‘Hard work pays off’

Southwestern Community College freshman Jasmine Aviles had no idea coming out of high school if she would be able to play college basketball.

After getting a self-described late start in basketball around age 13 or 14, Aviles put in the time and work that became enough to get on the radar of one coach: the recently departed SWCC women’s basketball coach Addae Houston. Houston reached out to Aviles via e-mail.

So Aviles, a New York native who moved to Wakulla County, Florida, took a trip to Creston.

“When I saw the e-mail from coach Houston, it looked feasible for me and my family to pay and for me to be able to come here,” Aviles said. “I texted him (Houston) and we started talking and he talked to my parents. I came up for the visit, liked the feel of the community, I liked the school and ask my dad if we could make it happen, he said sure and so I came.”

Aviles had put in the time on her own. She had received hoops training that her parents Ray and Lydia paid for.

A former all-area player in the “Big Bend” coverage area near Tallahassee, Florida — Crawfordsville where she lived previously is about a 45 minute-drive from the capitol — Aviles never felt she had the natural talent to excel without effort. She needed to earn it.

All of that were critical components to her being awarded SWCC’s Female Athlete of the Year Award.

The Spartan post player filled a crucial role for a team this past winter season that the year prior played without a true post player and frequently struggled to rebound the basketball.

In that respect, her role was more defined. As time wore on, Aviles began to better understand what was expected of her. She began to execute more frequently as she was called upon more. Whether it was shot-taking, rebounding, creating for teammates, and most obviously, being an energetic and positive force no matter the circumstances.

Aviles averaged 10.4 points per game and four rebounds per game. But she measured her success different ways, like improving her free throw percentage throughout the season to 74.2 percent, and making slight improvements in her post-game and adding other elements to what she could do offensively.

“It was hard. We started with at least 12 players and as the season went on, injuries and unfortunate events, we started dwindling,” Aviles said. “There was some games we only had six people to to play. It was rough trying to figure out my role … but he (Houston) made it pretty clear what he wanted me to do on and off the court and I just tried my best to fulfill that to the best of my abilities and I think I did that pretty well.”

When SWCC’s awards day came, Aviles sat with her teammates. She got ready to leave when the women’s basketball portion of the event was completed.

But then there was a hold up.

“The day of the awards ceremony I had no clue. After the basketball awards, I was planning to leave,” Aviles said. “But Beth (Kulow, Dean of Student Services) actually stopped me and she was like ‘don’t go don’t go,’ and I was like ‘why can’t I go?”

But Aviles stayed with her teammates as each wondered if one of them was going to win another award and if she was supposed to be there to support them.

She wasn’t even a starter when the year began. And yet...

“Then they started describing the person who was getting it,” Aviles said “I was like ‘oh man, that’s me!’ I was so shocked. I had no idea.”

The award is a a blessing in her mind. Something to show for the time she has put in.

“When I got the award, I was like ‘God is so good.’ Because he just showed a testament that all my hard work, all the tears and all the bad days was all worth it,” Aviles said. “It all came down to that. My parents couldn’t believe it. They were so happy for me.”

It’s a moment like this that make Aviles reflect on the decision she made, and the circumstances that placed her in Creston, a community she felt comfortable in when she first visited. That move earlier in her life made the move to the next stage of her life in Creston an easier transition.

But her mind is already on next year, as she teased the dynamics she hopes to have with the players who return to the Spartans next year, and wonders about what the next women’s basketball coach can bring to the program. For now, if only for a short while, she has earned the opportunity to bask in how far she has come in a short time.

“I can’’t believe I’m Female Athlete of the Year.”