Being a freshman on a varsity team is a huge accomplishment, but achieving this with little experience is an anomaly. Jada Luke played basketball for just one year before earning a spot on the Cy Woods Women’s Varsity Basketball Team.

“I want to thank the coaches who believe in me and my teammates for giving me the opportunity to be able to play at a higher level,” said Luke. “Freshmen on varsity is a really big accomplishment.”

Having had a background playing volleyball, Luke is no stranger to team oriented games. Even though she is just beginning her basketball journey , her teammates make sure to make her feel a part of the team.

“My teammates accept me and they treat me really well,” said Luke. “I bring a different perspective to the team.”

Luke plays as a Guard, and uses her unique skills that she obtained from her time playing volleyball to contribute to the success of the team. Her placement on the team helped push the other girls and to help create a winning record for the upcoming district season. Luke’s talent and determination allowed her to shine in the spotlight, and she looks forward to the first district match against Cypress Ranch High School on Dec. 8.

“They put me on to be able to help the team,” said Luke. “I’m able to help them grow and be able to be better.”

High school basketball is a different world compared to middle school and club sports. It’s a whole new experience that contributes to making an athlete’s high school experience more fun. Preseason is filled with tournaments and scrimmages against teams out of district and then followed by a challenging regular district season which is a whole different world than middle school ball.

“High school basketball is really challenging – it’s fun,” said Luke. “You have tournaments, you have games, you have student populations, different energies and everything like that.”

Though some people looking in from outside of the team’s perspective may underestimate Luke’s abilities based on her age, she believes that age shouldn’t be a factor in weighing someone’s skill.

“It’s not really what your age is, it’s basically what you can do as a person,” said Luke.

With this year being her first in high school basketball, Luke has some hopes and expectations for the team and for herself.

“This season I hope we are able to grow and learn with each other and to have good chemistry on and off the court,” said Luke. “Also to never give up in any games.”

The student body and staff are excited to see the impact that Luke makes during the season as well as her stats for games. Gaining varsity status as a freshman is not something that many people can boast, so Luke is ready to bring her A-Game so that she can further prove why she belongs on varsity.

Throughout her basketball journey, Luke has received love, support and encouragement from the people that she holds close to her as well as her coaches and teammates. With the work that she put in to get to the place that she is now, she thanks all of the people who were with her for the ride.

“My parents, my teammates who believed in me, and my coaches that have believed in me and put me on a higher level team and saw my growth this season,” said Luke.