Jordan McClure of Weld Central leads by example at her school, and she does it in a unique way.
Courtesy photo
Even after playing an entire game for the
Weld Central (Keenesburg, Colo.) girls basketball team,
Jordan McClure doesn't feel like her work is done.
For most home games, McClure will leave the locker room after changing out of her uniform and go back out to the court. What she does next surprised her coach the first time he witnessed it: McClure helps the school custodians clean up the garbage left in the stands.
The senior is a captain for the second-straight year
in basketball.
Courtesy photo
"It just bothers me when our student section leaves their trash," said McClure, a starting post player. "I just feel the need to go help pick up our trash, because I feel like it's not fair to all the custodians. They have their job, but we can also help around. It's just one of my pet peeves. I just hate it, people being rude."
Weld Central girls basketball coach James Canaday has been a coach and teacher for 27 years, the last two at his current school. He is amazed by McClure as an athlete, student, and above all, a role model. And a bit amazed by her efforts to help the custodial staff.
"I don't think you see that at all anymore," said Canaday. "I think they all want to run home as fast as they can and go be with their friends and everything else. She's usually the last one to leave and she's picking up trash. All these little kids that are coming up in our program are hanging around her because she's such a role model. You don't see that nowadays. It's pretty wild how much she does at our school."
After a road game, Canaday said McClure will even clean up the visiting locker room before she heads out to the bus. The 17-year-old has what Canaday calls motherly instincts.
"You can kind of get her sense of personality from that," he said.
During the school day, the senior will even help clean up trash left on and underneath tables in the cafeteria. McClure will help out any little bit that she can -- that's just the person she is.
It's not surprising that McClure has been recognized in the past as a student of the month at Weld Central. Add in the fact that McClure is a three-sport athlete – a multi-year starter in softball, basketball and soccer -- and involved in plenty of in-school clubs and events, it all equals a well-rounded young lady.
"I really enjoy helping out our community, just because we're a small community," McClure said.
She played hockey and tackle football in her early childhood, showing a penchant for the rougher sports. It wasn't until about fifth grade that she decided to take up basketball.
McClure began her freshman season on the C team before rapidly moving to the varsity level by the end of the year.
"My coaches felt like I had the potential to play at a higher level," McClure said.
She earned some playing time as a sophomore and was starting by her junior year. At 5-foot-9, McClure isn't the tallest post, but her strong moves in the paint make up for it.
McClure had to fight back from knee surgery after
a summer injury.
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"She's legit," Canaday said. "She knows when the ball's going in or not. She has a nose for the basketball, so she goes after it if she misses it."
After averaging 7.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in a solid junior campaign, McClure was looking forward to working hard in the summer to improve for her final season of high school basketball. Then adversity struck. McClure tore the meniscus in her left knee during a summer camp and underwent surgery in July, forcing her to sit out the rest of the summer.
"I was really heartbroken," McClure said. "I was like, ‘What if I can't play basketball anymore?' But I thought, ‘I'm just going to get better and push myself.'"
McClure did just that. Rehab went well and she was back to competing in sports by the fall. She missed just two softball games at the start of the season.
The injury slowed her down a little bit, but it had a much larger effect.
"What it did, I thought, it made her tougher," Canaday said. "You want tough players and players who can fight through adversity, and, boy, did she ever. Talk about rehab and getting ready to get back on the floor, there was no wait time. After the summer was over, she got herself to rehab and got it all done. Sometimes high school kids are lazy and she wasn't lazy. She went to rehab and took care of it."
Learn more about the MaxPreps US Marines program at www.maxpreps.com/marinesMcClure is off to the best start of her basketball career. She's averaging 10.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game thus far. She's a team captain for the second year in a row and Canaday's most trusted player.
"Everybody kind of took her lead and followed her in everything that she does," Canaday said. "Her leadership is second to none. It just makes our basketball team that much better."
"I've always tried my best to be one of the leaders, even if I was an underclassman, because I've always looked up to older kids," McClure said. "I also want to teach the younger ones and tell them it's OK to come out of the box and ask for help."
McClure also stars in softball at Weld Central.
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Along with being a three-sport athlete, McClure is a standout student. She's respected in the classroom by fellow students as well as faculty members.
"You mention her name to any of the teachers, it will be, ‘Consistency. She's always there,'" Canaday said. "She turns her work in on time. She's honest. Her work she turns in is a class act. All the teachers absolutely love her, because she works hard. She works hard in everything she does."
McClure carries a 3.8 GPA and is in the top 10 percent of her class. She is involved in student council, National Honor Society and link crew, where upperclassmen help freshmen transition into high school.
She also occasionally volunteers with her family at the Colorado Horsecare Foodbank. The organization recently assisted families with horses who became displaced during wildfires.
McClure is looking ahead to next fall when she goes off to college. She's still in the beginning stages of checking out schools, but she knows she wants to play basketball at the next level.
"I think wherever I can find a place to play ball, I'll take it," McClure said.
Canaday believes McClure is a good fit on the court at the junior college level or in Division III. But her coach would prefer if his pupil had another year or two of eligibility in high school.
"I almost don't want her to graduate and I just want to fail her in my class so she comes back," Canaday joked. "I can't be doing that, so she needs to move on."
