Ashelynn Birch '20 Recruiting Profile

Sports have always been a big part of my family life.  My father was a state champion wrestler and was offered college scholarships for it.  He always wanted me to try as many sports as I could growing up so I could find one that I loved.  I tried several sports and even danced growing up, but when the opportunity to play on a traveling basketball team came 7 years ago, I realized I had found the sport I loved. Ever since I started playing high school basketball, my passion for the game has grown immensely. During my freshman year I played two quarters of JV and four quarters of varsity. After playing my first high school varsity game, I realized how much I loved the game of basketball. The atmosphere during the games is something I live for. I love playing with my teammates and friends on the court, working together, and accomplishing great things. Being a good teammate is very important to me because you need to have a good relationship with everyone on the team to be able to compete at the team's highest level. I love the competitiveness in every game, especially during rival games. Some athletes will crack under pressure but I thrive with pressure. The feeling I get during a good competitive game of basketball is something that I don’t want to lose after graduating high school. Basketball has made me a stronger and better person as I have learned that I can do hard things.  I have learned how to work hard, not to take things for granted, and have learned that the satisfaction of doing something well and drives me to succeed in all areas of my life.  Having a strong work ethic and being able to work with others for a common goal is becoming more rare in our world today.  These are key aspects to who I am and I know it benefits my high school team now and I will be an asset to the team I play on in my future. 

Academics are also a huge part of my life and a very big deciding factor in where I choose to attend college. I strive to always get good grades so that I will be a competitive academic college applicant as well as a great basketball player. I know that being a good student and having good grades is a big part of what coaches look at while recruiting so I have always made my education a big part of my life. I want to continue to have sports be a part of my professional career as well; whether that be through sports medicine, coaching, or being a trainer for a college sports team.