Looking back, Santreece Stephens can trace the beginning of her athletic career to being at the bottom of the pyramid – cheerleading stunt pyramid.
“It’s kind of a funny story,” says the 16-year-old junior at Brookstone School. “We were living in Italy and I was a cheerleader for like, a little league basketball team. My mom and dad were there to watch me cheer but they also had to watch the game and my mom said she didn’t like how that her daughter was at the bottom of the pyramid when she could see other girl athletes playing basketball. I was [a] little chunky so that’s why I was on the bottom.”
That was a long time ago and she is definitely not chunky anymore. Today, the 5’8” athlete is a mixture of strength, action and talent. Stephens uses those skills on the volleyball court, and as a basketball player and a hurdler for the Brookstone track and field team. Her mother, Christa Griffin-Stephens, got her involved in basketball when the military family moved from Italy to the Columbus area. From there Stephens grew into a multisport athlete.
Basketball was Stephens’ main sport through middle school and also when she enrolled at Brookstone as an eighth-grader. Born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, both of Stephens’ parents were in the military. Children of military families are often familiar with being the new kid but when Stephens came to Brookstone, basketball helped her fit in and make friends a bit quicker.
Her freshman year found Stephens going out for the school’s volleyball team. At the urging of the coach at the time – he had seen her jump while playing around with friends – Stephens attended tryouts and was quickly placed on the varsity team. Stephens also realized volleyball made her rethink playing basketball.
“I liked volleyball and was a little hesitant about basketball after that. I eventually decided I could do both and managed to find a balance,” she says.
Even though she is a junior, Stephens has been steadily developing quite a reputation as an athlete. She has attended camps at Florida State, Georgia Tech and Emory. She plays American Amateur Union (AAU) volleyball, which has allowed her to travel and be seen by others outside this area. Coaches have been honest in appraising her talents and she has been told she could have a future as a collegiate athlete.
Her volleyball coach, Cynthia Todt, has been coaching for two year at Brookstone. Her team posted a very successful first season in 2012 with a 21-15 record, which included earning the title of area champs. Stephens was an important part of that team leading the way with 181 kills. Although she is only a junior, her coach feels Stephens has potential to play at the next level.
“Yes, I do. She has the athleticism, commitment, and skills. She is also a serious student in the classroom, which should give her a lot of options. She is also very young and can still improve her game,” comments Todt.
Stephens led the Lady Cougars in kills, blocks and aces. She says she worked on her passing game prior to the beginning of volleyball season. Her coach noted the improvement in her passing skills and praised Stephens all the more for her efforts.
“Absolutely. She is one of the best defenders on the court, and does a great job reading the other team’s offense and getting in position to make the play,” Todt says.
Now that another season of volleyball is in the record books, Stephens is lacing up her basketball shoes for the 2013-2014 basketball season. There is a new coach for the Brookstone girls basketball team. Glenn Sylvest has taken over the reins of the program, but Sally Bradley, assistant coach for the Lady Cougars for eight years, has a little more firsthand experience coaching Stephens. She helped coach Stephens for two basketball seasons and one season of volleyball. During that time, Bradley has gained appreciation for Stephens’ talents.
“Santreece has many strengths on the court. Her athleticism stands out first and foremost. There is little that you ask of Santreece that she can’t perform. Her speed and strength are impressive. Her rebounding was tremendous last season. She works as hard in practice as any athlete I have worked with, and she is extremely coachable,” says Bradley.
Bradley says Stephens is seeing most of her time at forward and center for the Lady Cougars this season. It’s early but she knows the junior will have a big impact this year and the next.
“Santreece will be a real leader for us this season. Since we have a new head coach this year, we are still developing on-court roles. The most important role that we will count on Santreece for will be leadership on and off the court,” Bradley says.
The talented student athlete is unique in her skills and abilities with the two court sports she plays but she also stands out as a track athlete. High school athletes sometimes play a second or third sport just to stay in shape for a main sport, and while natural talent enables them to be contenders, few excel at every sport they attempt. Stephens is among those few. She has set a school record for her time in the hurdles event, and put in a time of 52.85 in 2013, a personal best.
“I didn’t know I had set a school record for a while. It was surprising and I wasn’t trying to do that. I just took the hurdles event as a challenge and it has worked. I guess being able to jump helps there, too,” she says.
Stephens embraces her athleticism as being useful in so many ways. She feels her involvement at the outset in high school sports enabled her to fit in and make friends. Later, sports taught her how to manage her time. Being a participant in organized sports is helping her see the value of leadership principles.
“I put myself on a schedule and learned to balance everything. If I hadn’t, I probably would be a mess. I feel like now I can be a leader for my coaches and on the team because I have experience now. My parents taught me not to be cocky but to stay humble and being in a leadership role helps with humility,” says Stephens.
Focused as she is on athletics, Stephens has a surprising attitude about her future in sports. She has long dreamt of being a lawyer and doesn’t want to do anything to distract her from her goal.
“I am waiting to see what happens next year. If the right opportunity came along, I might say yes to sports in college, but right now it’s hard to see how I could manage the studies becoming a lawyer would require with playing volleyball or basketball. I will just have to see,” she says thoughtfully.
Getting to know Santreece
Family: Mother, Christa Griffin-Stephens; dad, Michael Stephens; one brother, Michael, 13
Favorite food: Mac and cheese
Favorite place to eat: Olive Garden
Her “go to” place for clothes: Body Central
Pets: One dog and a puppy
Favorite movie: ATL
Last book she read: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Favorite sports team: Florida Gators
Favorite athlete: Dwayne Wade
Person she would most like to spend a day with: Alicia Keyes
Music she likes: All music; hip hop and R&B
Something others might not know about her: She loves scary movies but puts her hands over her ears while she watches.
Person she most admires: My mom. She’s been through everything with me. She is always there.
Best thing about Brookstone School: For me, I feel that the best thing about going to Brookstone is the amount of trust we all share with each other. Like the faculty trusts us enough to give us a free period every day for 45 minutes in which we can do whatever we want except leave campus. Also, we trust each other as students to where we don’t need locks on our lockers.
Columbus Valley/Player Spotlight (female)/December 2013
Santreece Stephens
Brookstone School
Columbus, GA
By Beth Welch
Photos by Jerry Christenson
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