A grand gift for the holiday

Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) added yet another student athlete to the exclusive "1,000 Point Club" just before Christmas. Amy Campbell of the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Lady Miners surpassed the 1,000 point mark while playing in Midwest on December 18.

"I knew coming into the season that it was definitely within her reach. Our first three games, she's been over 20 points each game," said Jackie Jones, head coach of the Lady Miners. "After her performance at Midwest with 22 (points), I ran some stats, I did some work and, to be quite honest, at the time when we were playing in Midwest I still thought she was a little shy."

While the Lady Miners were able to sink the Midwest Oilers on their home court with a score of 56-12, the 22 points that Amy Campbell scored put her at 1,014 with plenty of season left to play.

Amy and her sister, Madison, are part of the small group of seniors that have started for the Lady Miners since their freshman year.

"I always say that I am quite blessed to coach the athletes I do; Amy and the rest of these girls. It has been a blessing with a lot of these seniors being able to have them start since their freshman year. It wasn't just because of numbers. It was, honestly, because of their talent as well," Jones said. "So, when Amy can put those numbers up, she often leads in other stat categories as well. When a girl can start as a freshman and make that kind of impact, it's very humbling to be able to coach girls of this caliber."

In recent years, there has been much coverage of players on the boys basketball teams who have surpassed 1,000 points as players such as HEM's Conor and Shane McGraw soared past the mark along with Saratoga's Gage Bartlett and, recently, Teegan Love. According to www.wyoming-basketball.com, however, Amy is joining a list of accomplished student athletes from girls basketball teams throughout the years.

In fact, the last player from HEM to break past 1,000 points was Donna Martin who scored 1,400 points between 1978 and 1982. More recent athletes on the list include Encampment's Noelle Peterson with 1,404 points and Alysia Kraft with 1,821 points.

While Jones had discovered Amy's accomplishment over the weekend following the game against Midwest, she kept it a secret until her interview with the Saratoga Sun. Speaking via phone, Jones stated "for a girl who takes this sport seriously, she's got a big smile on her face."

"I thought I'd reach it more towards the end of the season, not towards the beginning of the season," said Amy.

While this is an individual accomplishment, and one that Amy intends to continue to add points to, both player and coach admitted that there was both sibling and team support to get this far.

"A lot of this scoring, I think, has to also be credited to her twin sister, Maddie," said Jones. "Those girls, they're outside playing basketball no matter the weather. I truly believe Madison has become a better defender having to play against Amy as much as she has growing up."

"My sister and I just keep pushing each other no matter what. I think she knows that I score more than her, but I think we're always competitive towards each other and willing to push each other," Amy said.

As she averages 20 points per game, it is highly possible that Amy will continue to push past the 1,000 point mark and end her career with a substantial total. For the Lady Miner, however, she also hopes that she is a role model for underclassmen to look up to.

"I love being like a role model for underclassmen," said Amy.

According to Jones, however, Amy is a role model to more than just the underclassmen on her team or at HEM.

"As silly as it may sound, when you say 'Amy Campbell', the elementary kids know her name. The junior high players aspire to be like her. I think, sometimes, we don't give little kids enough credit and I think they're our most honest humans," Jones said. "When that can happen with younger kids looking up to someone, then they've done pretty darn well for themselves."

While Amy has been a fixture on the basketball court for the past four seasons, this is the final season for her and sister Madison. Jones has had the fortune to coach Amy and the rest of the seniors for a combined 12 seasons through volleyball, basketball, and track and field. 

"What I think we are so fortunate with, and I'm certain coaches around the county would say the same thing, (is) when you're most talented players are also some of your hardest workers then life as a coach is even easier," said Jones.

Amy Campbell is proof positive that hard work can pay off.