By Matthew Dietz
NKyTribune sports reporter
When the Dixie Heights girls basketball team defeated Notre Dame in the 9th Region final in late March, the Colonels took home the championship trophy for the first time since 1992 and posted their 22nd consecutive win to boot.
For Dixie Heights sophomore guard Ella Steczynski, winning the region championship with her father, Joel, as head coach gives them something special to celebrate on Father’s Day this Sunday.
Dixie Heights coach Joel Steczynski acknowledges the fans while holding up the game ball after his team won the 9th Region championship. (File photo by Bob Jackson)
“We’re usually doing something together, whether it is softball, baseball or basketball, so to win region and have that big accomplishment is really cool,” Ella said.
Joel will be out of town with his youngest son this weekend, so the Steczynski family celebrated Father’s Day earlier this week.
“We are normally at either a softball tournament or a baseball tournament (on Father’s Day),” Joel said. “We’re celebrating a little bit early just with our immediate family here and just going to celebrate and enjoy the time together that we have.”
Ella averaged only 5.8 points per game for the Colonels last basketball season. But she was selected to the 9th Region all-tournament team because she was able to knock down clutch shots while anchoring the team on the defensive side of the ball during the playoffs.
“I wasn’t really expecting it honestly,” Ella said of the all-tournament award. “But I thought I worked really hard along with my teammates on the year, so it was nice to be recognized with the team.”
Ella also shines on the softball field. As the starting shortstop on the Dixie Heights team this season, she had a .517, batting average with only three strikeouts in 96 at-bats and ranked second in runs batted in with 41. She was a first-team selection on the Northern Kentucky all-star team selected by local coaches.
Sophomore guard Ella Steczynski was one of three Dixie Heights players named to the 9th Region all-tournament team. (File photo by Bob Jackson)
Ella said she is drawing interest from college softball recruiters who have seen her play on the NKY Bandits Premier traveling team during the summer. That’s why she no longer plays AAU basketball, but she tries to attend open gyms and summer camps with the Dixie Heights team.
Joel has been able to help his daughter adapt her busy summer schedule to participate in both sports.
“Softball and basketball, they’re not the ideal two sports in terms of playing at the next level and exposure because all those tournaments run at the same time,” Joel said. “So it’s actually something that’s really helped our program because I’ve designed training for Ella knowing that she can’t play all the AAU tournaments with everybody else (on the team) that’s playing.”
Two of the top three scorers on the Dixie Heights basketball team that won the 9th Region tournament have graduated. The coach will be counting on his daughter and other underclassmen to step up alongside returning center Madelyn Lawson next season when the Colonels defend their region title.
The returning juniors who saw the most varsity action last season are Ella, Reese Smith and Samantha Berman, who shot 49 percent from the field.
“Sammy (Berman) wakes up scoring baskets, that’s what she does,” Joel said. “Ella and Reese are really the players that we lean on to lead our defense, and that’s been a really strong trait of both of theirs over the years.”
As the Steczynskis look back on the sports memories they share this Father’s Day, they are optimistic about the future of the Dixie Heights basketball program and the opportunity that exists for the younger players to take on larger roles next season.
“The girls in our gym are excited for that challenge,” Joel said.
