Quantity with Quality
What Minnesota Miss Basketball Can Teach Us About Humility
High school senior is an inspiration on and off the court
This is my next story in a series of articles responding to Dr Mehmet Yildiz’s challenge to produce a short quality article with three take home points each day for thirty days.
I have chosen to use Wikipedia’s main page as inspiration, choosing one item from the “Did You Know” section as topical encouragement.
Paige Beuckers is a Minnesota high school senior basketball star committed to playing at the University of Connecticut. The 18-year-old hoop phenom started playing for the Hopkins High School Junior Varsity team while she was in 7th grade, and after growing 4 more inches between seasons, was offered Division I women’s basketball scholarships from three different programs.
After suffering three straight losses in the Minnesota Class 4A state championship game in 8th, 9th and 10th grades, Bueckers and her fellow Hopkins Royals nabbed the 2019 championship. The Royals were on the verge again this year, qualifying for the championship game, however, it was canceled on March 13, 2020, due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
In the 8th grade, Paige was scouted by the WNBA Minnesota Lynx’s head coach Cheryl Reeve who described Paige as having a way about her that just oozed confidence. Paige’s high school coach says he has never seen anyone as special at her age.
Described as humble and mature by coach and teammates alike, Paige fit in seamlessly with the varsity team in 8th grade and has been a centerpiece on a high school team with two other NCAA Division 1 prospects as well.
What We Can Learn from a Talented and Poised Point Guard
While Paige has played on the U.S. national teams, received more awards than can reasonably be listed and has been recruited by over 10 NCAA Division 1 teams, she still remains extremely grounded and humble.
“I take pride in being a good role model” is what Paige had to say to the Minnesota Star Tribune when they approached her for an interview after being the first female high school player ever featured on the cover of SLAM magazine.
Paige doesn’t ride the team bus back from away games so that she can spend time with her fans, usually young girls that look up to Paige a role model.
Paige’s family is extremely supportive, in particular her father who coached her until she was in 7th grade (as you will remember was her debut on the high school team).
Take home points:
- Be aware of who may be watching you. Paige’s takes pride in being a role model, knowing that many young girls look up to you. You never know who is watching.
- Give back. Paige stays after every game to sign autographs and take pictures with her fans. She commented that, “If somebody wants to use their time to come watch my game, it’s only right that I give back.”
- Humility is attractive. People are drawn to others that demonstrate humility. In Paige’s case it is to the tune of over 466,000 Instagram followers. By contrast, Kirk Cousins the quarterback of the Minnesota Viking NFL team has only 390,000 followers.
Do you actively practice humility? Who might consider you to be a role model?
When we see a high school athlete living by these standards it motivates the rest of us. Thanks Paige!
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Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. He firmly believes that bad managers destroy more than companies, and good managers create a passion that is contagious. Compassion, grace and gratitude drive the world; or at least they should. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and join the mail list.