The Rockwall Lady Jackets: A fairy tale of a magical ball

A modern day fairy tale came to life this spring in Rockwall. This story possesses the common fairy tale motifs: fearless protagonists, daunting quests, battles to be waged, and magical rings as a reward. And the heroines needed no Prince Charming to rescue them—they accomplished these feats through their own skills and determination, along with guidance from wise and venerable teachers.

On Saturday, March 3, at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, the Rockwall High School Lady Jackets basketball team achieved a 59-54 victory over Houston Cypress-Fairbanks High School in overtime, earning them the coveted 2007 Class 5-A State Champions title and their state championship rings. This team finished up the year with an amazing 40-0 season. After their defeat in last year’s state finals, these successes proved to be poignant accomplishments.

To make the triumph even sweeter for Coach Jill McDill, the Dallas Morning News awarded her the title of All-Area High School Girls Basketball Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. "I didn’t expect it," she exclaims. "That doesn’t happen two times in a row. It was a real honor!"

This fairy tale ending is just the beginning for the girls who conquered the magical world of high school sports and left the field victorious.

The Dallas Morning News selected Haley Day as All Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year. During the state championship Haley earned her second Most Valuable Player title for the year as well. In addition, the Lady Jackets’ Genevieve Campbell won a seat on the First Team All-Area Girls Basketball and Kiara Slaton on the Third Team All-Area. Genevieve and Kiara, as well as Sunny Satery and Shelby Adamson also made All-District.

USA Today honored the Lady Jackets by naming them number 3 on their national list of Super 25 Girls Basketball rankings. This national publication noted that this team made a remarkable shift from a number 13 ranking in their preseason analysis.

The City of Rockwall honored the Lady Jackets’ triumph with a parade and celebration on April 9. The procession ended at the Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium, where accolades of the team’s accomplishments were delivered and the Lady Jackets autographed approximately 2,000 commemorative state championship posters for fans. In addition, Congressman Ralph Hall presented the team a U.S. flag that had flown over the Capitol.

An invitation from Representative Jodie Laubenberg resulted in the team, manager and coaches traveling to the Austin Capitol Building on April 23 to be recognized for their state win.

With the basketball season now over, celebrations winding down and Lady Jacket team members gearing up for the move to universities or another year at Rockwall High, Coach McDill is catching up with loose ends and making preparations for the 2007-2008 season.


An Inspiring Role Model
A one-foot pile of newspaper and magazine articles is perched on a chair in Coach McDill’s office. She explains that her father has clipped and saved all the articles about her teams in a scrapbook since she first started coaching. But this admiration for his daughter’s accomplishments goes deeper than just a proud dad. There is also a degree of professional respect. Her father was a football and basketball coach at Mesquite High School before becoming an administrative officer for Mesquite ISD.

Born in Dallas and raised in Mesquite, Rockwall High’s varsity girls’ basketball coach and assistant athletic coordinator graduated from North Mesquite High School, where she played shooting guard on the girls’ varsity basketball team all four years. "I started playing on a team in seventh grade but I had been around it a long time. I grew up being in a gym all the time," she declares.

This remarkable coach’s career was etched into her life goals at a young age. "It was something I always wanted to do because my dad was a coach," Jill shrugs. "Dad, my brother and I were always at the gym learning how to dribble and shoot, even in the locker room, shooting towels into the trash cans. I learned about basketball and competing and learned to love the sport as a pretty young kid."

She also points out, "In high school, Donna Capps was my coach. She has been the head women’s coach at UTA for six or seven years, and she just came back to Mesquite as the women’s athletic director for Mesquite ISD."

"I learned a lot of things from Coach Capps. One is that it is easier to believe in yourself if someone else believes in you," Jill continues when describing the woman she considered a significant role model. "She believed in me and that made me a better basketball player. And I wanted to do that as a coach for other players."

Jill and her husband met as students at North Mesquite when she was a freshman and Paul a junior. He went on to attend Baylor University and two years later Jill followed.

Majoring in education with an emphasis on history and English, Jill earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1995 from Baylor. Here, she only played basketball her freshman year. "I just decided to focus on getting through in four years," she explains.


Completing her education, Jill coached at Waco-Connally High School, just outside of Waco. Following that year, she coached at Crawford High School. During her two years there, Jill demonstrated the talents needed to direct her team to title level. Her second year at this 2-A school, the girl’s basketball team went to the state semi-finals with a 30-4 season. The coach proudly notes, "And we didn’t have any seniors on that team."

Following this, her first son Caleb was born and Paul accepted a position as youth minister at a Mesquite Baptist church. Jill took three years off from coaching.

Six years ago, Jill came on board as Rockwall High School’s girls’ basketball coach and she had a challenge on her hands. "The year before I came here, they were 9 and 19," she grimaces, "and there were only seven girls on varsity." But as the seasons progressed, so did the Lady Jackets. By last year, Rockwall High’s girls basketball team made it all the way to the state finals, at the end losing to Plano West High School and finishing the year with a 37-4 season.

During this period, the McDills had two more sons, Noah and Joshua. Jill mentions that although her husband, now a pastor at Community Life Church in Forney, is not an athlete, he is one of the team’s biggest fans and brings all three boys to their games. "The boys are almost part of the team," Jill asserts. "After the games, Caleb is down there and shooting. Noah is too, but he can’t quite get the ball up there, but he can dribble very well."

Does being the wife of a minister affect the temper flares often thought to be a part of such intense games? Jill grins, "Dad-gum is about as bad as it gets and that means I’m very upset."

Now that the team is in off-season, Jill has a short chance to relax and catch her breath before next year’s season begins. Even though eight of this year’s team members are graduating seniors, she sees the potential for another winning season.

"We have four players that will be back. And the JV and freshman teams were undefeated in district and won the state championships. So we are still expecting to do well and the girls coming back are already working hard," she declares.

Although a number of returning potential members have already demonstrated their skills, the final decision naming next year’s varsity members will not be done until the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. "We give the girls a chance to prove themselves," she explains. "Over the summer, they may grow or work really hard."


Jill describes the process of creating a team as "12 players and two coaches try to come together and be a team and compete, and usually you get to enjoy the wins and you make it through the losses together." Then she smiles. "Fortunately, this year we didn’t have to deal with any losses on the court."

Jill credits the experience the Lady Jackets’ assistant coach Casey Reeves brings to the team as a significant part of the potential for success. "He has a lot of strength and conditioning experience…and he helps a lot with game preparation and scouting reports, a lot of work behind the scenes. The girls describe him as their ‘secret weapon.’"

After a brief pause, Jill reflects, "When I took off the three years, I missed being part of a team, being a part of something bigger than yourself."

"To be undefeated was not our team’s goal," the coach emphasizes. "For the girls, their goal was to win the state championship. But for me, that was scary. My goal for them was to be our personal best. What was great for me was to realize that our best meant to be 40 and 0 and win the state championship."

Although the season is over and Coach McDill is looking to next year’s team, she is also tending to the well being of her players on this year’s team, particularly those who will soon be moving on. She rattles off their achievements, talents, and unique personality traits that make them such a treat for this coach to work with.

She continues, "I’m really proud of these girls and obviously all they have accomplished on the basketball court. But I’m also proud of them as young ladies in what they have accomplished off the court. They are leaders in the school, they volunteer in the community, and they are role models to younger girls. They have done a great job representing our school and our community."

This past year’s five starters demonstrate the variety of talents and drives that created the winning combination that allowed the Rockwall Lady Jackets to win their championship rings. And now many of the stars and starters in this adventure are moving on to create new stories.


Haley Day
Playing post, Lady Jackets MVP Haley Day received a full scholarship to Southern Methodist University, where she will be playing basketball, but this time as a guard. The 5’10" player explains, "I’m right there at that in-between height. I’m not big enough to play post in college but I’m bigger than most of the guards in college."

Although she is as yet undecided as to her major, Haley is considering "something like kinesiology."

Haley recollects that she first started playing basketball at the hoop in the alley with the neighborhood boys when she was four. As her skills improved, she was joined by her father and two sisters, one who primarily played soccer and the other volleyball.

Motivated by the competitive spirit of the team, Haley claims "being with a group of girls who are fighting for the same goal as you" as one of the greatest benefits of basketball for her. She readily praises her teammates for their contributions, and when asked why she received the MVP award, her response is, "Not a clue! I think other people on our team stepped up big." Then she continues with a list of players and what they offered to this year’s games.

This Rockwall teen enjoys time at the lake to fish and/or go tubing with friends and has worked for four years as a sports assistant at the YMCA.

In addition to taking an anticipated road trip the team is planning for this summer, Haley will attend two classes at SMU and travel to Germany to visit friends.

Genevieve Campbell
Receiving a full scholarship, next year Genevieve Campbell will be playing for Texas A&M Commerce. "It’s going to be completely different though," she stresses. "I’ve been playing with Haley since seventh grade, Sam and Lindsay since sixth grade, and Ashley since second grade. It’s going to be weird playing in a totally different jersey."

Genevieve and Haley have the distinct of honor of being the only freshmen on the varsity girls’ basketball team when they started playing for Rockwall High School. Genevieve found the challenges of being a younger team member beneficial. "[The older girls] were faster and stronger than us, so it made us work harder."

First playing basketball with her sisters and later on a Rockwall YMCA elementary team, the 5’6" guard laughs, "with my basketball shoes on, I’m 5’7". Considering economics or world history as college major options, Genevieve aspires to teach high school and coach girls basketball.

Genevieve views basketball not only as a competitive sport, but as a great way to relieve stress. "When my dad is home from work, we go to the gym," she states.

Another passion for this Rockwall graduate is cars and trucks. She readily boasts of her truck, a "victory red 1999 Chevrolet Silverado lowered four inches in the front and six inches in the back."

In her spare time, Genevieve enjoys reading, particularly history and love stories. One book kept by her bedside

is Stuff Good Players Should Know by Dick Devenzio. This treasured gift was from a friend, now deceased, who helped her practice at the YMCA and came to her games.

Samantha Shaw
First playing basketball in third grade for a YMCA team, 5’8 ½" Samantha Shaw moved from point guard in middle school to guard in high school after a four inch growth spurt.

In addition to being a member of a state championship team, she has the unusual honor of also being Rockwall High School’s Homecoming Queen her senior year.

And playing starter for this year’s championship games? "It is so rewarding after playing so hard," she avers. "It was nice proving to everyone that we were really motivated and could come back and win, proving that we really were the best team."

Samantha’s athletic skills spread over a wide range of interest. She played volleyball through the ninth grade, when she was on the junior varsity team, and was on the track team in middle school. "I love running," she declares. "At least five times a week I run three miles at a time. I really love being in shape."

Also playing soccer from second through seventh grade, Samantha now volunteers as a coach for a peewee YMCA soccer team and works for the YMCA refereeing games.

Next year, Samantha will be attending Texas State University in San Marcos, majoring in elementary education. She has opted not to play basketball while in college. "I’m done," she sighs. "I have played basketball since third grade, and I decided I wanted to have some time for myself and my studies." But she values the time spent and experience gained from playing in high school. "You have to learn to work together and you have to learn to depend on one another to do their role," Samantha explains. "All the girls have become my second family."

Sunny Satery
The only junior starter on this year’s team, Sunny Satery will return to Rockwall High School to continue her adventure there for one more year.

She first played basketball on YMCA teams in second grade and has played point guard on the Rockwall High School varsity team since her freshman year. Her interest in sports was inspired by an older brother.

Following graduation next year, Sunny hopes to attend "a big Texas school like A&M." She aspires to major in communication and eventually go into a career as a sports commentator. "I want to be out on the field. I think that would be a lot of fun," she explains. At this point, she is undecided whether or not she will continue playing basketball in college.

This 17-year-old declares lunch is her favorite class and then smiles,

"I’m not going to lie. I’m not a big fan of schoolwork."

When there is leisure time, "being outside and going to the lake" are preferred activities. "In the summer I play tennis for fun," she adds. "I like to go swimming, go on the lake with friends for skiing, wakeboarding or tubing."

Sunny reiterates what each of the girls expressed how they felt about winning the state championship. "It was awesome!"

Kiara Slaton
Born in England and raised in Mississippi, Kiara Slaton moved to Rockwall two years ago to help her aunt care for twin children when her uncle was deployed to Iraq. This makes Kiara a relative newcomer to the Rockwall High School team. She heads to Louisiana’s Tulane University on a full scholarship after graduation this spring.

In June, this A student and Texas Association of Basketball Coaches’ all-state academic team member will attend summer school classes and then in July, she and her younger brother will head to Japan for a five-week visit to her older sister.

Kiara’s goal at the university is to participate in a four plus one plan, allowing her to earn a masters degree in psychology with a minor in pharmacology in five years. Although she is planning to eventually have a career most likely in pharmaceutical sales, she hopes this will be after playing professional basketball for either the Women’s National Basketball Association or the European League. The 6’3" center grins, "They are huge over there—6’7" or 6’8". I just want to continue playing basketball."

She laughs that one of the greatest benefits of being on a basketball team is "You always know that you have at least 12 friends, even if nobody else likes you."

One of Kiara’s favorite pastimes is learning just for the fun of it. "I love to look up different things on the computer," she comments. Music is another hobby for her. "I was in the band and played percussion, especially the xylophone and marimba," she reminisces. "I gave that up to play basketball. I had to figure out which one would take me farther." Kiara adds that her keyboard was one of the possessions she managed to save when Hurricane Katrina hit her Mississippi home.

Now the 2006-2007 story is finished. Our heroines have triumphed and the ending is happy. And tales of future Lady Jackets’ conquests are waiting to be written.

This article first appeared in Lake View Image Magazine, is used with permission and was written by Peggy Helmick-Richardson.