Baker's Combest is Female Athlete of the Year

By ADAM PRUIETT

adamp@nwfdailynews.com

BAKER - The other day, Kathy Combest told daughter Chelsea that she knew from birth that Chelsea was destined to accomplish great things.

Neither mother nor daughter - the feisty types and then some - are prone to sentimentality. So, sensing a sappy moment, Chelsea seemingly shrugged the statement off and simply replied "OK."

But on Wednesday, in separate interviews, both recounted the story, mom fondly, daughter slightly embarrassed. Either way, they were both clearly proud of the way this year played out and, indeed, "great" applied to how Chelsea performed in several sports for Baker.

Numbers were only part of the story, and perhaps the least interesting aspect. Whether it was taking the volleyball court, the basketball court or the softball diamond, Chelsea suited up each game knowing her mother was ailing from breast cancer.

It wasn't something that could be hidden: Kathy coached both the volleyball and basketball teams.

Chelsea had every reason to feel sorry for herself but never did, producing fantastic statistics and taking on the bulk of leadership duties, particularly in volleyball and basketball. She was the Daily News' small school Volleyball Player of the Year, was strongly considered for small school Girls Basketball Player of the Year and earned All-Area honorable mention status in softball.

For her vast achievements under trying circumstances, Chelsea is the repeat winner of the girls All Sports Association/Daily News Athlete of the Year award.

"It was hard for me to see her go through what I went through, because you know she did along with all the other girls, but it was more at home with her," said Kathy, whose cancer is now in remission. "I didn't want her to do it, but it made her more determined. She had to be more focused a lot of the times because I wasn't feeling good.

"She was like the coach on the floor of both those (volleyball and basketball) teams this year. It made me proud that she had the maturity and the fortitude to do it and not buckle down and cry that her momma was sick."

Chelsea, a setter, earned third-team All-State honors in volleyball after leading Baker to the Class 2A regional finals and a 25-4 record behind 364 assists, 249 kills, 182 digs and 111 aces.

"I never thought we were going to go that far," Chelsea said. "We were the last public school standing."

Chelsea also was third-team All-State in basketball, where she led the Gators to the regional quarterfinals by averaging 15.9 points, 6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 4.2 steals. She zoomed past 1,000 career points and is Baker's all-time scoring leader in girls basketball. That hoops prowess landed her a scholarship with Gulf Coast Community College, the junior college national champions.

On the diamond, Chelsea was steady at shortstop and helped the Gators to the regional quarterfinals.

Her leadership qualities could be summed up best during basketball season when Kathy missed a game due to the exhausting effects of chemotherapy treatments. Assistant coach Kim Harrison was coaching the JV team when the Gators were preparing to take the floor, and the team felt like it needed a pregame speech.

Chelsea took front and center.

"It went all right," she said. "It wasn't no Kathy Combest speech."