Years Played: 10

Wingspan: How long have you been playing your sport and what sparked your interest?

Burtch: “I’ve been playing since second grade, so ten to eleven years. My family is just a sports family. My dad has always been a coach or an athletic director so I’ve always just grown up around it. I just always wanted to be involved as much as I could so basketball was just something to be involved in, it’s what I love and what I’ve stuck with.”

Wingspan: Why did you choose to play your sport?

Burtch: “At the time when I started that was what all of my friends were doing. There was this league that all of us competed in and that was the thing to do. That is what got me started and just as I continued to play I realized that as I got better and as I got older that it’s really something I love.”

Wingspan: What fuels your passion for the sport?

Burtch: “Honestly, I just want to live my life and reflect the Lord through my life. He gives me the passion to play the sport I love, so I want to reflect that and reflect him.”

Wingspan: Who in your life inspires you the most to succeed?

Burtch: “Just Jesus Christ, that’s what I base my whole life off of and that’s where all of my decisions come from. I would say Jesus Christ is first and then definitely my family.”

Wingspan: What is your biggest, proudest accomplishment?

Burtch: “Probably going to state my sophomore year and going to the state finals. I know we didn’t end up winning it, but even to say that I am a state runner-up, because not many people can say that.”

Wingspan: What are the thoughts going through your head during a game?

Burtch: “There’s a lot. Before a game we do this thing called a scouting report. We go over the other team’s top players. Just recognizing like this person shoots, this person drives, and this person rebounds well. Just being able to know where all of those people are on the court. Like I don’t have to close out to this girl because she hasn’t hit a shot all year or I have to jump at her because she’s a shooter. Like I said earlier assignments, that is what’s going through my head all the time defensively. Offensively it’s what looks we like. We have all of our different plays that we run and knowing that this will work on this defense or this won’t work against this defense. Just knowing what will work and what won’t work.”

Wingspan: What disappoints you the most about your sport?

Burtch: “What disappoints me most is when we come up short and lose a game that we should’ve won or when there’s an assignment in the game like ‘watch her she’s a good shooter’ and she ends up shooting and hitting threes. That’s really frustrating, just missing something that you knew beforehand.”

Wingspan: What makes you energetic and pumps you up?

Burtch: “Definitely when a big play happens. Say we need an and one and someone goes out there and gets one. That’s really exciting and completely swings the momentum which will give the energy back to us. Just seeing my teammates excel and do really good on something just gets us pumped up.”

Wingspan: What is your biggest struggle in your sport?

Burtch: “Just balancing everything between school and holidays and tournament season. Like I’m missing two or three days a week for a couple of weeks straight. Just balancing time management I guess, that would be the biggest struggle for me.”

Wingspan: Do you think you are stereotyped because you are an athlete and because of the sport you play?

Burtch: “There are two different ways I can take that. Yes I could be stereotyped because my dad is an athletic coordinator and I still play sports. But no at the same time because I really love to play basketball. I really enjoy the game so that’s why it can go either way.”