Ever since she was little, sports have been a vital aspect of junior Jordan Koning’s life. Jordan has played basketball and lacrosse since she was little, her older brother, Jake, has had an influence on how she plays those sports now. The Konings have a basketball hoop in their backyard and the pair of them would play together outside. As she got older, he began to give her drills in order to help her become a better player and overall improve her skills.
With her brother continuing on to play basketball at Aquinas College, he has been able to pass down his knowledge of the sport to Jordan.
“I started playing when I was little and I never really got into anything else,” Jordan said. “I stuck with those two [sports]. He makes me a better player because he’s a guy, and he knows a lot more because I feel like guy sports are way more intense.”
During Jordan’s freshman year, she made varsity in basketball and lacrosse. In both sports, she was the only freshman on varsity. Jordan was nervous at the beginning of the season, but as it progressed, she found more confidence in herself and in her playing.
Being on varsity as a freshman was intimidating for Jordan at first, but as time continued, she was more comfortable and enjoyed the sport even more.
“It was nerve-wracking at first, I was really scared because everyone was older than me,” Jordan said. “There’s just gonna be a lot harder competition, but I think I’m really happy that I made the team because I learned a lot from it. I got a lot of different experiences and got to feel what it was like to be on varsity earlier.”
Since Jordan was on varsity earlier, she was able to build stronger connections with the people she would continue playing with for all of her high school career until they graduated. One of her closest friends is Maggie Sneider, with whom she played basketball and lacrosse.
“I think that our [teammates’] chemistry has gotten a lot better on the court and we know each other better,” Jordan said. “Especially since we’ve been playing together for a long time. We get to learn how other people play, it’s easier because we know them. I’ve met a lot of people, one of my teammates, Maggie Sneider, plays basketball and lacrosse with me, and I’ve gotten really close with her.”
One of her favorite moments from the season this year was when the team played against Jenison. She felt that she wasn’t doing her best at warm-up, so she thought that it was not going to be an adequate game and she wasn’t going to play well. When the game started, she hit four 3-pointers and a couple of 2-pointers; she ended the game with 20 points, which was her career-high so far. Sports allow Jordan a way to escape; they are a break from everything going on in her life. They make her happy and sports are something she loves.
“I love the feeling of winning and playing good; it boosts me up and makes me feel confident in myself. I also love it because when I’m playing it distracts me from everything else, [I’m] not really thinking or worrying about anything else. I love focusing on the game and focusing on a certain play or in a moment.”
Jordan has been playing sports her whole life and has no plans on stopping; she is going to continue in college as well, specifically for lacrosse. However, it is uncertain where she will attend. She encourages people to try a sport if they haven’t already, it’s something she enjoys and hopes others can have fun with it too.
“People should play sports because it’s not only fun, but it’s also a break from any stressors and it gives you a little distraction,” Jordan said. “You can focus in on whatever [sport] you’re doing at the moment.”
Playing sports, some of the aspects have continued into her everyday life, at school, and at home. They have made Jordan competitive with herself and it pushes her to try harder in school. Whenever she plays poorly or the team loses, she is determined to improve and do better the next time.
“A lot of the time in sports, like whenever I’m down on myself, or we lose, it motivates me to try harder on the next game,” Jordan said. “I feel like that’s a lot with school too. Because if I do badly in a subject and don’t understand it, I try my best to figure it out and just do better. It’s me competing with myself, and I think sports really had an impact on that for school.”
