Kelley Flynn, of Hopkinton N.H., stands 6-feet-5-inches tall. She raises her hands underneath the basket at Lundholm Gymnasium to pull down rebounds for the UNH women's basketball team. But her determination and aggressiveness on the court is not the only thing people see.
Most of the time, UNH basketball fans see Flynn, a sophomore, wearing an athletic warm-up suit with an embroidered Wildcat logo. What many don't know is what Flynn does off the court. She takes time to give back to her community in any way she can.
During her free time at home, Flynn gives back to her community church. She volunteers her time with the Catholic Sunday school youth group. She takes part in the church dinners; helping cook, clean and wash dishes.
Flynn also takes time to help out a friend of her family. She spends many late nights watching over her family's friend's two kids; a two-year-old and a six-year-old. When babysitting, she gives the kids help with their homework and plays games with them afterward.
"Kelley is a wonderful person," said head coach Kristin Cole. "She is very outgoing; she loves to be around people, and enjoys having a good time. She has brought a lot of laughter to our team this year."
Flynn remembers back when she was in high school playing AAU basketball for the New Hampshire Lady Bombers. Practices were always from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Hillsborough Deering middle school gymnasium. That is where it all began for her; practices started with a warm-up stretch and then full court lay-up lines. Practices were usually combined with younger teams of the Bombers, and there was never anyone who stared eye to eye with her in the paint.
As Flynn prepared for the five-on-five scrimmages, she knew what she had to do to get where she wanted to be, and that was playing basketball in college.
"I just knew that basketball had become a part of my life," Flynn said. "And I just had to keep playing hard or in the end, I would lose a big part of me."
Her high school career playing basketball at Hillsborough Deering High School, then transferred to Trinity High School in Manchester, where her team won a state championship with her in the center position. She then finished her final two years of high school at Hopkinton High School. In her four year career, Flynn scored an astounding 1,820 points.
The next step after her high school career was the college experience. Flynn received a full athletic scholarship from the University of Richmond. She played 21 games for the Spiders her freshman year, but wanted a change of environment and wished to be closer to her friends and family of whom she grew up with.
So, Flynn came to Wildcat Country where she hopes to make a contribution both on and off the court. Due to NCAA transfer regulations, she will be sitting out this season, making that contribution from the sideline.
Flynn believes that even though she has to sit out this year, a lot of things can come from this experience.
"I know that I have to prove myself to coach Cole," she said. "I need to work hard during practices and become a lot stronger with weight-lifting every day. My goal is to come back next year and make an impact right away."
For Flynn, besides continuing her basketball career, she hopes to get a job in the field of coaching or working with children.
"My dream is to just be satisfied in everything I do," she said. "I want to finish college and get a job that I love to go to everyday."
Be the first to comment on this article!