A single page is not enough space to talk about Heritage Hall’s Laney Venables. Her passion for the game of basketball and her love for her teammates are two reasons her teammates love competing with her on the court and being a friend off the court.
“What I love most about my team at Heritage Hall is that we have good team chemistry on and off the court, we are all friends and there is never any drama. My teammates always pick me up and we all play well together,” Laney said.
Battling through an injury, Laney has continued to work on her game and contribute to the team’s overall success.
“I would say the strength of my game is being able to see the court, I think I have a good ability to read the other team and break down what they’re going to do. I think I also can just read it well, read my open teammates, the open lanes, and defensively too,” said Laney. “I want to improve on my mental game, sure when people think of basketball, they think of it as a physical game but what I realized sitting out with such a big injury is that basketball is just as mental as it is physical.”
Her approach to the mental aspect of the game has matured like a seasoned veteran.
“When being injured everyone else’s thoughts about you get to your head and you wonder will I be the same as I was before the injury, or will I get hurt again? Could I tear my other ACL? You can’t let the thoughts get to you. People doubt your ability,” said Laney. “Not to mention having a dad that is a head coach, people will always say negative and positive things, you just can’t let the negativity affect you on the court and you must focus on your own game and not what anyone else thinks of you. You must work on improving yourself because if you don’t, mentally it will get to you and will ruin you as a player.”
Laney finds inspiration in her parents, especially her father who is the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma.
“I would say my parents inspire me every day. Seeing what my dad goes through and the work he puts into coaching and the love he has for the sport he coaches inspires me to keep putting in the work and focus on my passion for the game I love. My mom inspires me every day to never give up and to keep fighting, she doesn’t let her cancer define her and she keeps fighting even when its fighting against her. Especially with my injury it motivates me to keep going,” Laney said.
As for the Lady Chargers, Laney said several players have left an impression on her, from the most vocal to the one who keeps everyone laughing.
“The most vocal teammate on my team is probably senior Sloane Travis. She is one of the older girls and does a great job communicating on and off the court. She’s definitely one of our leaders and everyone looks up to her. And Finley Ram also another senior keeps us all laughing. She is definitely the light of our team and brightens any room she walks into,” Laney said.
This season, Laney said she is looking forward to getting back on the court.
“I am looking forward to most this season is getting to play with this new team and being back in the sport I love after such a long recovery and all the work I put into coming back. Being able to play again is what I am looking forward to and hopefully we make it back to the big house this year would be amazing,” Laney said.
