Wichita North girls basketball player Charley Hill spoke with VYPE about her life.

VYPE: What are your personal goals for this year?

My goals this year are mainly focused on mental/physical toughness. I want to focus a lot on my confidence as a player this year and just have as much growth as I possibly can.

VYPE: What is your favorite athletic memory?

My favorite athletic memory was pretty recent, I was in North Carolina this summer for a Chris Paul camp. I went to this camp with my teammate Deena Holmes, who is around 6’2. One of the days at the camp we were all scrimmaging and my team was going against my teammates team. She went up to shoot the ball and I blocked her and after we bumped into each-other and were talking crap. We were smiling and having fun competing against one another. I love that kind of stuff.  

VYPE: What teammate has the biggest impact on you and why?

My teammate Kamyra Barber has had the biggest impact on me. She’s a year older than me and I look up to her a lot. Her work ethic inspires me to push myself. During practice I always try to go shot for shot with her or get in the same level as her. I like watching the way she approaches things and how she’s always pushing me to get better. I look at a lot of my teammates as older sisters and I’ve learned so much about the game from them. 

VYPE: What is your favorite part of being on this team?

My favorite part of being on the North High basketball team are my teammates. They’re scrappy and always down to practice. They can take criticism and being on the team has made us all close to each other. We all show up for each other  whether is getting someone a ride to practice or uplifting one another after a bad game. It’s a close community and environment I enjoy. 

VYPE: Do you participate in any community service projects?

Not right now although I am in the bio-med program at north and one of their requirements is that I graduate with 100 hours of volunteer work, so I will start that soon. 

VYPE: What clubs or campus groups are you involved with and why?

I play AAU basketball for the Kansas Blue Jays. I’m apart of this club because of how positive the environment is. I’ve seen myself grow so much while being with this team and I can’t wait to grow more.  My coach Kendrick Barber is constantly showing up for every girl on our team and pushes us to be our best. My teammates feel like family and I’ve never had a group of girls push me so hard to be the best version of myself. 

VYPE: What has your sport taught you that you use in your daily life?

My sport has taught me everything. Resilience, communication, grit, and so much more. It has taught me to strive to be the best at anything I do wether it’s basketball or my grades in school. My sport has taught me how to listen and take criticism, and improve from my mistakes. Without basketball I wouldn’t be the the student, friend, daughter, or athlete that I am today. 

VYPE: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

The best advice I’ve ever received came from my father. He taught me about relentless pursuit. He always tells me this before games and I find myself thinking this when things get difficult. It means that if I have a goal then I should be doing everything in my power to achieve it. It’s showing up when nobody else does. It’s waking up early when nobody else wants to. It’s finishing hard when you can breath anymore. It’s a reminder to always be getting better. It’s relentless. No matter what happens don’t get discouraged and keep pursuing. This has pushed me to do hard things and has brought me to where I am today. 

VYPE: Who inspires you and why?

There are so many people in my life who inspire me. My parents who have always supported me and given men great advice. My coaches who have never given up on me and have pushed me to get better. My teammates who compete against me everyday at practice. Women like Hailey Van Lith and Zia Cooke who I see playing on a level I want to be playing on some day. All these people in my life have inspired me to go all out and try my hardest in my sport and In life, and I’m grateful to have such strong role models in my life.