By Allison Homstad

Being a leader on the basketball court isn’t something new for sophomore Mindy Schmidt.

Schmidt has occupied a leadership role since she became the youngest player ever to be named a captain on the Champlin Park girls basketball team as a sophomore. She is the all-time leader in scoring and assists at Champlin Park.

Her leadership skills found their way to St. Ben’s, where she has become a starting sophomore wing for the Blazers after coming off the bench last season as a first-year.

“Mindy has taken to her new role as a starter very well,” St. Ben’s coach Mike Durbin said. “She’s got energy, she’s focused, and she’s reliable.”

Senior Mackenzie O’Neil said that Schmidt has become the Blazers’ ‘go-to’ player on offense.

“She has a knack for anything, and has made a smooth transition to take on more responsibility,” O’Neil said.

Making an impact

Schmidt, however, didn’t see things that way in the beginning of her first-year season.

Fed up with her play, Schmidt felt she could have been playing better.

She approached Durbin and told him she wanted to be more of an offensive threat. That same night she tallied her first 20-point game of her collegiate career in a 83-56 win over Hamline last season.

From that point, everything changed.

“When Mindy tells me she’s going to do something, you may as well put it in ink,” Durbin said. “She will do it.”

After the Blazers graduated five seniors, the focus turned to Schmidt, who earned All-MIAC First-Year Team honors. She became an immediate candidate to fill one of the starting spots on the team.

So long the bench

Durbin showed no hesitation putting Schmidt in the starting five this season.

“It’s easy for a coach to put a player in that spot when they’ve been performing so well,” Durbin said.

Both Durbin and O’Neil have been, and continue to be, impressed with Schmidt’s offensive capabilities.

“She can use her right and left hands, she can drive, and she can shoot,” Durbin said.

O’Neil said that Schmidt isn’t afraid to take the open jumper when the team needs a basket.
That reliability makes Schmidt a key player in the Blazer offense.

“She’s not afraid to have the ball and make a mistake,” Durbin commented. “She takes it on her own shoulders.”

She also has shown her strengths on the defensive end of the floor.

“She plays aggressive defense and makes it her personal goal to stop the person she’s guarding,” All-MIAC Defensive player O’Neil said.

More than skill

However, it isn’t just skill that made Schmidt’s performances last year so outstanding.

“A lot of collegiate players have the skill,” O’Neil said. “You have to want it.”

This competitive drive is what sets Schmidt apart.

She put in the time during the offseason to improve: lifting weights, working on her shot and playing in a summer league. The effort and time appears to have paid off. As a starter, Schmidt is averaging 15.7 points in the six games played this season.

“This was a role I wanted to take,” Schmidt said about being a starter.

With two more years still to come, she certainly has enough time to show off her leadership abilities.

Filed under: Blazers, Sports by Justin Roth