Young gun: Sophomore star Ashley Helle leading Jackson girls basketball
MASSILLON, Ohio — Some people don’t know a basketball from a tennis racquet. That’s not Ashley Helle. The two-sport star at Jackson High School in girls’ tennis and basketball has been a standout in both sports and being just a sophomore, the Bears will be the anxious recipients of her athletic exploits in each sport for several more years. Helle posted a 21-13 record as Jackson’s No. 1 singles player this past fall, then played doubles at the state tennis tournament.
In basketball, she is coming off a stellar freshman season. In 27 games, she was a 41 percent three-point shooter as the team’s No. 2 guard and shot 67 percent from the free throw line. She added 59 rebounds, 49 assists, and 29 steals while scoring 162 points (6.6 per game.) So, is Helle a tennis player playing basketball? Or is she a basketball player who will visit the tennis court?
“I like both sports, but I like the fast pace of basketball,” she said. “I started playing tennis when I was six years old, and I started basketball in the second grade. Basketball is demanding, and it’s year-round.” Helle helped the Bears achieve a 23-4 mark last season and the team advanced as far as the regional final before a loss to Olmsted Falls ended their run. This winter, she joined a talented group of players who won their first three games of the season, including an impressive triumph over Columbus Bishop Watterson.
“I am most impressed by her maturity and poise for her young age,” praised Ashley’s coach Michael Coon, in his first season as head coach of the program. “The moment is never too big for her. Mentally, she is as poised as an upperclassman even during her freshman season last year.” Helle is part of a group that includes two seniors, Emily Rofe and Hannah Kunkle. Junior Maddie Lepley and sophomore Lexi Pizor also return, along with a pair of junior transfers in Eva Kouri from Green and Talia Russel from Massillon.
“We like to get up the court quickly, and on defense, we want to be aggressive,” Coon said. “For 32 minutes, we don’t want to let our opponent get out and run. On offense, we’re looking for as many possessions as possible and to shoot a high percentage of shots from behind the arc.” Sometimes, that doesn’t click the way you’d like. Jackson was just 3 of 25 against Perry from behind the circle yet still claimed the win.
“Trust is high on our list as a team,” the coach added. “It doesn’t matter to me what school you came from or who you are. We all trust each other to take the shot when it’s there.” Helle concurred. “We work well together as a team,” she said. “We all trust each other at the end of a game to take the last shot if we have the ball. I like to be in that situation. But if it’s someone else, that’s OK too.”
Helle is in the gym shooting at 6:30 in the morning. She devotes 17 hours a week to basketball. “I work out a lot on my own,” said the Bears’ sophomore star. “I want to try and play college basketball. The hours aren’t as many in tennis.” “She has already surpassed my expectations,” Coon added. “I’m very impressed with her leadership. The beautiful part about this team is that all four or five players trust each other to take that last shot, and if they aren’t open, they will pass off to someone else. Ashley sets screens and decoys as well as anyone. And on defense, she doesn’t even allow others to catch the ball.”
Helle is two years away from being a senior. But the early returns on her performance and leadership qualities excite all those associated with the girls’ basketball program.
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