the quiet intensity of meredith newcomb
A familiar sight on game day in the Jacobs Gym is Meredith Newcomb dribbling resolutely upcourt into the teeth of a press, skillfully protecting the basketball, and at the same time surveying the floor in search of a friendly face.
Being the point guard – the playmaker - requires poise, athleticism, and the ability to apply individual skills painstakingly developed through countless hours of preparation. More importantly, it requires the willingness to accept responsibility for the fortunes of your teammates. For Newcomb, shouldering the load is all in a day’s work. It’s also a microcosm of her athletic career at Collegiate.
Over the years, the 18-year-old senior has excelled in volleyball and softball as well as basketball. She’s developed into the linchpin of each program and has received enough awards and honors to fill a trophy case. True to her nature, however, you’ll never hear about any of them from her, for her actions speak much more loudly than her words. Consequently, she just might be the best athlete around here whom nobody’s heard of.
“I’m not one who needs attention,” she said one day recently when the aforementioned premise was presented to her. “You think about it sometimes, but the recognition isn’t all that important.”
What is important is her motivation for competing. “Number one is the physical activity,” she explained. “The second thing is the challenge. The third is the satisfaction of conquering the challenge.”
Newcomb has competed in organized athletics since kindergarten, and her favorite sport is whichever’s in season. She offers this analysis of the three in which she’s earned her stripes.
Volleyball: “It has a beach feel. At times, it’s really relaxed. At times, it’s really intense. It’s a sport where you can get a bunch of friends together and play. The beach is the best spot.”
Basketball: “Of all the sports, it’s the most difficult with all the skills and components you have to learn. There’re so many different options and ways to do things.”
Softball: “I’m taking American pastoral (a senior literature elective) right now, so I can relate with how baseball is the American pastime. And I really like being outside in the sun. Plus, softball has an individual aspect, but it’s really a team sport.”
Newcomb, who’s 5-5 1/2, is a three-season volleyball starter, and her last two she was voted All-LIS as a setter. As a senior she also earned all-state honors and led the Cougars with 318 assists in 23 games, connected on 97 percent of her serves, and contributed 28 blocks and 18 kills.
“Meredith absolutely was the glue that held us together this fall,” said volleyball coach Bill Shalley. “If it wasn’t for her ability to run down those errant passes to keep us in games, we wouldn’t have won the LIS championship. “With her untiring effort and positive example, she’s the epitome of the quiet leader.”
Newcomb made the varsity basketball team as an eighth grader and started each year except her freshman season when a broken leg kept her on the sideline. Nevertheless, she kept the scorebook, filmed, and helped out wherever she was needed.
This season, she leads her team with 14.9 points, 3 assists, 6 deflections, and 3 steals per game. She’s also averaging 5 rebounds. “She’s a great player and a great team player,” adds basketball coach Rives Fleming. “Because she’s so unselfish, she’s earned her teammates’ respect.”
After the Cougars end their run in the LIS tournament, Newcomb will compete in the LIS track meet in the long jump, an event she picked up this winter. The next week, she’ll begin her final season in a Collegiate uniform.
In five (going on six) years on the varsity softball team, she’s started at four different positions and the last two earned All-LIS honors as a shortstop. “She’s an incredible athlete and individual,” says John Moreau, her softball coach. “She’s a coaches’ dream.”
