Kate Sears (far left) prepares to shoot a foul shot with less than a minute left in the 3rd quarter.
Kate Sears just started her Freshman year at WHS in 2021, but she’s already experiencing things that usually happen to upperclassmen. From being a starter on the Varsity Basketball team to being ranked #3 of freshmen in NC, Sears is off to an exciting start to high school.
While she is commonly known for her fall sport career, Sears actually played another sport before basketball.
“I’ve played soccer longer than I’ve played basketball,” she said. “I still don’t know if I’m going to play it this year yet.”
Her family is certainly more basketball-focused, though. In fact, both her brother and sister have played for the majority of her life.
“My brother and sister played [basketball],” Sears said. “My sister just kind of played for fun throughout middle school but my brother took it more seriously. He played throughout high school. He was always playing since I can remember.”
Sears is following swiftly in her brother’s footsteps. While she has played on travel teams before, but now she’s a starter on the Watauga Women’s Varsity Basketball team.
“I’ve played on travel teams with them before, so it’s not like I’m playing with new people, it’s just with a different team,” Kate said. “It’s definitely different, but at the same time, not new.”
Despite being only a freshman, Sears has received multiple offers from different colleges, including Appalachian State University, UNC Charlotte, Elon University, and Presbyterian College.
“I think, like, yes that’s a big deal and I’m grateful for all that, [but] it definitely came really soon,” Sears said. “I wasn’t expecting any of it. Last summer I played on the circuit so I did all those tournaments and stuff, and there were a lot of coaches watching. That was very overwhelming.”
With basketball taking center stage of her life, Sears sometimes has trouble balancing different aspects of her life. For the most part, though, things run pretty smoothly.
“For the most part it blends pretty well,” she said. “The Summer of last year was the first time I had done all those tournaments in July. I was gone basically the whole month of July, so I didn’t really have much time with friends. That was kind of hard. I was getting to hang out with the people on my team, but any of my friends in Boone, I just didn’t see. I think I do a pretty good job balancing it.”
While she does do an outstanding job, it wouldn’t be possible without some of the people who have helped her along the way.
“My parents have always been very supportive,” Sears said. “I want to thank Coach Berry too. This is the first year she’s coached me but she’s always worked me out and pushed me to get better.”
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