ERHS girls’ varsity basketball is lucky to have an all Mets player such as Junior, Kaila Charles. Finishing this season as county and state champions, with a record of 17-4, Kaila Charles played an essential role in the team’s accomplishments.

Charles was able to share a few thoughts with The Raider staff and said, “I just want to thank God, because without him, nothing I have accomplished would have happened. But there are a lot of people that helped me develop my skills over the years and I would like to thank them for taking time out of their very busy schedule to help me. I definitely would like to thank my parents and family for their support and encouragement. Also I would like to thank my team, without them I would not have been able to accomplish as much as I have these past three years and the coaching staff at ERHS.”

Quite humble, she continues to share what makes being a student athlete difficult. “The most difficult part is managing your time. Being part of the Science and Technology program at ERHS, time management is super important. You have to be able to find balance between school and athletics in order to succeed. Do not procrastinate,” Kaila gave some very advice for students across the school.

Regarding next year, and the next season, Charles says she expects nothing but the best. “Next season we are going to come out even more determined. We are definitely going to be a big target, especially after the success we have seen the past couple of years. We just have to be ready for it. We’re going to have to keep working hard to improve, pushing and encouraging each other to be our best on and off the courts, so we can hopefully get back to the state tournament,” she said.

Over the past years of her high school career, Kaila has gotten a lot of college interests and offers. Numerous universities have offered her great opportunities, “Currently, I am so blessed to say I have 27 full scholarship offers and I have been able to narrow it down to 10,” said Charles. Those 10 include, UMD, Duke, Syracuse, Louisville, UVA, South Carolina, Penn State, Rutgers, Miami, and Tennessee.

Her coach, Coach Fuller, has nothing but great things to say about the young athlete. He has very high hopes for her basketball career. “It is a pleasure coaching her, she works hard. Anytime we have any type of work out she’s always the first. She’s really a breath of fresh air, her and Tolu. I think her teammates learn a lot from her, especially that hard work and dedication pays off.” said Fuller.

He goes on to add on to what Charles said about the schools she’s been looking into, “As you can see, she has, you name it, Duke, Syracuse, Maryland. She can go to any of them.” He believes she’ll be a tough player in college; she just has to get stronger and tougher. “I don’t think many people know this but her sister was a track star here at Roosevelt and her brother played basketball, all of them ended up getting scholarships to college so she’s following right in their footsteps,” added her coach.

Kaila’s teammates agreed that they’ve learned to be better players from watching her work hard. Teammate Senior, Taylor McCotry, shared what she has learned since playing with Charles. “She just shows good leadership, and how to never give up. She’s always thinking about her teammates. During practice Kaila always makes sure you’re giving it a hundred percent. And it helps you get better. Overall I enjoy playing with her.”