Sophomore surging for youthful, unbeaten Fowlerville girls
FOWLERVILLE - Elie Smith might've been a few more hard falls away from her basketball career potentially ending before it really got started.
Smith, who is now a sophomore at Fowlerville High School, suffered multiple head injuries while playing recreational basketball in her younger days. It was a constant issue for her growing up.
"When I was in elementary school, my neck was really weak," Smith said. "I'd jump high and get rebounds, get hit off balance, and hit my head almost every game."
Luckily for Smith, her father, who is an engineer, was able to design a headband that protected her from the rough collisions with the hardwood. She's been wearing it since fifth grade.
"I just couldn't get any more (concussions)," Smith added. "If we didn't do anything about it, it would have been pretty bad. We saw the problem and fixed it."
Smith and her protective headwear are now thriving on the court for the Gladiators, as the 6-foot-1 guard/forward is averaging 15 points and 12 rebounds per game for Fowlerville, which moved to 4-0 after beating Eaton Rapids, 47-30, Friday night.
High school basketball standouts: Dec. 9
Smith is one of three sophomores in the starting lineup and is the nucleus of a underclassmen group that made noise last season by helping the program finish with a 13-8 record and grab a third-place finish in the CAAC White.
However, this year's youthful group has experience, as the three sophomores coach Nick Douglass begins games with (Smith, Jackie Jarvis and Meghan Douglass) started in about 17 of the program's 21 games last year and juniors Ollie Updike and Sarah Matlock played big roles, too.
The sophomore class has played together for a while, dating back to the girls' time in recreational leagues, and Smith can sense that the Gladiators are ready to take the next step this season.
"We're really big on winning," Smith said, "and I know it's really easy to say that, but if you walk into one of our practices, it's crazy how much we want to win. That can take you a long way. This group values winning a lot more because we got so close to being where we wanted to be last year, and we're just a step away.
"To win the conference and win our district, we talk about it every day, it's brought up every day. That's what we're dialed in on this year. Going farther in districts and cutting out some of the losses in the league that we shouldn't have had last year."
Smith said she was more timid as a freshman, and this season, with the support of her teammates, she's been able to be the aggressor on the offensive end of the floor. Nick Douglass has seen her ramp up her play through the first two weeks and use her versatility to become a more consistent threat.
"She's one of those type of kids who can attack anybody," the second-year coach said. "Small guards, she can take them. Tall, in the post, she can take them. As a team, one of our mottos is 'Just attack' ... attack the rim, attack the body.
"These girls have an expectation for themselves, among themselves, that when they step foot on the floor they can play with anybody. They're very seasoned even though they're young."
Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.