News Feed
Model player does it right
MEDICINE HAT - For a number of years, Tianna Holt has been a mainstay in the local sports scene.
During her days at Eagle Butte High School, she was a standout multi-sport athlete in basketball, volleyball and baseball. She was also a dream player to coach as she always did well in school. Attentive and coachable in all her sports, Holt would help out with various other duties like hauling equipment and scorekeeping if need be.
Now in her second year with the Medicine Hat College Rattlers women’s basketball team, Holt has continued to be that all-around hard working, high achiever that a coach loves.
“She goes the extra length to not only be a good teammate, but a good person in the classroom and a good person in general,” said Rattlers head coach Jason McLester. “She is one of the best athletes that I have ever seen.
“I am assuming with that athleticism came many opportunities in different sports. I am just glad that she chose basketball and to play for the Rattlers.”
There was. Nova Scotia’s St. Francis Xavier University came to scout her, but she couldn’t see herself leaving Medicine Hat.
“The more I thought about it the more realistic it seemed for me to just be able to stay home,” said Holt. ““I had my support systems like my family and my friends and the community and stuff here.”
Coming out of high school, there was no doubt in Holt’s mind that she was going to play basketball, because that sport was her passion. As far as adjusting to life studying nursing and playing college level hoops, Holt didn’t find the jump that big.
“In high school, I played every sport every season plus school,” said Holt, who stands 5-foot-5. “You stay after school, and you do work until practice. Then, you come home, you do work and you go to bed.
“That is what it is like in college too. I guess I just don’t know any different.”
During a normal school day, Holt usually has classes from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., she has a quick lunch and usually studies until practice arrives. After the Rattlers finish playing their night home games, Holt can often be found sitting by herself in the main entrance area of the college studying.
On the court, she has taken up more of a leadership role this season as a point guard. In high school, she was the shooting guard next to starting point Courtney Heinricks, who now plays for the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.
“This year, there is definitely a lot more on my shoulders with having to control the game in that aspect kind of like point your team in a certain direction.”
In the college ranks, Holt has to think more on the court than she did in high school.
“Here, you actually have to like analyze teams and think about what they are going to bring each night,” said Holt. “Then, you have to like counteract that with another maneuver. It is just like a chess game kind of.”
This weekend, Holt will look to quarterback the 6-8 Rattlers offensive efficiently as they host the 0-14 Briercrest College Clippers in a two-game set. The teams meet tonight a 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Snake Pit.
DARREN STEINKE
dsteinke@medicinehatnews.com
