By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Growing up Ingraham Head Girls Basketball Coach Jasmin Aina always wanted to coach young women.
Not having a female coach of her own until she was older, Aina wanted to be that voice, that person for young female athletes to look up to and admire.
Now in her second year as head coach for Ingraham, Aina is not only fulfilling her dream, but enjoying the process of helping young girls transform into young ladies both on and off the court.
For her players, many of whom are experiencing a female coach for the first time, Aina’s influence has been immeasurable.
“I have learned a lot from Coach Aina as her being one of my first female basketball coach and seeing her assert her role as a female leader in basketball has inspired me to stand up for myself throughout the season,” says senior point guard Avery Meyer.
The Rams (7-9 Overall, 7-7 in Metro), have spent most of this season focusing on developing who they are as players. Having their fair share of wins and losses, the Rams, as a program, are in what Aina calls a character development stage.
“This season has been going very well, the team is learning a lot about who they are and are really trying to develop a secure identity on the court,” says Aina.
Stressing the point that success isn’t always measured in wins and losses, Aina tries to balance growth and learning amidst some of the tough losses that her team may experience in arguably the most talented league in the state – the Metro League.
Walking through goals as a team before facing each opponent and getting the girls to feel secure with who they are as a team is a point of emphasis for Aina in her role as a head coach.
“Looking at our opponents’ success as well as some of their weaker points, studying film, and looking at teams our next opponent has played has helped us see how to exploit their weaknesses,” says Aina.
Seniors Avery Meyer and Kalli Dahlberg are true leaders for the Rams on and off the court.
Meyer is the team captain, and always tries to rally her team and learn from her teammates as well in terms of how and where they want the ball.
“I think that my role as being a leader has always been to set an example and being able to utilize and understand the strengths of each individual on our team,” shared Meyer.
Aina believes that Meyer is mentally tough and has the right personality to help the team succeed.
“Being a true leader, she really is a valuable player as another voice on the court and in the classroom with her teammates,” said Aina. “We are definitely going to miss her leadership next year.”
Ingraham’s other key player, Kalli Dahlberg has worked hand in hand with Meyer to lead the Rams to victory this season to the best of their ability.
Dahlberg has been a point of connectivity really bringing the team together and carrying out Aina’s goal of helping the girls develop who they are as players.
“Kalli is truly the life and heart of our team,” says Aina. “She is very welcoming and has always made sure that everyone finds a place on our team and in our program.”
Whether you are a player on junior varsity or varsity, Ingraham takes pride in making every one fit in and that is something that Aina wants to be prevalent throughout the program. Aina says that Dahlberg really takes on the role of a communal being and makes sure that everyone feels seen, heard, valued and an integral part of the team.
With Aina’s main goal of developing her young female athletes, she feels that this season as her second year as head coach has played out exactly how she imagined. Going into the remainder of the season goals, Aina not only has goals for the team, but she also has goals for herself.
Above all, Aina wants to encourage her team to continue to see the fun in basketball, and being confident leaders even during hectic times.
“I want to make sure that I am putting myself in that position to continue to learn and grow,” says Aina. “I am continuing to find other seasoned coaches to look up to and to study, and pattern some of my ways of coaching while still continuing to learn the game of basketball.”
“My team and I are going to continue to learn to be confident, learn who we are, and play the game as Ingraham High School and not try to be someone else as we finish off the remainder of the season,” concluded Aina.