Anna Wilson: Expectations, Challenges, Excellence

    Well, maybe, we thought back then, even before he became a national sensation.
    Don’t forget that your older brother Harry was the crème de la crème. He excelled in three sports at Collegiate and in football and baseball at the University of Richmond. Plus, he’s a great guy and a true sportsman.
    And, hey, you’re not too shabby yourself. You hit .500 as an 8th grader on the varsity baseball team.  You have all kinds of potential as a football player.  You’re a pretty decent point guard to boot with a huge motor, speed and quickness galore, and eternal optimism.
    And your dad Harrison was an outstanding wide receiver at Dartmouth and even made it to the final cut with the San Diego Chargers.
    But your sister?
    Heck, she’s just a kid.  How can you possibly know? 

    As usual, Russell knew. 
    OK, whether Anna, now 16 and a Collegiate sophomore, is really the best athlete in the Wilson clan is debatable, but she’s certainly talented, accomplished, and well-spoken.
    While Harry, class of 2001, has parlayed his competitiveness to become a successful accounts manager for Stryker Medical based in Chicago and Russell (‘07) has shown that his height (5-11) is no liability in the National Football League, Anna has become so adept a basketball player that eight college programs have already extended scholarship offers.
     Earlier this fall, after prayerful consideration, she verbally committed to Stanford, although she can’t officially sign until her senior year.
    “Her drive has always been relentless,” Russell said.  “She has a no-time-to-sleep mentality.”
    As a 7th grader, Anna decided to focus her athletic attention on hoops.
    “Basketball is team oriented,” she said.  “I love having teammates.  I love being a leader.
    “As the point guard, I’m the one who brings the energy every single day, especially in AAU where you’re competing against some of the best players in the country.
    “Being the leader and the one who controls the tempo of the game…it’s unreal, unbelievable.”
    Considering her bloodlines, such a comment seems quite natural.
    “Leadership kind of runs in my family,” Anna continued.  “Russell’s the quarterback.  I’m kind of the quarterback of my basketball team.
    “I enjoy that role.  It’s really special.”
    Anna, who’s 5-7, trains daily for her AAU and high school seasons.  She’s a regular in the weight room where she brings passion, determination, and singleness of purpose.
    “Success is a journey,” said Adam Moss, one of Collegiate’s sports performance coaches.
    “Anna understands how training and attention to detail will make her better, more explosive, durable, and healthy.”
    In two varsity seasons, Anna has averaged 14.3 points per game.  Her ledger includes 167 assists, 147 steals, 119 defensive rebounds, 192 deflections, and 80 tai chi (hustle) plays.
    “Anna’s very motivated,” said Rives Fleming, Collegiate’s varsity girls’ basketball coach. “She’s great about setting goals and accomplishing them.
    “She could score a lot, but she’s a very unselfish player who loves to pass the basketball.  That’s an old-school point guard mentality.
    “She always plays hard.  She makes the team better by distributing the ball. 
“Defensively, she sparks her teammates and turns the other team’s mistakes into transition baskets.
    “She’s definitely raised the level of our play.”
    As is the case with her brothers, there’s much more to Anna Wilson than what appears on a stat sheet or her two All-League of Independent Schools and second-team All-VISAA citations.
    “She has an awareness of who she wants to be,” said Harry.  “She knows her direction in life and how to get there.”
    Since their father died in June 2010, Harry and Russell have stepped into the breach, albeit from afar.
    “Harry has become more of a father figure,” Anna said. “Russell’s more of a best friend. 
    “Harry has a daughter named Gracie, and he always tells me that he hopes that when Gracie grows up, she’ll be just like me.  That’s something that influences me every day.
    “I want to be a really good influence for kids and for Gracie.”
     Anna thrives on competition, just as her brothers always have.
    “You use pressure as motivation,” she said.  “You push yourself to become better.
    “Whenever you walk around campus, you know that somebody’s watching.  You always want to be on your best behavior.  As an athlete, you want the pressure.”
    And as with her brothers, faith plays a huge role in her life.
    “Russell, Harry, and I know that our ability is God given,” Anna said.  “You don’t just wake up one morning with the ability to lead.  The only way that happens is if God decided.
    “We’re blessed.”
    The national media has written extensively about Russell’s and Harry’s relationship with their father and the role he played in developing their talent and inspiring them to excellence, even as he struggled with health issues.
    Much less publicized is the fact that Tammy, their mom, has guided their spiritual growth.
    “I tell them the right thing to do from a biblical point of view,” Tammy says, “but I try not to make decisions for them. There’re times when a child must make the right decision.
    “I want Anna to have a firm foundation when it comes to making decisions.
    “Anna is a goal-setter.  When she puts her mind to something, she wants to accomplish it.  She’s seen what works for her older brothers and has learned from being around them.”
    Anna is the youngest women’s basketball player to whom Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer has offered a scholarship.
    She made her decision based on the university’s programs that will prepare her for life after college as well as the challenges involved with playing at a high-level program far from home.
    She also wanted to put the recruiting process to rest and enjoy her remaining years at Collegiate. 
    “I want to see how far I can go outside my comfort zone,” she said.
    “Stanford is 3,000 miles away.  The academics and athletics are elite. The women’s basketball is unbelievable.
    “Stanford is an opportunity that most people don’t get.
    “Coming to Collegiate was for the academics to prepare me for a school like Stanford. It’s a blessing to be here.”
    No doubt the legend of Anna Wilson will grow and flourish.
    No doubt her spiritual underpinnings will guide and direct her along her journey.
    No doubt her family will be walking the path with her.
    “There’re high expectations,” she says, “but my expectations for myself and my mom’s and my brothers’ are probably higher than other people’s expectations of me.
   “I love challenges. That’s why I’m going to Stanford.
   “I want to see how far I can go to achieve a dream.”
                             -- Weldon Bradshaw