After 7 years of hard work and overcoming trials and errors, this is Annebell Patten’s Senior Spotlight. Annebell is a senior at Sahuaro High School, a varsity girls basketball player, and a future paramedic. As she goes off to Butte College in Chico, California, the insights gathered here reflect the impact she is leaving behind for her fellow Cougars.
Annebell has been part of Sahuaro’s basketball team for four years, and being a team player has shown her that during her hardest times, building chemistry was key for her. She shared that her favorite memory was their trip to Casa Grande when staying overnight at a hotel, messing around like kids.
Annebell recently got injured during her last season, just weeks before her senior night, saying, “It hurts to watch my teammates get to play, not because I only don’t get to, but it was so close to being my time, it wasn’t in the plans, although my coach has been very proud of how far I’ve come.”
No one plans for the unthinkable, and Annebell doesn’t look down on it lightly, but she still finds the good in staying with her team. She says that despite it all, she continues to be the loudest on the bench, assisting her coach in a way only a student player who’s been on the court can do.
Most high school athletes have experienced in-season injuries, while some have not. Annebell shares that her experience has “…taught me that even at your worst mood, putting that jersey on and leaving it all out on the court, injured or not, is like a mental block where all you care about is the limited time you have on the floor.” For her, you have to use the time you have, make it positive because that is all in your hands, and it can change everything.
Annebell’s shoutout for her biggest supporter is Coach Ortiz, who, while she’s injured, still checks on her and constantly has her on his mind with her rehab and healing. Off the court, her other big supporter is her dad, being the biggest help he can be with her on her journey since sixth grade.
Senior night was the 5th, representing Annebell’s end of a long ride, even though she couldn’t participate on the court, she remained happy alongside her senior friends, holding up her end and giving it all out there. Even after their loss, she says, “It’s the effort that counts.”
Annebell offered to anyone finding themselves in a similar situation, “Keep their head up and keep doing rehab to strengthen themselves, just because it’s over for me, it doesn’t mean it needs to be for them too.” The lessons she takes with her are “…dedication and the reminder to do it no matter what, do it tired, scared, or sad, no matter what to push through, because at some point, it all makes sense.”
Annebell hopes that her teammates remember her as someone who was never scared in any department, never scared to play a new sport, never scared to be loud, and never scared to play her best. She has proved she is a true Cougar at heart, both on and off the court. Her perseverance is a reminder to all that life can throw hard situations at you and create hard moments, but like Annebell, you have to see past it, make the best of it, and own it.
