The last four years have been hard on Sydney Dewitt.
The Federal Way High School shooting guard has seen everything from watching physical altercations between teammates, to suffering a potential career-altering shoulder injury, to academic struggles that nearly cost her time on the basketball court.
Through it all, however, she has learned many invaluable lessons, made many irreplaceable friends and her passion for basketball has grown.
Despite a 5-6 record, Dewitt leads the Eagles in scoring, but Federal Way coach Michael Griffin said his top scoring threat is equally valuable off the court.
“Without question, she’s our leader,” Griffin said. “The team looks to her, they rally around her when we need it. With Sydney, as she goes, the team goes.”
NOT WHAT SHE BARGAINED FOR
The memories of the 2013 season are still raw for Dewitt.
She said she remembers entering the Federal Way basketball program that year wide-eyed but also ready to make a name for herself on the organized circuit. What she experienced was anything but organized, however.
On the court, things weren’t too bad, she said. The Eagles produced six wins, and Dewitt became a permanent fixture on varsity.
Off the court, Federal Way girls basketball was a mess that Dewitt was forced to watch every day.
“Teammates would be on the court fighting, like closed-fist fighting, and it would literally spill over from practice and into the parking lot after practice,” Dewitt said.
Dewitt said watching the dysfunction on a daily basis really got to her. It made her question whether she wanted to continue playing basketball.
Instead, she decided it was best to transfer out of Federal Way.
ON TO NEW HORIZONS
After a long discussion with her family, the Dewitts moved to Auburn, and shortly thereafter, Dewitt was a member of the Auburn Trojans.
“If you can’t get better off the court, you can’t be better on the court,” Dewitt said. “There was no sense of being a team or even wanting to be a team that year, and I didn’t want to be a part of that.”
Bad breaks just seemed to follow her, however.
Dewitt started the season with moderate success. She said teammates treated each other like teammates, and the good vibes translated to personal success on the floor.
The team wasn’t winning, finishing the season at 3-29, but Dewitt’s scoring and confidence were as high as they’ve ever been.
She suffered a severe shoulder injury during summer basketball, however, and she missed all of her junior season.
“It’s sad to think a talent like hers hasn’t been able to play at this level really since her sophomore season,” Griffin said. “She’s had AAU basketball, but that’s not the same for a player, a leader like Sydney.”
WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS
Learning the injury would cost her a lot of games took its toll on Dewitt, both physically and mentally.
Her grades began to plummet to the point both her basketball and academic careers were in jeopardy.
Her friends and former teammates at her old high school, however, helped Dewitt get back into focus. She was told the girls basketball program had completely turned over. The players who refused to be a team graduated, and the coaches who allowed the fighting to go on each day were replaced.
“Those girls were gone, and there was a whole new coaching staff here,” Dewitt said. “I had the idea of coming back because I had hope. I hoped things would be different.”
Dewitt said she asked her family to let her finish high school back at Federal Way, whether that involved basketball or not.
Upon returning to the district last summer, school counselors told her she risked not graduating on time.
Knowing poor grades would keep her off the court, Dewitt enlisted the help of friends, family and tutors to get back on track. The familiarity of friends, teammates and surroundings helped her drastically improve her grades.
It made her eligible to start at guard for the Eagles, and Dewitt will graduate on time in June.
“Her turn-around has been unbelievable,” Federal Way Athletic Director John Yellam said. “There was a time where we didn’t think she was going to graduate on time, but since she’s been back here, the transformation has been amazing. Her family has played a big role in turning things around. You don’t have to talk to her long to realize what a special person Sydney is.”
RISING ABOVE IT ALL
Griffin first met his senior leader this past summer.
The first-year coach said coaches and players told him just how much Dewitt meant to the team and program.
Because of her prior experience with the team and raw talent in running an offense, Griffin kept his preseason introduction short.
“Just let her know I’m here for her, here to support her,” Griffin said of the conversation. “Whatever she needs, she can feel free to come to me. I’m here to listen.”
Griffin listened to his leader and leading scorer when she demanded to re-enter the game in the third quarter on Jan. 6 with her team trailing by 25 points against division-leading Auburn Riverside.
Federal Way lost the game 69-27, but Dewitt led the Eagles in scoring with 14 points.
Dewitt is not inclined to bully or blame her teammates for the loss, preferring to leave Federal Way basketball’s old ways in the past.
“This will help bring us closer together,” Dewitt said. “This will allow us to go back together and get back on the same page. The lesson of playing for each other and not yourself is so important, and this team plays for each other.”
