Prominent presence
Once Mt. Spokane senior Emily Wittkopf took a look in the mirror, there was no stopping her. Greater Spokane League coaches just wish she’d waited a little longer.
Wittkopf, at 6-feet tall the most prominent inside presence for the Wildcats in the upcoming GSL girls basketball season, didn’t play organized hoops until the eighth grade at Mead Middle School, but in only three years she has developed into an all-league honorable mention player.
“I’d always played soccer,” Wittkopf said, “and I was never really around basketball very much. I was 5-foot-10 by then, though, so coaches had talked with me some.
“But then one day it was like, ‘Oh, I’m tall. I should probably play basketball.’ Up until then, I had just played on the playground at school, always with the boys. Finally, one of my friends talked me into playing on her AAU team.
“But it isn’t like I was good right away. I can remember calling my coach before our first AAU tournament, saying, ‘I’m scared. I don’t know what I’m doing.’ “
After that inglorious beginning, though, Wittkopf picked things up in a hurry and now finds herself in the middle – literally – of Mt. Spokane’s unprecedented rise to success in girls athletics.
She was the starting middle blocker on the Wildcats’ volleyball team, which made it to regional tournament play for the first time ever this season, and she hopes to help carry the basketball team even further.
“This will be the best girls basketball team Mt. Spokane has ever had,” she said. “We want it bad. After only a couple days of practice, I went to Jeannie (Helfer, the Wildcat coach) and told her how well I thought we were playing already. We’re an underdog because we’re a 3A-size school in the GSL, but I’d rather play up and work to be the best.”
That’s the kind of attitude that has Helfer raving about Wittkopf’s contributions at Mt. Spokane.
“I’m amazed over and over at what Emily’s done here,” Helfer said. “She’s always been the ultimate team player, and after only a week of practice her commitment level is even stronger than it was last season.
“She has made so much progress here since she was on varsity as a sophomore. I think when she was younger, she probably wasn’t as serious as I wanted her to be, but she’s at the point now where, if she wants to, she’ll be a two-sport athlete at the community college level.”
That’s exactly what Wittkopf has in mind, unless a four-year college program comes calling in the next few months. If not, she’ll probably find herself at Spokane Falls, playing both sports until the time when she evaluates which one can take her further.
She’s a popular leader, said Helfer.
“The other kids love her. She’s fun to coach, and she keeps everybody loose. I saw her really assert her leadership ability in volleyball this year, and I think that will carry over to basketball.”
Helfer expects big things from the Wildcats this season – “it’s been my goal for a long time to get where we are right now in terms of attitude and effort” – and she and Wittkopf are definitely on the same page.
“I have a special relationship with coach Helfer,” she said. “She’s done so much for this program. She came here from a championship-level team at Mead when Mt. Spokane opened, and she has the biggest heart in the world. She loves us all.”