Balling out on the court and in the classroom

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - In addition to being one of the captains for the Josey Girls’ basketball team, Senior Point Guard Jacayla Shorty balls out on the court and in the classroom.

Jacayla Shorty says, “I get it from my momma. She’s the one who really keeps me in line. From elementary school to now, that’s why I’m really so balanced.”

Shorty wears number two for the Lady Eagles. She is also salutatorian for her senior class, with a 3.952 GPA. You can also find her fulfilling her obligations to the National Honors Society, and the ROTC.

“I’m only taking two Josey classes, and the rest of them are college classes. I’ve really got extra work from my college classes, but I just take time throughout the day to do the college work, and then whenever I’m done with that, I come to the gym, workout, and then go straight to practice. If I have any work left over, I’m at home doing the work, and go to sleep, and do it all over again the next day,” said Shorty.

For the Josey Lady Eagles, the daily grind is bigger than basketball, and that’s something Head Coach Nichelle Chapman does her best to get across to her players.

Chapman said, “We grow up to mothers, sisters, to be wives you know? Just in every aspect of life, we try to help them grow a little bit further.”

Excelling academically and in sports can be a great combination for leading to a successful future, in more ways than one.

“For some girls, this may be it. Everybody doesn’t go to the next level to play,” said Chapman.

Shorty added, “I’m a short basketball player, so it’s not 100% that I’m going to get a scholarship for basketball. So if I stay on top of my work, I can get a scholarship for academics. So I try to find the balance between both of them because if basketball don’t work out, I have academics to fall back on.”

In addition to all of her success off the court, to this point, Jacayla Shorty and Josey Lady Eagles have an overall record of 16-3 and are in first place in their region.

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