By Autumn Anderson –Reprinted from the The University Star
Sophomore guard McKinley Bostad [Kennedale Class of 2014] has had to adapt during her transition from the Southeastern Conference to a Sun Belt team, but not right away.{{more}}
Bostad is red-shirting this season for Texas State after playing as a true freshman at Arkansas, where she scored double digits twice in the season and had a 15-point game against Missouri earning her SEC Freshman of the Week.
Having to sit this season out has not been the easiest for Bostad, who wants to join the rest of the Bobcats already.
?I have to sit out this year and you know sometimes its just like, ?Oh, I?m putting all this hard work in practice,? and, you know, you don?t get to do the best part about being an athlete?getting to play in the games,? Bostad said. ?But, you know, I always have to look forward to the future and just keep working hard until it?s all going to play out in the end.?
Although the sophomore is sidelined this season, Bostad considers being able to observe her teammates and learn how they function on the court as an edge up. The new perspective lets the Bobcat see how she can approach her teammates when they need to be motivated.
Texas State is nothing new for Bostad. Coach Zenarae Antoine began Bostad?s recruitment process in the athlete?s freshman year of high school. Bostad played at Kennedale High School in Kennedale, Texas. After deciding to play at Arkansas, the guard went through a coaching change, which she considers to be one of her biggest challenges so far.
?My head coach left, and then me and the other coach didn?t really click that well,? Bostad said. ?So, the biggest challenge for me was deciding if I wanted to stick it out or transfer somewhere else, and thankfully it went this way.?
Bostad felt she was giving in and considers the decision to transfer as swallowing her pride. Support from her friends and family?especially her mother?has been important to Bostad as she settled into a new school.
Patti Bostad, McKinley Bostad?s mother, plays a huge role in the athlete?s life. McKinley Bostad wears jersey No. 14 because that was the number her mother wore as a basketball player at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Some people say the apple doesn?t fall far from the tree, and that is exactly the case for Patti Bostad and McKinley Bostad when it comes to their playing styles. The transfer guard considers her mother as a scrappy defensive-minded player, while the athlete is more of a scorer and shooter.
McKinley Bostad was coached by her mother in junior high school and was taught one of life?s core values on and off the court.
?The biggest thing my mom ever taught me was toughness,? McKinley Bostad said. ?If you fall down, you get right back up. You never let anyone see you hurt. So, I feel like that?s one of the most important things that she?s ever taught me because I can use that on and off the court.?
Aside from her mother, McKinley Bostad acquires motivation from herself as well.
?When I step on the court I want to be the best,? McKinley Bostad said. ?I want to look at the other team and be like ?I got this.? That?s kind of my motivation for everything. I want our team to be the best too, so I feel like if I?m not producing, then I?m not making our team the best it can be.?
Sitting this season out is helpful in terms of adding excitement and letting McKinley Bostad work on her game. The Bobcat wishes to be on the hardwood with the team, but says that it just makes her even more excited for next season, when she?ll be eligible to play.
Antoine said McKinley has already made an impact on the Bobcats and sees the athlete fitting with the team in a lot of different ways. Having a year of basketball in the SEC is a plus for Antoine and the rest of the team.
?At that level, her ability to be able to play fast and understand the speed of the game was just really exciting for me,? Antoine said. ?It?s not like some transfers who didn?t have the opportunity to play. McKinley played. So, I think for me that was ultimately really exciting as well.?
McKinley Bostad will join the Bobcats on the floor next season.
