Calla Miller part of Jayhawks success
Calla Miller came up to the Fremont Varsity as a freshman, the first of her four years as a selection to the all conference teams. Following graduation she moved on to play with the Muskegon Community College Jayhawks who after a regular stellar season captured the Regional title in a tournament that brought MVP honors to the former Packer who now wears the Jayhawk uniform. Now the team moves on to the 2022 NJCAA DII National Tournament held in Port Huron. The 13th seeded Jayhawks, are 24-4 and the Great Lakes District A champions. They will open play on Wednesday, March 16, at 11 a.m. against the 4th seeded Cougars of Illinois Central, which owns a 24-9 record and won the Central District. The tournament is a grueling one with winners in the 16 team field advancing each day culminating in Saturday’s final. We caught up with Ms. Miller as she and her team prepared for their upcoming game to pose a few questions. N3- First of all congrats to you and your team for getting into the National tourney and to you for being named MVP in the Regional tourney. This is your first year making the significant jump from high school ball to the college game. Can you tell us a little about the learning process in making this transition? CM-I would say the speed of the game is much faster and the need for building and improving my defensive and offensive concepts. We can all improve our skills with practice and I feel I have improved on both ends from high school. N3-What has surprised you the most about playing at this level? CM-Honestly just how fast the game is, it wasn’t the easiest transition but with practice it became normal. N3-What has been the biggest challenge? CM-The biggest challenge for me personally was handling the ball at the beginning of the season. I had a lot of turnovers and was in my head. After talking with my coaches and working on my confidence it has improved greatly. N3-What has been the biggest reward? CM-The biggest reward so far has been winning regionals as a team and individually winning regional MVP. That was one of our goals from the beginning of the season and just one step closer to our goal of winning Nationals. N3-You were one of 7 women who were new to the team, each coming from a school where they were likely the driving force for their team. What kind of dynamics created the culture that has led to a winning atmosphere? CM-Everyone has learned their position and role on this team. It was a struggle at the beginning but we learned people have certain roles to play on this team and now that we know them we simply work together to get the job done. N3-Some local players you were on the court with last year will be taking their game to the next level as you have. Any advice for them? CM- Know that the game is different, still extremely fun, but different. You have to be willing to put in time in pre season to be ready for the season. It is definitely a huge time commitment but it’s been worth every second. N3-Your team is on a 13 game winning streak and begins play Wednesday morning in Port Huron. This tournament is a grind. If you win you play the next day right up to the Saturday finals. Any special preparations? CM-As a team we are mentally focused and ready to go. Taking care of our bodies is our top priority. We have been having practices and shoot-a-rounds everyday. The atmosphere is electric and very exciting. N3-Go Jayhawks
1 Comment
Michelle Williams
3/15/2022 09:10:33 pm
Way to go, Calla!
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