Personal Statement
I'm MacKenzie Layng, a junior at Jefferson High School in Boulder, Montana. My passion for sports, specifically playing basketball began when I was very young. I've played on a few different travel and AAU teams as well as my high school team. I learned to compete under pressure and not become rattled when I was in grade school by competing in the Elks National Hoop Shoot competition every year. By maintaining composure I was able to become a State Champion in the hoop shoot, a district hoop shoot champion each year and also a regional runner up champion. Competing in an environment such as that helped me to set and meet goals, but most importantly learn how to build my confidence and thrive in high intense competition. I've learned and carried with me throughout my sports journey how to have resiliency, mental toughness, and competitiveness while also doing my best to impact my team in whatever facet I can. I always strive to set goals, love being a part of my team's success, and relish an opportunity to help my teammates by giving them a good pass, getting a huge stop on defense or just lifting them up when needed and providing guidance. I keep track of my statistics and percentages always looking to improve my game offensively and defensively. I feel the harder the competition the more intense I play and perform. Besides statistics, I feel one of my greatest assets I can bring is that of overall tenacity, court awareness, and a high basketball IQ. Being 1% better everyday in athletics and academics is something I strive to achieve. I believe the work ethic a person carries with them in the gym carries over to the classroom. My goal is to always do the best I am capable of doing and to always learn and improve. It's important to me to set goals in my other two sports, volleyball and track & field as much as it is in basketball. My goal for volleyball was to play a major role on my varsity team. Track & field my goal for the State Meet this past season was to break the school record in the javelin, which I did as a sophomore. I have many more goals yet to accomplish and know I will do my best to achieve them.
