PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: Kaylee Kirk named Marshall Independent Player of the Year
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TRACY - Being a point guard is more than just bringing the ball up the court. It's also about showing leadership and making the right decisions whether it's a simple post pass, driving around a screen for a layup or calling out a specific play in the final seconds when the game is on the line.
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton senior Kaylee Kirk showed all of these factors for the Panthers, and her contributions on the court has earned Kirk the 2018 Marshall Independent Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Kirk said she was surprised and honored when she heard the news.
"I'm very surprised," Kirk said. "There's a lot of really talented athletes in the area, and I'm really honored, especially with a great group of athletes. It's an honor to be chosen."
TMB coach Derek Ashbaugh said the accolade is fitting to the work that Kirk has put in during her career for the Panthers.
"Obviously, she's very deserving. She's worked really hard the last couple of years and her entire career and she just makes her teammates better. She does a very good job of scoring, plays both ends of the floor," Ashbaugh said. "We put a lot of responsibility on her and it's really well deserved. She's done a lot of things to get herself to this point and to improve every single year, so I'm very happy for her."
Ashbaugh said what makes Kirk's play on the court special is the amount of energy she brings and how she continues to be a student of the game.
"Just the energy that she plays with. She's out there the entire time and there's no slowing down with her. I think the last two years especially she's really added a lot as far as mentally," Ashbaugh said. "She's really understood the game a lot better which has been really good for our team and we were able to trust her and rely on her to shoulder that burden."
Kirk has been the floor general for the Panthers for the past four years, leading TMB to an improvement in wins in each season.
This season, Kirk did a little bit of everything for the Panthers. She averaged 12 points per game (third on the team), led the team in steals (170), assists (243) and finished third on the team in rebounds with 141 total (4.1 per game).
That balance on both sides of the court paid off for Kirk and TMB, who recorded a regular season record of 29-2 and reached the state tournament for the first time since 1997.
Despite suffering an early loss in the opening round, the Panthers were able to bounce back in the consolation bracket, defeating Mesabi East and Byron to take fifth place in the Class AA Tournament.
Kirk knew coming into this year, the season was going to be a special one after the work they put in during the offseason coming off tough losses in the Section 3A Championship game the last two years before.
"I knew this year was going to be special because you could see the growth in each player throughout the summer. Everyone got better and I knew that it was going to be special coming in the first week of practice; everyone got better at something and improved on their weaknesses a little bit. I noticed that too even in myself and all my teammates," Kirk said. "And of course, it's always been my dream to make it to state and that moment of making it to state was the best moment of my life. I just keep reminiscing that memory and going to state and losing the first one and bouncing back and ending the season on two wins is something I'll forever be able to remember. A lot of seniors and athletes don't get that and it's something I'll be able to remember forever."
Ashbaugh said Kirk has grown a lot during her career, especially over the last couple of seasons by improving her skill set and making everyone around her on the court better.
"I think one thing she has been able to do from a very young age was always make her teammates better. She's very good at making the right pass and getting her teammates involved; she's expanded her offensive game and has become a better offensive player by extending her range on her jumpshot and handling the basketball better," Ashbaugh said. "She's just done so many different things that were very subtle but they make a huge difference. Drawing fouls on defenders, being a smarter defender, so she's done quite a few different things to improve."
Ashbaugh added that Kirk has impacted him in a lot of ways and that it's been fun to watch her improve her connection with her teammates throughout the last few years.
"She makes my job a lot easier on the floor, that's for sure. Being a reliable point guard like that, we're able to trust her with lots of different things," Ashbaugh said. "She runs and sees the floor so well and she's willing to give her teammates other opportunities and her trust with her teammates has really grown the last couple of years. It's been one of the most fun things to see that connection."
Kirk said Ashbaugh has been a great person to turn to both on and off the court, and that he makes an effort to help you get better every day.
"He's had a big impact on me," Kirk said. "He really cares about his athletes and as a teacher he cares about his students but he truly cares about the kids he coaches because he's with them every day and he truly cares about making you a better player and person and he cares what happens with you on and off the court. It's just really cool."
Kirk added her teammates have had a big impact on her, and it's going to be especially hard to leave them.
"They've made such an impact on me and it's going to be hard to leave them. They're my best friends, every single one of them, and I've been with them since I could walk and play sports," Kirk said. "It's going to be really hard to leave them because we have the best relationships that you can find and we get to hang out every day during the sports season. It's kind of sad coming into spring sports because we're splitting up as a group, but they had such a big impact on me that it's going to be hard to leave."
Even though her time as a TMB Panther is coming to a close, Kirk isn't ready to hang up the sneakers quite yet. Next fall, she will go from a Panther to a Tiger as a member of Dakota Wesleyan University. The Tigers went 32-6 this past season and won the NAIA Division II National Championship.
Kirk said she's looking forward to continuing to grow not only as an athlete but also as a Christian in her faith.
"I'm looking forward to growing as an athlete. Like I said before, improving the little skills that you've been working towards and working for. It's really a pat on the back when you get to improve on a skill. You obviously can't master a skill because you can always get better at it, but it's just fun to see myself grow as an athlete and as a person," Kirk said. "Dakota Wesleyan is also a Christian school, so even aside from my athletics I'll be able to grow in my faith too, so I'm super excited about that."