2008 Woodie Awards
Shachmut Starts After Three Seasons on the Bench
Mark Ayoub
Issue date: 2/10/06 Section: Sports
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Starting her first game this season certainly was a strange feeling for senior Kyra Shachmut. After all, she had not started a basketball game since her senior year of high school and had been a bench player for her first three years as a Hendrix Warrior.
But, when she was finally able to start, it marked the beginning of the end of an upward journey filled with hard work for the Conway senior.
"The grin on my face probably said the past three years were finally worthwhile," she said. "Truthfully, it is frustrating and humbling to be a bench player, justifying your talents by performing well during practice in comparison to your teammates and sometimes feeling like a non-contributing factor to the team as a whole. I guess it's quite a 'gut-check' to re-evaluate your drive for loving what you do and realizing a team is only as good as its last player on the bench."
And, while being relegated to the bench is something that could have caused any incoming talented college freshman to give up, Shachmut's determination to achieve a starting role kept her pushing.
"I feel I have accomplished what most people questioned about me," she said. "I personally feel I have been tested over the past few years; many times people asked me why I wasn't playing or if it was all even worth it."
Shachmut said her game really hadn't changed that much since high school, but felt her efforts and determination finally paid off, saying she is not easily intimidated from a challenge.
"I'm the kind of kid that loves a challenge and it only makes me work that much harder," she said.
Chris Hitchcock, Hendrix women's head basketball coach, has also been able to view a part of this development and has been very pleased.
"Kyra is an impressive individual," he said. "She worked hard over the summer in her conditioning, her strength training, and on her individual basketball skills. Kyra needed to be given the opportunity to show what she was capable of doing and she has taken full advantage this season."
But, when she was finally able to start, it marked the beginning of the end of an upward journey filled with hard work for the Conway senior.
"The grin on my face probably said the past three years were finally worthwhile," she said. "Truthfully, it is frustrating and humbling to be a bench player, justifying your talents by performing well during practice in comparison to your teammates and sometimes feeling like a non-contributing factor to the team as a whole. I guess it's quite a 'gut-check' to re-evaluate your drive for loving what you do and realizing a team is only as good as its last player on the bench."
And, while being relegated to the bench is something that could have caused any incoming talented college freshman to give up, Shachmut's determination to achieve a starting role kept her pushing.
"I feel I have accomplished what most people questioned about me," she said. "I personally feel I have been tested over the past few years; many times people asked me why I wasn't playing or if it was all even worth it."
Shachmut said her game really hadn't changed that much since high school, but felt her efforts and determination finally paid off, saying she is not easily intimidated from a challenge.
"I'm the kind of kid that loves a challenge and it only makes me work that much harder," she said.
Chris Hitchcock, Hendrix women's head basketball coach, has also been able to view a part of this development and has been very pleased.
"Kyra is an impressive individual," he said. "She worked hard over the summer in her conditioning, her strength training, and on her individual basketball skills. Kyra needed to be given the opportunity to show what she was capable of doing and she has taken full advantage this season."