MIHS Girls Basketball legend Anna Luce, who graduated in 2017, has returned to Mercer Island and will serve as an assistant coach for the Mercer Island Select seventh grade girls team.
After playing four years on varsity at MIHS and leading the team to a state championship during her senior year, Luce was recruited to play at Dartmouth University. While at Mercer Island, Luce bested 12 school records, including points scored in a single game (38) and total career points (1700).
Luce will now use her high school and college experience to further improve Mercer Island Girls Basketball.
“MIGB has just been such a big part of my growing up,” Luce said. “I have always been, in the back of my mind, hoping one day I could coach and be back in the program, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.”
While Luce has helped run a variety of basketball camps and one-on-one sessions before, this position will be her first time coaching in a full-team atmosphere.
“[Coaching is] a very different skill set,” Luce said. “The love for the game is still there… [but] I’m coming in with not a ton of experience.”
However, despite her lack of coaching experience, Luce will draw from her vast knowledge of the game and the lessons she learned while playing, such as the importance of hard work and collaboration.
“Our motto growing up playing basketball… was always ‘play hard and have fun,’ and that’s kind of what I want to instill in the girls,” Luce said. “No one is expecting any perfection, [and] you don’t have to be the best player out there to contribute, but everybody can bring a different aspect to the game.”
In addition to helping the team succeed, Luce will look to serve as a mentor to the younger players in the Mercer Island Girls Basketball program.
“I think there’s so many lessons you can take from athletics and apply to the workplace and to other aspects of life, and so I’m excited to be that mentor for them,” Luce said. “I know I looked up to my coaches so much growing up, and I want to be that in return.”
While not every young basketball player will continue in high school and beyond, Luce’s presence as a coach should provide her players with an example of how to play with dedication, while continuing to enjoy the game.
“Ultimately, basketball is a sport and people are playing it because they find enjoyment in it,” Luce said. “When you’re starting from so young, it should never be a burden, so I just want them to go out and give their best effort, and have a good time doing it.”
