Seniors Callie McCulley, Ryann Stefaniak and Taylor Gadd are all Scholar Athletes that are leaders in the local girls basketball scene with their hard work and determination over the past few years.
All three girls play for different teams in Section 5 and have battled against each other over the last 6 years, McCulley for Notre Dame, Stefaniak for Batavia and Gadd for Attica.
McCulley and Stefaniak have reached the 1,000 point mark in their high school careers and Gadd is hoping to reach the same milestone by the end of her Senior season this year.
In their Junior year, all three were able to come together and play for the WNY Lady Lakers in the AAU(Amateur Athletic Union) on the 11th grade National team. The team was made up of players from all over NYS. In a Washington, DC Tournament, the team secured a playoff spot and out of 600 teams they were one of 80 teams left in pool play.
“We are a lot of the same player, I think we compliment each other very well,” says McCulley.
“We all kind of play off of each other, we know the game well.”
Stefaniak says she and McCulley could always depend on Gadd.
“She is really strong and has really great post moves on rebounds. Even when she wasn’t open, she would always find me or Callie on the kick-out and we just played really well together,” says Stefaniak.
Gadd says the experience was very different from high school play.
“It was a faster pace than I have ever played before, it was a lot more competitive, aggressive and our coach had a different technique, he yelled a lot, but it was really good for me and pushed me to do my best,” says Gadd.
The Lady Lakers met the Arizona Select Team, coached by NFL great Donovan McNab.
“We lost at the buzzer, Ryann had a shot to tie the game, but unfortunately missed, but it was a great game and they got to meet McNab and play in front of 600 Division 1 coaches,” says Jeff Parizek, Lady Lakers Coach.
“Its crazy to think that we are Seniors now,” says McCulley, who plans on playing basketball for the University of Rochester next year.
“I’m really excited for that next chapter in my life, now that I am going somewhere else I am a little nervous about that, but excited.”
Stefaniak says she is planning to go to SUNY Brockport next year, but is not sure about playing basketball. Stefaniak who has been playing since 8th grade, says it has been a lot of hard work along the way.
“A lot of off season days in the gym and shots with Coach McCulley and Coach Hein, between spring and summer league and AAU its been a lot of work, but its great to see it all come together.”
Stefaniak’s advice to younger players?
“Even when it seems like you are having a bad day, just keep on working because it does get better and your shots do fall and the harder you work the more you are going to improve and that makes you get better.”
Gadd has also been playing since 8th grade and says rebounding is what got her noticed by coaches.
“My coach always yelled at me to rebound a lot, so that’s what kind of pushed me to who I am now, I was always put on the court because I could rebound. That always got me playing time against tough competition,” says Gadd.
Gadd says after this year she plans to attend Niagara University for Nursing and is planning to play club level basketball.
“My major is very difficult, so not sure how that would work with basketball, so just going to try and fit it in as best I can.”
Coach Parizek, who also coaches the Varsity Kendall Girls Basketball, says if you want to play there is never too early of a time to get going.
“This was a great experience for them cause they get used to playing at that level and playing with each other instead of against each other,” says Parizek.
“I found out that they are pretty nice girls on and off the court and having that camaraderie and that life long friendship is everlasting.”
The Western New York Lady Lakers team is a nonprofit AAU basketball organization for players who are looking to expand their talents and play beyond the opportunities provided during the traditional school year. They offer teams for girls age 11 through 17 and travel to tournaments from April through July.
For more information, here is a link to their website http://www.wnylakers.com/