1999-2000
GIRL'S BASKETBALL RECAPS
September 29, 1999
‘Scooter' likes to run the show
If it's Wednesday, it must be braids for North volleyball player Scooter Aspen, who says her goal this season it to wear a different hair style at every match.
Leader-Telegram Photo |
Stephanie Aspen is one of the best volleyball, basketball and softball players at North High School. She's also one of the friendliest, most outgoing athletes in town. When you meet her, just call her
Scooter
By Steve Beaudry Leader-Telegram staff
Nothing ever is ordinary for Stephanie "Scooter" Aspen, who is a walking ad-lib everywhere except on a volleyball court.
Or a basketball court.
Or a softball field.
Take, for example, her hair.
"My goal this year is to have a new hairdo for each of our volleyball matches," the 5-foot-3 Eau Claire North senior said, with chirpy laughter sending her inflection up and down the musical scale. "For the past two years, my stylist has been (teammate) Larissa Parr.
"Give Larissa a comb and a few rubber bands, and she can come up with some pretty funky stuff."
Then there's the matter of Aspen's nickname.
"People hear ‘Scooter,' and they're, like, ‘Ooh, she must run really fast,' " Aspen said as she rolled her expressive eyes. "Yeah, right. I got it from my dad when I was a baby because he said I never stopped crawling around on our kitchen floor."
Aspen has put her unbridled energy to good use in her athletic endeavors. She's like a universal adapter. Coaches can plug her in almost anywhere, and she go-go-goes.
And, for the past year, when Aspen has been plugged in, the Huskies have won-won-won.
- In basketball, Aspen cracked the starting lineup last winter and regularly flip-flopped between point guard and shooting guard. She helped steer North to a single-season team record for victories (18) and a berth in the WIAA Division 1 sectional playoffs.
- In softball, North entered the 1999 season in dire need of a leadoff batter. Enter Aspen, exit worries. After being DHed for as a sophomore, Aspen elevated her game well enough to bat .330 from her new spot atop the lineup. She spearheaded the Huskies' march to a 23-4 record and their first berth in the WIAA Division 1 state tournament.
"I was down there (in Waukesha) watching them play in the state final," Huskies volleyball coach Perris Cooley said, referring to the North softball team's 5-4 loss to Holmen in June. "Right after the game, I saw something I don't think I'll ever forget.
"One of the Holmen fans tracked down Scooter and said to her, ‘Young lady, it was a treat to watch you. You play the game the way it should be played. You're a real class act.' That pretty much sums up what Scooter brings to a team."
Cooley should know. For his team, Aspen shifted from defensive specialist to setter this season and has been an indispensable cog in the Huskies' dominating machine.
Her feather-duster touch and emery-board grittiness have helped North absorb the graduation losses of three all-conference hitters and an all-conference setter from last season's team.
"Obviously, we wouldn't be where we are without Scooter," said Cooley, whose team sports a 49-12 record in games and a 5-0 mark in Big Rivers Conference dual matches. "She's not afraid of anything. As Scooter goes, we go."
"Scooter's very aggressive and always gives her best," said North junior Angie Ziehme, a teammate of Aspen's in softball and volleyball. "She sets a great example for us. She's also very friendly."
Ziehme recalled the day she was promoted to North's varsity softball team as a freshman.
"I was scared of everybody because they were all older than me," she said. "But Scooter came up to me right away, introduced herself and made me feel comfortable."
According to North senior Nicki Robinson, a teammate of Aspen's in all three of her sports, Aspen's cheery personality never wanes.
"Scooter? Scooter's extremely outgoing. Extremely. Actually, she's more than that," Robinson said. "She's a screwball. Always.
"If the President of the United States walked into this gym right now, nothing would change with Scooter. She'd be bubbly, talkative. She'd probably blow him a kiss."
Probably. When the public-address announcer introduces the North volleyball team's starting lineup at the Doghouse, Aspen steps forward as her name is called and blows the fans a kiss.
"Scooter's a ham," Robinson said. "But there's nothing fake about her. She doesn't put on an act. She's just Scooter. With her, what you see is what you get."
"I'm just out there having fun," Aspen said, beaming as usual. "I have the most fun when everyone on our team is involved in a game.
"That's what I like best about being a setter and a point guard. I'm, like, in control. And, when I'm in control, I can get everyone the ball. And then they can all contribute to what we're doing, and no one gets left out, and we all have fun."
Beaudry can be reached at 833-9212, (800) 236-7077 or steve.beaudry@ecpc.com.