JODY Ann Hanson says her ultimate dream is to play in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

The 17 year old is determined to achieve this dream within the next five years. But even with this determination, she has placed international scholarship offers on hold, opting to complete her sixth form education here in Jamaica.

In the last high school basketball seasons — 2009/2010 Southern Conference Basketball Leagues — Hanson received the top rebounds trophy from her school. She has also received certificates from the school — The Queen’s School for Girls in St Andrew — for excellence in basketball and swimming.

Born in a family with 10 children, the six feet six inches girl believes that her dreams are achievable. She said she will not back down on her determination until she is signed by one of her favourite WNBA teams.

“I am very determined to join the WNBA after I finish school. I really want to play basketball on a professional level like my role model Simone Edwards, a Jamaican-born player of the Seattle Storms. She was the most valuable player for her team for two consecutive years,” she told Career & Education. “For this and the fact that she is a Jamaican, I admire her and want to achieve just like her.”

Hanson said she developed the love for basketball early in her childhood but didn’t started engaging in the sport outside of her home until she began attending Queen’s. She plays a centre/forward position on the team, one of her favourite positions in the game.

She is currently a fifth form student and has already begun gearing up for the eight CXC/CSEC subjects she will sit in 2011.

But blending sports and academics is no problem for Hanson.

“I am not worried. What I try to do is to pray and try to balance my days with study and practice,” she said.

She advises other secondary and tertiary athletes do the same, because without a solid education they will not achieve a great levels in the sporting arena.

Her mother Michelle Hanson told Career & Education that her daughter has been a Christian for four years and loved basketball as a child.

“We had an ackee tree and she took a piece of steel, bent it and put it on the tree. She used that as her hoop back then,” her mother said.

Like her mother, school coach and confidante Chris Meikle said he believes in Hanson’s potential to achieve her dream of playing in the WNBA. He is with her all the way.

“My coach has been the most inspirational to me. When I need someone to talk to he is always available. He always checks up on me and makes sure that I am doing my school work,” Hanson said.

She said she was at first reserved about doing the sport, but after seeing her height and level of performance in a ninth grade physical education class, Meikle ordered her to start attending practice immediately.

With practice and her determination, also comes the discipline to put education first and not rush her dream.

Hanson has been approached with many scholarship offers to play overseas, however, with advice from her coach and parents she has put her decision on hold until after she has completed her studies at the secondary level

“We will take counsel from others who have been in the WNBA programme before we make a decision. We intend on choosing a university for her with the best academics curriculum mixed with best basketball programme that has a recognised and producing basketball team,” Meikle told Career & Education.

Hanson surfs the Internet in her spare time and is a part of her school’s Interact Club.