STACY GOSS
Hutchinson USD 308
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The woman. The pony-tailed assassin. The legend, Jackie Stiles.
Small-town Kansas girl Jackie Stiles appreciates any opportunity to make her way closer to home and tell her story. After a stellar collegiate basketball career at Southwestern Missouri State, leading the Lady Bears to the Final Four, and a professional career cut short by injuries, Stiles knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity on and off the court. This message of perseverance and determination was delivered to Hutchinson Public Schools 7th graders on Thursday, January 18th.
Bringing Stiles to HMS-7
Ellen Corey began her Project-Based Learning class passion project about women’s basketball and the WNBA by writing about something she was passionate about and interested in learning more about. “I picked it because it was something I am really passionate about. So many people just talk about men’s basketball. It was important to me to research women who have made an impact on the game of basketball.” said Corey.
Along the way, her research turned toward Jackie Stiles’ renowned basketball career. “I researched statistics of female basketball players, and Jackie Stiles’ numbers caught my eye.” Shandi Webster, a Hutchinson Middle School 7 teacher, encouraged Corey to contact Stiles on her website, which led Stiles on the road to Hutchinson Middle School 7.
Stiles delivers positive message
Addressing the packed auditorium of HMS-7 students and staff, Stiles focused on a positive message about following your dreams and accepting the reality that hard work is required to achieve anything great. Stiles recounted her early basketball days when she had to bribe her siblings to rebound balls to her current business ventures. She relayed stories of four-hour practice sessions to cutting down nets after big wins. “There is not a better feeling in the whole world than when you accomplish a dream,” said Stiles. “Follow your heart and trust your gut.”
She described overcoming adversity as a young athlete from a small town. Claflin, KS, didn’t have opportunities like basketball camps or even a local restaurant. There were times when Stiles’ mother worked multiple jobs to afford camps for her children. Stiles recounted a series of weekends that her father drove her to Kansas City for camps. While being recruited by colleges as a senior in Claflin, neighbors would deliver casseroles as the family hosted home visits by 18 colleges within a span of 19 days.
In 2018 Stiles was diagnosed with a rare eye cancer, ocular melanoma. After treatment, she decided to turn her energy toward actions that aligned with her core values. She pivoted her career away from collegiate coaching and into personal fitness, as she now owns a NexGen Fitness and works as a private personal trainer. Stiles still travels and hosts basketball camps. She boasted a jam-packed camp schedule slated for this summer.
Her message resonated with the crowd, prompting many students to raise their hands eagerly during the allotted time for questions. When asked about her favorite memory from her basketball career, Stiles told stories about bonding with her teammates and taking a limousine to Wendy’s when trying to find a budget-friendly meal while staying at a Ritz-Carlton. Drawing from her varied experience playing and coaching, she encouraged teamwork and selfless actions on and off the court. “You can accomplish so much more when everyone has bought in.”
Autographs and photo-ops
After the speech, the excitement moved to the gymnasium, where Stiles signed autographs and posed for pictures with the students. Boys and girls alike waited in line for their chance to have “Jackie Stiles #10” sharpied on anything from a warm-up jacket to a basketball.
Corey’s main takeaway from her project is that “women can do anything men can do, if not better. I learned that if you’re truly passionate about something, you have to pursue it relentlessly.”