Freshman Leah DeWitt and her father Coach DeWitt share a bond outside the court as father and daughter and on the court as coach and player. Leah now in her first year on the varsity girls basketball team has quickly become one of the standout players. In Marietta’s victory against the Wheeler Wildcats, Leah scored 25 points, 7 rebounds, and had 2 assists.
Leah has been playing basketball since she was 2 and her whole family loves basketball.
“Basketball has shaped me really well! I have multiple scholarships, many people know my name and family, and outside of it, I get a lot of compliments and recognition,” Leah DeWitt said.
She currently has 12 offers from the top colleges in the county as a freshman in high school. For Leah, the most important thing basketball has taught her that she can apply to life is knowing that basketball can take you to many places.
“My parents used to tell me that all the time and I never really understood exactly what it meant, but now I understand because I’ve traveled to many different states for basketball. I’m blessed,” Leah DeWitt said.
Coach DeWitt has been coaching basketball for 16 years. DeWitt says he got into coaching to help young people achieve their dreams and learn how to deal with difficulties through competing. The most important lesson DeWitt learned from coaching is to be sincere, but honest. This season Coach DeWitt plans to just learn and teach with his coworkers and make sure his girls are playing strong while absorbing information and learning from it.
“I need them to be sponges, so that come February we aren’t playing like freshman and sophomores, we should be playing like juniors and seniors,” Coach DeWitt said.
Coach DeWitt knows that his team size and weight can be a weakness when playing against other teams, but his girls have bonded together and created a sisterhood between them. This is a strength for their team.
“They care about each other, they share the ball, there’s no agendas, and they love to compete together,” Coach DeWitt said.
After high school Leah plans to continue playing basketball in college and meeting new people to start partnerships. She also wants to get big on the marketing and business side as well. Brands like Adidas, Nike, Puma, etc. Leah has always wanted to be under a top brand and rep it. Leah also reminds herself every day of who she is and continues to stay humble.
“The most important message that I’ve learned from playing is that if you’re confident and know your work ethic, you’ll go far and realize it young,” Leah DeWitt said.
Please Vote Leah by 11:59 pm Sunday, Jan 12 for the Georgia Girls High School Basketball Player of the Week HERE.
