8 minute read
Lyndie Ramsey
A natural athlete...
Ramsey utilizes God-given talent on the court and in life
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Story by Ivan Sanders & Photos by Ivan Sanders and Contributed
Lyndie Ramsey is a typical high school girl who enjoys hanging out with her friends, but she has a Clark Kent persona, hiding away her skills until it’s time to hit the basketball court either as part of her travel team or the Unaka High School Lady Rangers.
A junior, Ramsey has scored 1,200 points in two seasons and has pulled down over 300 rebounds while picking the pocket of her opponents for 200 steals. Those are the type of numbers that some female basketball players only dream about in a four-year career.
For her efforts, she has been recognized on the local, regional, and state levels and was named an All-State player in Class 1-A in her first two seasons in high school.
It doesn’t hurt that she comes from a house full of athletic brothers who make daily life a competition as her brothers John Boy, Devin, and Landon are all accomplished athletes in their own right also being recognized on the local, regional, and state tiers playing football, basketball, and baseball at Unaka High School.
The little sister of the group admits that it has been hard but that if anything she has been taught to go hard at every point and not give up because growing up in a house full of brothers meant that she was always going to come out as the toughest person out there no matter what because she had to fight for everything
Ramsey knew at a young age that she was destined to be an athlete saying, “Ever since I started playing when I was four at the Sports Complex showed me that God has given me enough ability to play this sport and He put it in my life for a reason.”
Last season, Ramsey came out of the gym and picked up her glove to play a role with the Lady Ranger softball team. She had played coach pitch softball when she was younger along with her brothers who played coach pitch baseball with their dad, John, as their head coach.
The decision came because she just wanted to play another sport that helped to get her mind off of basketball briefly as she knows that her ultimate destination is to one day play collegiately and didn’t want to get burnt out by constantly focusing on the game.
She was looking to have a little fun with the game but by the season’s end, she had excelled in that field of play as well. It didn’t hurt that her high school basketball coach, Kenneth Chambers, was also her softball coach and already knew the type of athlete Ramsey was and likewise she knew what the coach demanded.
Ramsey gives a lot of credit to Coach Chambers for not only helping her on the court but also teaching her life lessons that she never imagined that she would have the opportunity to learn from her head coach.
That is one of the reasons that Ramsey loves being a Lady Ranger to go along with the environment that has been created within her team as she related how the girls have bonded as a family and work to not point each other out for mistakes but work to overcome them.
She pointed out there was only one speed on the team saying, “We always go 110 percent every time that we do something and Coach Chambers has always taught us that if we want to go far in something, we have to keep working. We have to work harder than anyone else.”
Lyndie with her biggest fan, Conner her 14-year-old brother who gives Ramsey the drive as she plays for him.
Even with her personal accomplishments on the court, there is one thing that has eluded Ramsey and her teammates during her high school career and that is earning the right to go and participate in the state basketball tournament which currently is held in Murfreesboro.
Ramsey feels that the Lady Rangers have a good shot in the upcoming season to mark that off her bucket list. It will come down to the team coming together and having several people step up where Ramsey is just not the focal point of the opposing team’s defensive scheme.
When she is not engaged in high school basketball or softball, Ramsey is never far from the court as she plays an extensive travel ball schedule against competition that she admits is much better and older than her but that is the whole purpose in playing the tough schedule.
She has identified weaknesses that she works on daily with one of them being her ball-handling skills such as dribbling between her legs and behind her back. This is one of the things that travel ball has allowed her to use as a teaching tool watching as other girls who have mastered the skill work against her during games.
Just like other young people, Ramsey stays in front of the television but it’s not
Not only is Ramsey a star on the basketball court but she is a hit with the junior class who selected her as their Junior Princess for Homecoming 2021. Ramsey is second from the left.
With Ramsey playing travel ball, even when going up against larger schools she has no fear in challenging her opponents.
to watch shows that her friends do.
“If anything I am watching a film,” Ramsey shared about her television habit. “I watch films all the time. I look at our weaknesses in our team and what could have helped us win a ball game. I look at the weaknesses in the other teams at what we could do to make them not play as well.
One might ask why a teenager would engage in a sport so deeply.
Ramsey said most of that comes from the stress she places on herself to take care of the things that she needs to be doing to help her team win. She studies on ways to help get other teammates open so they score and take pressure off her to be the scorer admitting that she was not the only one that has to score.
She was asked of all the games that she has played as a member of the Lady Rangers, which one stands out the most in her mind.
The Hampton game the Lady Rangers played at home in the 2020 season came to mind instantly as she recalled how the outcome of the game decided whether the Lady Rangers had to travel to Cosby or North Greene.
Ramsey shared how she wanted the opportunity to play North Greene and show them how the Lady Rangers could compete. She got her wish but the Lady Rangers still lost the game.
Contests against teams from Carter County are high on Ramsey’s list because she enjoys competing against friends on teams from the other schools and display her talents up close and personal. It doesn’t hurt that these teams are conference foes either which puts a little more adrenaline through the veins.
Her play has attracted the attention of several colleges even though she is just a rising junior. Many of these contacts have come as a result of Ramsey attending several camps during her summer break.
She said a dream opportunity was to play for the East Tennessee State University Lady Bucs should that invite ever come because of the school being a Division 1 basketball school as well as the close proximity to her home.
A 4.0 student, Ramsey is involved in several extracurricular activities at Unaka attending several club meetings. She loves math and said that her favorite teacher was Ms. Burton who Ramsey said was the best teacher who would do anything possible for any of her students.
Family means a lot to Ramsey saying that her parents often drop whatever they are doing to make sure that she
Ramsey’s ability to use both hands is something that can’t be taught in basketball. Ramsey’s love for basketball is evident each time she takes the floor for the Unaka Lady Rangers.
and her brothers have what they need to succeed. Her father spends a lot of time with her as they go to the gym to shoot and John also creates game highlights for his daughter.
And it doesn’t matter where the family goes, one can also count on the competitive spirit between the siblings making the journey as well.
Lyndie has one other brother, Conner, who just turned 14 that has down syndrome and cannot participate in competitive sports like Lyndie and the other brothers but that doesn’t stop Conner from being the inspiration that pushes his sister to become a better basketball player.
“Conner is definitely my biggest fan,” Ramsey said with a twinkle in her eye. “God has put him here for a reason and everytime that I am down and things are not going my way, he has shown me that everything is going to be good. He can always put a smile on my face and show me what life is all about.
Ramsey also has an older sister Layton.
