From practice player to team Captain - one player's journey on Montlake
Seattle -
The Huskies 2017-2018 season has come to an end following their 71-68 loss to the Cal Bears in the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament. But this group still has a lot to be proud of, especially Senior Guard Jenna Moser.
“She’s just got incredible character. She’s just so well liked by all the coaches, all the players, everybody that interacts with her. She’s just a likable young woman, she does well academically and she cares a lot about her craft," says Head Coach Jody Wynn.
Moser picked up basketball at the age of four and instantly fell in love.
But growing up in the small town of Colton, just outside Pullman, there wasn’t much opportunity for her to continue playing after high school.
“I thought about it" says Moser, "but was never really heavily recruited and by the time I got to my junior year of high school I hadn’t had any significant letters or anything for recruiting so I kinda just decided that I was going to pass on it and go the education route.”
That brought her to the University of Washington. Missing the game her freshman year, Moser signed up to be a practice player and as a result, she got to work out alongside some of the best college players in the country, Kelsey Plum and Chantell Osahor.
“They’ve done such great things and to know them off the court as well is just like a treat," Mosers says of her former teammates.
She soon found her confidence realizing she could play division one basketball. Her sophomore year, she walked on to the team.
“Coming in as a practice player I still wasn’t sure if that I wanted to play in college, like I knew this was something I wanted to try but I still wasn’t sure where I fit in but then looking forward from that time until now, like seeing where I am at presently just having the confidence to make the decisions on the court and just shooting it with confidence and just bringing the ball up against pressure all those things combined," says Moser.
They combined to not only make Moser a starter in her final year on Montlake but a scholarship athlete who earned the role of Captain from her teammates. As her time on the court comes to an end, she hopes others will hear her story and find the confidence in themselves to follow their dreams.
“Everything that’s shes got is reward for her hard work and that in itself is motivational for everybody not just her teammates but her coaches and people that she interacts with, " said Wynn.
Moser adds, "it’s really unique and I hope it does inspire people.”