By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
ANTINIQUE Young, a double high school and night league champion this year, has her bags packed and is ready to travel to Miami, Florida, on August 14 to begin her collegiate career at Miami Dade where Bahamian female basketball players have left a rich history with the Sharks programme under the supervision of coach Susan Summons.
Summons, whose mother is Bahamian from Abaco, was in town over the weekend to complete the process for Young, who follows in the footsteps of Alexandria ‘Shaq’ Fernander-McCoy, Jarelle Nairn and Shavonda Clarke, all former Angels’ players, who played for Miami Dade along with Grand Bahamian Yolett McPhee-McCuin, now the head coach of the women’s basketball team at Jacksonville University.
“Bahamian players like Shavonda Clarke, Yolett McPhee, Jurelle Nairn, Alexander Fernandez and Cristin Seymour have all benefited from the Miami Dade College academic and athletic tradition of success,” Summons said. “These students maintained their focus, work hard in academics to graduate and earn associate of arts degrees and we placed them in NCAA D1 programmes like the Univ of Miami, Barry University, University of Rhode Island, Mercer University, Kennesaw University and Murray State University.
“As an American-Bahamian professor and coach, I take a lot of pride in reaching back to give a Bahamian student the opportunity at college, each and every year since being at Miami Dade College. This actually marked the historical of 30 years, moving up as one of the top eight winningest coaches in America (community colleges) and marked 500 wins, making me among some of the top NCAA D1 and NJCAA D1 coaches in America to do so.”
Summons said Young is expected to follow the tradition of the players before her.
“She will see much action through hard work and training,” Summons said. “She will represent the Bahamian country, her family and community with honour. Congratulations to another Bahamian player who receives a Miami Dade College scholarship.”
Summons said she is excited about the opportunity to train, mentor and inspire Young, who was highly recommended by McPhee-McCuin.
Coming off a most valuable player performance in leading the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins to the Government Secondary Schools Sports Associations senior girls championship and the Bommer G Lady Operators to the New Providence Women’s Basketball Association crown, Young said she’s excited about her transition to the collegiate level.
“I feel that God has a plan for my life and I’m very thankful and grateful to go and represent.” she said. “I have a tradition to uphold seeing that many of our Bahamian women went through Miami Dade and are very successful in today’s life. All I can really say is I’ll make the best out of it.”
Young, 19, said Summons has already advised her that she’s expecting her to bring that same intensity as the fellow Bahamians that attend Miami Dade.
“She wants me to be the best that I can be, stay focus and be dedicated to bringing a title back there,” Young said. “She’s really rooting for me. I’m looking forward to develop more physically and mentally. I want to be the best that I can be, faster, quicker and stronger. I want to be unstoppable.”
As the first member of her family to attend college, Young said she just want to continue to make my parents - Antoinette and Jerome Young - proud.
“This is a new beginning for me and I’m ready to take on the challenge,” said Young, who intend to pursue a degree in business and finance.
She credited a number of persons for her progress, including Kevon Spence, who coached her at Doris Johnson after she was taught to play the game under the tutelage of Sharelle Cash. In addition, she said her game continued to flourish playing under coach
Anthony Swaby and Donnie Culmer as a teammate of Cash with the Operators.
“My performance here in high school was one of the best,” she reflected. “Running the bridge and working out on the sand with my coach Kevon Spence made me a more dominant force individually to conquer the high school league and to be rank 1 overall in the Bahamas.
“As for the night league, coach Swaby and coach Culmer exposed me more with the competition level being higher. I had to step up my game.”
Now as she prepare to leave the Bahamas, Young said she’s going with a lot of expectations to succeed.
Swaby, who has worked tirelessly in helping a number of female players in securing athletic scholarships, said Young is destined for greatness and has the potential to keep the Bahamian legacy alive at Miami Dade.
“She still have to get focused and learn how the ladies participate at the college level,” Swaby pointed out. “Every night she has at Miami Dade, she has to bring her A game. She’s very talented, so I know that she will be able to adjust and fit right into the system there.”
If there’s anything that Swaby would like to see Young improve on, it’s her ability to take over the game.
“She has at times, let other people overshadow her by giving them the ball when she should be controlling it,” he stressed. “The game comes so easy for her. This is college, so it’s going to be a little different from what she experienced here. But she has a very good background and have a lot of examples to rely on.
“Players like Alexandria Fernander-McCoy, Jurell Nairn, Shavonda Clarke and Yolett McPhee all went there and they left their mark, so she has some shoes to fill,” Swaby summed up.
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