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01/25/2017 11:00 PMJess McInnis has plenty to feel proud about as a member of the North Haven girls’ basketball team. Although Jess was hoping that the Indians would have a better record at the halfway point of her senior season, Jess feels honored to be one of their captains and loves seeing her team work hard every day. Last week, North Haven’s persistence paid off when the team recorded its second win of the season with a 57-53 victory versus Coginchaug.
“Our record doesn’t reflect the way we work in practice,” says Jess. “We’re not too happy with the outcome, but we have a lot of good things going for us, and we’re a really hard-working team that’s turning in the right direction.”
Jess started playing basketball in 5th grade and was immediately drawn to the team aspect of the sport. She played rec league and also at the middle school, where she captained her team as an 8th grader. Transitioning to the high school level was a big jump for Jess, but one she was excited to make. North Haven welcomed Ray Degnan as its head coach during Jess’s sophomore year, when she saw a little bit of varsity time as the Indians earned a spot in the State Tournament—an achievement that Jess says was “one of the best moments of my high school sports career.”
When the Indians held their banquet at the end of Jess’s junior year, any soon-to-be senior with an interest in captaining the team was invited to make a speech. Jess was quick to throw her hat in the ring and her words helped her get elected as one of North Haven’s captains.
“After the speeches, the team votes,” Jess says. “I felt like I did a great job with my speech. I wanted to impact my teammates’ lives like the seniors before me did for me. I wanted to be that role model for them and for them to be able to come to me. The upperclassmen set great examples for me.”
Leading a team that’s struggling in the win column can be challenging for Jess, but she does her best to keep her teammates’ spirits up, keep them motivated, and keep them looking toward the future.
“A lot of time, coach puts JV players in and we want them to know they’re impacting the team and everyone is working toward a purpose,” says Jess. “As a captain, I have to be positive and cheer on the team and, even when you’re [2-11], you still have to bring the motivation and intensity and keep team going. It’s a lot of work and pressure, but it’s worth it.”
Coach Degnan compliments Jess for making such a positive impact with the way she’s leading North Haven this season, and adds that she’s also producing more on the court.
“She leads our team in a multitude of ways, but the most important are the example she sets as she demands the most of her teammates and herself on and off the basketball court. She is both a friend and a mentor to all in the program and has earned the reverence and respect of all the underclassmen through her efforts to improve and succeed throughout the offseason and actual season,” Degnan says. “Jess always maintains the positive attitude a leader must exude in an effort to quell the raging emotions of her teammates. While seemingly simple, I find this to be an immensely difficult task considering Jess is also worrying about her own play and efforts. Jess has seen huge upticks in minutes, points, and rebounds this season as a senior.”
Although basketball has been a big part of Jess’s life for several years, the sport isn’t her only athletic endeavor. When she was in 8th grade, Jess joined North Haven’s Youth Lacrosse program and found that she liked the sport’s fast pace, as well as the teamwork involved. Jess is looking forward to her senior season with the Indians this spring, noting they are “getting better and better” after having reached the playoffs in consecutive years.
When she was entering North Haven High School, Jess decided that she wanted to find a way to keep busy and stay in shape for basketball, and so she joined the volleyball team. Jess played setter for the Indians and earned the Most Improved Player Award as a senior.
“Volleyball turned out to be a really great experience and I love the team,” says Jess. “The team bonding was really welcoming, especially being a freshman coming into the high school. I’ll miss the family aspect of it.”
This past fall, North Haven brought in a new volleyball coach in Brianna Kleckner, who was a big influence on Jess. Jess says that she’d like to continue playing volleyball at either the club or intramural level in college.
“She was amazing for me,” says Jess of Kleckner. “I improved greatly when she was my coach and strived for much more than I thought I could.”
Jess has been influenced by other coaches, as well, particularly Lindsay Suhr, who was her freshman basketball coach. Jess also credits her parents for being supportive of her endeavors, both athletically and beyond.
Outside of sports, Jess is a high achiever in the classroom who’s ranked 10th in her class, is the president of the Math Honor Society, and a member of the Music, Spanish, and National honor societies. She also plays the saxophone in the school band, which takes yearly competition trips.
Looking beyond high school, Jess has applied to Marist College and Dartmouth College and is considering studying computer science. It’s hard for Jess to believe that it’s already her senior year and that she’s halfway through her final season as a member of the North Haven girls’ basketball team.
“It’ll be really hard not playing after playing almost my whole life,” says Jess. “I’ll miss the team aspect of the whole thing and working toward one goal—to win. I’ll miss having the support from my team and my coaches. I like to play team sports because you can’t be dependent on one person. I like knowing I have my teammates’ backs and they have mine.”