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01/03/2024 10:38 AMBasketball has been in Shelby Burnham’s blood ever since she could remember, and the beat of the rock unlocked her full and unearthed passion for the paint, and heart for the hardwood.
The Branford girls’ basketball team’s junior point guard was introduced to the sport by her father, when she would accompany him for his practices when he was a coach at Platt Tech for the boys. Shelby would show her stuff in drills with the JV squad.
After several years on rec basketball, Shelby found her way onto the Hornets’ hive as a freshman. Now, she is back for another season leading the offense, by running the point for a Branford club looking to repeat its trips to the SCC and state tournaments.
“Ever since spending time with my dad at those practices, I knew it would be my main sport. I love helping people on the team through basketball, and I just saw it as a sport I knew I could be good at. I love the pace of it. I also love how there is so much behind it that fans don’t see,” says Shelby. “My father has probably been the biggest part of my success with basketball; if he never coaches, I would not be playing right now. Another thing that helps me is how everything clicks quickly for me, and I feel I have a high basketball IQ.”
Serving as the signal caller when Branford has the ball, Shelby loves taking it the length of the floor and driving to the hole. She does detail that it can be an enviable job at times due to its responsibilities, but a quick memory aids her quite well during tough times.
“I love having control of the game and being the first person to touch the ball. My favorite part of the position and the game is scoring,” Shelby says. “It is a very hard position to play when you have to make so many decisions, because it is all on you. When you make mistakes, you have to live with it. My confidence has helped with that, as I didn’t have a lot my freshman year. I also know I have to keep going and not let a mistake bother me. I just have a next-play mentality.”
As an upperclassman now, Shelby aims to make her younger colleagues feel comfortable when around the program, and make them feel at home. Shelby does not want them to feel isolated, as she did when she was in their shoes.
“I love supporting everyone, and I love how the younger girls look up to me,” says Shelby. “It makes me feel good about myself and feel like I am being a good teammate. When I was a freshman, I felt I was more on my own and away from the rest of the team, and so I just want the best for them.”
When it comes to applying lessons learned from the lanes and beyond, Shelby applies a golden rule in her daily interactions with others. No matter what the obstacle or deficit, she explains that constants must be perseverance and harnessing the power of synergy.
“The biggest thing for me is just treating people how you want to be treated,” Shelby says. “Support is also huge, because without it, you would have just yourself, and the support affects how you play and perform. You also cannot give up; it is a horrible look when you do. You also have to trust that everything happens for a reason.”
Shelby is someone who can both inspire emotionally and motivate physically through her play and overall disposition, per Branford Head Coach Ally Croughwell.
“Shelby is constantly putting in the time in the offseason to contribute to her skill set and team,” says Croughwell. “I know whenever she is on the floor, she will make a difference for our team. She is always striving to not only push herself, but her teammates at practice, too. She helps set the tone on the floor, and is constantly working to help keep the team's spirits up.”
Branford and Shelby have gone through some expected growing pains during the feeling-out process of the early weeks of the campaign. She explains, though, that in the small sample size of the season, she and the Hornets have shown plenty of fight and encouraging signs that things will shape up favorably.
“We want to work together more and work on communication. We are slowly getting better with more practices and team-bonding events,” says Shelby. “We started the year with a rough loss to Lyman Hall, but it was a wake-up call for us. We lost our second game to East Haven, but we put up a good fight and saw a lot of improvement. We are still learning how each of us work as players, and developing more trust among each other.”