Girls: Kaitlyn Downey looking forward
One of the best players that many may not know about in New York is 6'1" forward Kaitlyn Downey (Maria Regina '18). After a strong sophomore high school season Downey took the court playing with the Empire State Blue Flames and dominated the AAU circuit, and while she may be flying under the radar with fans, college coaches have made begun to make her a priority recruit in the Class of 2018.
It hasn't always been easy for Downey. She has put in a lot of work over the past 12 months to become the player she is now, and that work has meant that she may not get to do many of the things teenagers may want to do, but that's a sacrifice Downey says she is willing to make to get to where she wants to be.
"It comes down to everything with the practice I put in and there are social life sacrifices because of that," Downey admitted. "The ultimate goal for me is to play on the next level and for that to happen you need to work harder than anyone else and that means some social things I may want to do I don't do."
That speaks volumes about Downey's work ethic according to her AAU coach with the Blue Flames, Nick Volchok.
Volchok has coached Downey since the 7th grade and has seen her transform into a player who was just learning the game at the age of 12, to a budding star as a junior in high school, and that has all come because of the time he says Downey puts in each day at the gym.
"Kaitlyn spends a ton of time in the gym. We do a lot of lessons one on one and she has tremendous ball handling abilities for someone her size, she can stretch the floor, she knows how to use her body down low, and she has incredible footwork," Volchok said about Downey skill set.
He goes so far to say he doesn't think it's farfetched at all to see Downey playing every position on the floor. She has done it for him at times, and feels she can do it even when she gets to the college level as well because of how well she does everything.
Being raised as a guard really helped Downey she feels as well as it allowed her to have the skill set to shoot from the outside even as she grew and started to gain more confidence playing in the paint, a place she dominated at the Zero Gravity Live at the House event along with numerous other tournaments through the spring and summer where she really made a name for herself.
A relative unknown at this point last year, Downey has now racked up 20 Division 1 offers according to Volchok, with the number coming in sure to grow in the weeks and months ahead in the coach’s mind.
"All the offers she has are from very good schools. Fordham, Iona, Holy Cross, American, Richmond, and Dayton are just a few," Volchok stated. "She has offers from pretty much the entire Atlantic-10 and MAAC and she will just continue to add even more as she keeps getting better."
The attention and offers that she has received off a strong summer has even surprised Downey a bit as she says there are time she thinks about pinching herself to make sure this is all true. She is thrilled at all she accomplished with the Blue Flames this summer and hopes to keep with the winning ways with Maria Regina in the CHSAA this H.S. season.
While she may be on the verge of becoming a big time national recruit, Downey is remaining humble through it all, crediting her coaches and teammates for helping her get to where she is now, just hoping that they know how much they all mean to her.
"I am just super excited to be playing with all my teammates and have them with me. They are all known in Westchester County, and in New York State as well so getting to enjoy this with them, and with my parents as well, has really been amazing."
