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| Senior
Hayley Leake
has the dubious honor of being the oldest player
on the roster in 2007-08. The Billikens will count
on her experience in the backcourt to run the
offense with the same efficiency and heady play
that she has demonstrated in her 3 years as point
guard |
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In addition to always
making the correct pass and avoiding three
pointers at all costs, Hayley loves discovering
new music, reading the nutritional content of
everyone else’s food, and writing really big words
on paper.
She becomes the first senior to ever write in the
player diaries and we look for her to give us a
different perspective of a collegiate student
athlete as someone who’s been there and done that.
Let’s follow Hayley as she experiences her last 5
months of being a Division 1 basketball player.
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The Freshman
Diaries – HAYLEY LEAKE
A Little Bit About Me – Diary
Entry #1
Well, this is your lucky day. On behalf of the kind
request of Ms. Shimmy Gray-Miller, you have been given
the opportunity to know a little bit about my life and
read some of the millions of thoughts that run through
my head on a daily basis. But first, let’s get one thing
straight. This is a JOURNAL—which means that I am trying
to somehow put into words the ups, downs, and the
‘in-betweens’ of the life of a student-athlete. Very
Hard. Very Impossible. In saying this, I am allowed to
throw all grammatical rules and the “do’s and don’ts” of
structured writing out the window. I have to abide by
those rules for every other assignment or paper that I
complete, and I do not need the extra stress. And yes, I
am an English major—but, give me a break. We all need to
let loose sometimes.
Anyway, for my first official entry I just want to give
you a little rundown about myself. My name is Hayley
Leake, and I am a senior this year. That is kind of
weird for me to even say. Just a few years ago, I was
crying my eyes out as I left my parents and my little
brother at the end of a long, dirt road. My dream had
always been to play Division I basketball, but the time
had come to leave and I could hardly pull myself away.
It’s the classic case of “security-blanket” disorder. It
was comfortable to live the way I had always known. It
was comfortable to think like I had always thought. It
was comfortable knowing that things would never change.
I am talking about the grand village of Silex, Missouri.
Yep, you know all about it. Gas station. General store.
Hardware store. Bank. That’s about it. It is a great
time. All you need in a 1 block radius. I am one of the
300 people that call this place home. Now, before you
start asking me how I survived, I must tell you that it
saved my life. It is who I am. It made me value
experience. It made me work harder than everyone else.
It made me appreciate all the details that we let fade
out of our lives most of the time. It made my heart
swell… which can be a good and a bad thing.
The time I have spent at SLU thus far can be described
as ‘memorable’ and ‘life-altering’ on so many levels. On
the basketball side of things, I realized that before I
got here I did not know much about the game of
basketball. Especially as a point guard. X’s and O’s are
very overrated. It was like I had to learn how to be a
basketball player all over again. The people I have met
as a Billiken are some of the most important individuals
in my life. They are the source of so many things.
Laughter. Tears. Smiles. Contemplation. Love. Respect.
Perspective. And to think, I am months away—moments
away— from closing the book on this chapter of my life.
Time is a crazy thing—sometimes I just wish it would
stop and let me catch up.
Well, this is the beginning to the end. It is my last
ride. Last chance to lace them up. Last chance to be
part of a team. Here we go…
Hayley Leake #1
Class of 2008 |
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© Copyright
Shimmy Gray, All Rights Reserved. |
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