help her teammates and use it in their lives as well.
“I know from experience how uplifting it can be to have somebody come up to you and just kind of try to boost you up,” Wilson said. “So I hope that people seeing me and how I act on and off the court will inspire them to do the same thing as well.”
