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McNary sophomore Taylor Detrant contributes towards the NPJ

Author:
By Jae Wilcox
April 3, 2022

McNary High School’s sophomore Taylor Detrant helps run the plays for the North Pacific Juniors (NPJ) Salem 16 National team. NPJ Salem 16 National is currently ranked third out of 127 teams. Their current win-loss record is 46-14. 

Detrant says, “My team is individually and together one of the most competitive teams I have ever seen. The motivation that drives us to play and win is insane.” 

Being on a national team means that players on the team get to compete for a spot in Nationals. There are more travel tournaments, and tournaments in general to compete for bids. NPJ 16 National has already earned a bid to Nationals and will be competing in the summer.

“During the bid tournament we battled through injuries including concussions, broken hands, and back issues. Despite all these setbacks, we pulled through and placed second in the tournament earning an American bid to Nationals. Nationals takes place in Indianapolis June 30th- July 4th,” said Detrant. 

 

Being such a high level team there is a lot of competition even in practices.

“To be on a team this good and competitive can be very overwhelming but very rewarding. The pressure for perfection can build or break you, so mindset is key for playing at this level,” explained Detrant. 

Although the team being so competitive was not a shock to Detrant, She has been on many national teams before. These teams include: NPJ Salem 13 National, NPJ Salem 14 National, and NPJ Salem 15 National. Detrant has put in many hours of extra practices and private lessons. She has wanted to be on NPJ 16 National for a while now.

“When I first made the team, I was overcome with joy. Making this team was my number one goal,” said Detrant.