Shayne Glenn could have been content in just being a great shooter.
But she wanted more. And she was willing to put in the work to get more.
Glenn is a senior on the Archbishop Ryan High School basketball team, and last year her shooting was one of the reasons the Ragdolls won 17-straight games to open the season, and made it to the quarterfinals of the Catholic League playoffs. She knew that if she wanted to get more looks for college, and if she wanted to do more to help Ryan, she needed to grow her game.
“I worked all summer to get stronger,” Glenn said. “I would play with my dad, and he would try to keep me out of the lane. I got stronger by doing that.
“I was always a shooter, but we lost a lot of our size last year, so they needed me to switch from (shooting guard) to forward. I still can play shooting guard, but this makes me a more all-around player. It will help me everywhere.”
This year, Glenn is on the floor at the start of games. Last year, she came off the bench, but played as much as any player on the team. She still plans on being the same player she was last year, only better.
“The biggest thing I wanted to get better at is driving because I knew we would need someone to score, not just shoot,” Glenn said. “It’s good, too, because when I drive, a lot of times I’ll get fouled and then I end up doing what I’ve always done best, shooting at the line.”
This is Glenn’s final year at Ryan, but she’s been going to games at the school for years.
When she was a freshman, her sister Shannon was a starter on the basketball team. Shannon, now starring at Chestnut Hill College, was there to help her sister whenever she needed guidance. It’s paid off.
“I think it helped a lot because I’ve always had her, I’ve always had someone to look up to,” said Glenn, who lives in Parkwood. “I was playing (junior varsity) when she was on the team, but we still practiced a lot together. I learned a lot by just watching her.”
Glenn is also following in her sister’s footsteps when it comes to positions.
During Shannon’s senior year, the Ragdolls lacked size, so she would be forced to play underneath. This year, that’s exactly what Glenn is doing.
The Ragdolls are blessed with great shooters this year, but they have a great challenge when it comes to playing inside, especially when facing some of the bigger teams in the Catholic League.
But there’s ways around that, and Glenn believes her team has the perfect way to combat that disadvantage.
“The biggest thing coach wants us to do is play defense,” Glenn said. “We have to do that as a team and help each other. And we’ll play fast and we have a lot of shooters. I think our offense will be hard to stop when we’re all hitting shots because we have a lot of people who can score.”
Glenn also has another role on the team.
This year, she’s one of the captains on the team.
“I have to keep the team together and help people when they need it,” Glenn said. “Being a captain is a big responsibility, but I’m ready for it. I just want to make sure everyone knows what we have to do and I’ll make sure we do it.”
Glenn hopes this year proves to be a successful one, and she also hopes she can find a perfect college where she can continue her basketball career.
Thus far, she’s been in contact with a few schools, but she’s still in the process of fielding offers and making a decision.
“I want to major in business of some kind,” Glenn said. “I like that because there’s so many different ways you can go with it. I’m not sure which way I’ll go. You have a lot of options in that major.”
When it comes to her senior year, there aren’t many options, though.
The only thing she wants to do is make sure the Ragdolls go on a big run in the postseason. But she knows winning games in February isn’t easy.
“Last year was pretty disappointing because we didn’t do as well as we wanted to in the playoffs,” Glenn said. “It was really disappointing. This year, we don’t have the same team, but we have a lot of good players and we have more shooters, so I think we can do well.
“It was hard losing last year, we were all so upset. I think that will help us this year because we know how bad it feels to lose and we know what we have to do. The Catholic League is tough but we’re going to be pretty good, too.”
