Sisters in sport
The Stinebrickner sisters have bright futures ahead on the basketball court. Haley is taking the next step. Lena is just getting started.
Haley (right) and Lena Stinebrickner, members of the Southwest Academy Girls Prep basketball team, haven’t let the pandemic slow their development. (Photo courtesy Stinebrickner family).
The Stinebrickner sisters live the game.
They’ve shoveled snow off their home court in minus-20 degree weather to put up shots. Convinced mom they absolutely needed to turn the dining room into a weight room. Even committed to an unconventional high school path to pursue their sport.
Together, Haley and Lena Stinebrickner embody a new cohort of London basketball standouts taking their games – along with the city’s and country’s reputation – to new heights.
“These are two of the most self-driven athletes I’ve ever had the pleasure of being around. They love the game,” says Rob Angione, Founding Partner, President and Girls Head Coach at Southwest Academy. “They are so unbelievably committed to the process and the pursuit. They are willing to do all the extras. These two kids earn everything they get.”
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Maybe it’s the family’s Kentucky roots. Basketball country. With a little bourbon and thoroughbred racing thrown in.
The girls grew up playing on a court dad installed on the side of their London home. In the last year, pandemic lockdowns have made it their safe haven for development – and the site to many friendly (and not-so-friendly) sibling rivalries.
Haley, the elder Stinebrickner, is headed to Stetson University to play Division I hoops. (Photo courtesy Stinebrickner family).
The family does more than watch games. They study them. Tons of games. Different games, different styles of play, different players, discussing how different players play within different systems. NBA and WNBA. Lots of NCAA. (That’s the Wildcats influence there.)
The sisters find things they want to work on personally by watching others.
Lena is a true point guard. A Grade 9 student with unbelievable pace to her game. She’s true to her position, in that she incorporates the entire team, and she has a good – “really, really good” – first step. She’s beyond strong for her age. (Thanks again, mom, for that dining room weight room).
Haley is a pure shooter – “a ridiculous shooter,” Angione says, “who continues to expand her game and scoring to different levels of the floor.” She’s in Grade 12. It’s rare to find someone who can make shots from nearly half court who then builds their way closer to the rim (versus someone who finishes around the basket and builds their game out). But that is Haley. She’s always been able to stretch a defense.
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Despite their passion for the game, neither young woman saw their current paths as an easy decision. Opting for the Academy meant splitting from lifelong friends who headed to a more traditional high school.
“When my friends found out, they asked, ‘Why are you doing that?’ But a lot of people find it interesting that you’re pursuing this different path,” says Lena. “Maybe you sacrifice a little bit of your personal relationships with the people you grew up with, that you were in school with to follow this path.”
At the Academy, weeks are full. Class. Study. Practice. Strength training. Film study. Mental practice. No games this year – but games and travel were (and eventually will be again) a big part of the experience.
Haley blazed the trail. She was raised up in the Academy – the program’s first player to attend every year since Grade 9. Already, the London Ramblers alumna boasts an impressive on-court resume, including stints on elite teams with Blue Star (AAU), Team Ontario, and Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL).
Recently, she committed to Stetson University, a Division I program in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
“I like to work as hard as I can. I saw this (the Academy) as a fun path for me,” says Haley. “It has prepared me for the next level, prepared me for playing basketball in university. I love, love playing the game all the time. It’s not only really rewarding, but also an enjoyable thing to do. It makes the experience of high school different.
“You meet new people, different types of people from different places,” Haley added. “It’s like a family. You go to school with them. You practice with them. After school, you travel with them. You’re with them all the time. It was always attractive to me.”
This year has been completely different. No travel. No school. Limited practice. But they created their own bubble and their own sense of team in trying times.
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One is taking the next step; one is just getting started.
“Haley is one of those rare student-athletes who, as a coach, you know you can trust to take care of all the controllables,” Angione said of the two-year captain at Southwest Academy. “She is going to take care of her academics. She’s going to be on time (or early). She’s going to take care of her body in the weight room, put in the extra work with skill development, focus on the details. She’s the first one on the floor and the last one off; you must lock the gym behind her. She’s an unbelievably responsible and program-first kid.”
Angione knows Haley’s step up to Division I is exactly the challenge she needs to sharpen her game. She agrees – mostly. A combination of excitement and nerves will follow her south of the border, as will her family when the weather turns cold back home. Having a hoops star in Florida does have its advantages.
Lena Stinebrickner, a Grade 9 student, is a true point guard, says coach Rob Angione. (Photo courtesy Stinebrickner family).
Haley’s opportunity also signals a big moment for her younger sister.
Lena knows the Academy program better than anyone. She watched her sister grow up in it. Saw everything that went well, the things that didn’t, maybe even a few things she would do differently. Now is her chance to make her mark on the program.
“It’s neat to see Lena putting her own stamp on the program and on her journey,” Angione said. “She and her sister are different players. They are different student-athletes. But they are also cut from the same cloth in terms of leadership and commanding and giving respect.
“Lena has everything she needs to be successful ingrained in her. With the growth of the program over five years, I am excited for her to be able to capitalize on some of those things that previous players, including her sister, have established to continue to build the program and herself.”
Her idea of the future is clear for someone so young, her coach stressed.
“Everything I do is going to come back to basketball,” Lena said. “I want to play like as long as I possibly can. I want to play in university; that’s my goal. It’s definitely going to be weird without Haley here on the team. But I’m going to keep working hard and see what happens.”
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